the significance of the 'insignificant'.

And never say of anything, "Indeed, I will do that tomorrow", except, "if Allah wills". And remember your Lord when you forget [it] and say, "Perhaps my Lord will guide me to what is nearer than this to right conduct"
(Surah Al-Kahl, Ayat 23-4)

Salaam,

(somehow I tend to post a lot today, eh?)

I supposed we as human beings (and muslims, for that matter) understand to the extend that you never know what will happen in the future (understand that future means later on, tomorrow and in the future), who you will meet, who you will befriends with, who you will fall in love with, who you will marry, when you'll be married, when you'll start working, when you'll die. Because you just don't. That is something that is kept from our knowledge, and only Allah knows best for He is the Knower of the Unseen and He Alone Knows what was and what is yet to happen and what is not to be.

His command is only when He intends a thing that He says to it, "Be," and it is.
(Surah Yaasin, Ayat 82)

For all you know, you might marry someone who you hate right now, or you might end up with someone who sixteen years ago tried to 'mengurat' you and you 'jual mahal' and now Allah has willed it that you two met after so many years and fall in love with each other, or that someone you dislike might be a part of your life in the future, or that you make plans to work here and there but then your rezeki is not there but somewhere else, or that you plan to go travelling or do such and such in the future... whatever it is, by all means, yes do make plans for your future (andang digalakkan untuk membuat persiapan dan persediaan), but the point is - Allah knows best and you don't;

"Fighting has been enjoined upon you while it is hateful to you. But perhaps you hate a thing and it is good for you; and perhaps you love a thing and it is bad for you. And Allah Knows, while you know not"
(Surah Al-Baqarah, Ayat 216)

There's a story.

My friendship with Ness actually started by us deciding to exchange nasheeds via email. Simple as that. Like many others, I was one of her silent readers and on a daily basis, I would read her updates because personally I find her eloquent way of posting quite refreshing - that of a combination of a blonde and hijabi, to be exact - so as days passed by, and with much supplication to Allah as that time around I was in need of a true friend who I could 'connect' with. Due to my life history and the sudden decision to become a hijabi, I somehow can connect my story with hers. Meaning, I understand what she went through when she decided to don the hijab while she was still studying in Toowamba, (sp?) Australia last year.

Perhaps because we got the same name that kinda made us closer, cause we would joke about it saying how would people react if we introduce each other to our family and friends, the conversation would go something like this:

"Ma, ani kawan Nisah, Nisa"

and mum would look confuse saying "apa?"

and repeating the same thing, "kawan Nisah ni, Nisa..."


(which, by the way, we had fun introducing each other to our family and friends later on)

But anyways, for the first time, it felt like I can love her for the sake of Allah, Alhamdulillah. With the exchange of nasheeds, we would share with each other bits of our stories, and remind each other to remain and be steadfast in our Iman and always put our faith in Allah for He knows best. Just like any normal human beings - and girls/muslimahs like us - we too endure life as it comes, we too deal with problems and in need of someone to talk to for advice and comfort, we too have our ups and downs, and we too have our happy and sad moments. I remember feeling down because I was in a confused state of mind at that time, so much so, I turned to her (after Allah) for comfort, and Alhamdulillah, being the caring ukhti I was starting to be fond of, she would advise me and give me extracts from the Glorious Qur'an to link to her advice. And I would do the same when it was her turn to find comfort in our friendship which was based and started with the intention of loving and helping each other for the sake of Allah.

And this 'love relationship' went on for quite a few months, with a lot of emails addressed and replied to our inbox containing portions of our past history, what we did, how we felt, why we chose this road, how it happened, all the personal thoughts that I never thought I was able to share so freely with anyone before. Masya Allah, I was so thankful to Allah for giving us the chance to meet via the Internet. We were like lovebirds. The time difference between us wasn't an obstacle for us to get online and chat for hours, exchanging views and perspectives on Islam, sharing Islamic links and articles, downloading nasheeds... (makan tak kenyang, tidur tak lena kinda situation this lol ;) )

We got closer by the day because we would share blonde moments (her, most of the time, of course) and we would share jokes that we find so funny and would "hahahhahahahahhaha" like there's no tomorrow. Added in a lot of "lols" and facial massages and cramps due to extreme cases of "rofls", somehow we grew fond of each other. Sometimes, it even feels like we read each other's mind/thought and there were times when we were about to text one another but the other one texted first and we'd be like, "how you know?? I was reaching the phone to text you and you texted me". Amazing, innit? I'd say Alhamdulillah...

And when I went back to Brunei back in June to do my thesis' data collection, she was one of the first few that knew about my surprise-coming-back-to-Brunei plan. When I arrived at the airport, she was there to greet me, and that was actually the first time we laid eyes on each other (macam love story this), that was the first time Hanisah Lia met Nur Annisa, that was the first time Ness met Neez, that was the first time Nisah met Nisa, and that was the first time we met. And hugging her in person was one of the greatest moments in my life. You would too, if you consider that person to be the 'love of your life' (in a non-s**ual term, of course) teehee.

Although we didn't get a lot of chances to meet up and spend time together when I was in Brunei due to our own personal commitments, but we never fail to remind each other that we always remember each other in our duaa, insya Allah :) The few times when we did meet up, there was one I remember very well because we spent quite a long time in a bookstore in Seria looking through books, giggling like two little girls and once in a while, I'd be poking her, shushing her and reminding ourselves that we're in public so we have to maintain our haya' and modesty (good times, huns). We share interests in collecting Islamic-related books, magazines and articles and copy paste any beneficial links that we find online. Masya Allah, the blessings of a friendship that is based on common understanding that '...because we are muslimahs and I love you ukhti, for the sake of Allah" is undeniably sweet, innit!!

Who would've thought that a simple 'nasheed-exchange' act could turn out to be a beautiful friendship that blooms over time? Masya Allah, Allah knows best. As of this moment, we both know that we are still struggling to better ourselves, with our weak Imans we try our best to be there for each other, to support each other as much as we are able to, if not physically, we remember each other in our duaas, insya Allah, and with Allah's will, I pray that more and more of our sisters would be willing to share in this special bond of friendship that Ness and I share and have, if not building a much better and stronger friendship with other sisters no matter where they are...Ameen Ameen Ya Rabbal 'Alamin...

And with the halaqah muslimah group going on at the moment, I am only counting down the weeks until I can actually physically be there to be a part of this amazing group of muslimahs sharing and discussing Islamic-related issues and stories, insya Allah... well done, ukhtis, keep up the effort ;) May Allah reward you accordingly for doing something that's beneficial for others, insya Allah.

"And let there be [arising] from you a nation inviting to [all that is] good, enjoining what is right and forbidding what is wrong, and those will be the successful"
(Surah Al-'Imran, Ayat 104)

Now, I'm back here again and the routine "chat online for hours" is still active, and I notice one thing every time we chat and before we say our goodnights, hugs&kisses and Salaams, we always always say:

"Talk to you tomorrow huns, insya Allah"

And if we don't get the chance to chat with each other, we would be okay about it because we know that Allah wills it that way, we understand that by Allah's will, we are not supposed to chat that day, perhaps maybe because if we were to chat, then we might end up doing more haraam things such as gheebah (nauzubillahiminzalik) instead of talking about something that could benefit us both. So, Ness and I have that silent understanding that if we're meant to chat, then insya Allah we would, but Allah knows best, and if we didn't, then we trust that Allah knows the reason why we didn't get the chance to chat that day.

Simple, easy and common fact to be understood, yes?

Now, you see why I put on such a long story about my personal experience, because, this is where the point of my post lies - the word 'insya Allah' which is translated to "if Allah wills it".

It is such a small matter and can be considered so insignificant to a few hence many tend to take it so lightly, but it is actually quite a 'heavy' thing, if you actually think about it.

Sabda Rasulullah sallahu alayhi wassalam;

"Barangsiapa yang hafal dan mengamalkan 7 kalimah ini akan dimuliakan oleh Allah dan malaikat dan akan diampun dosa-dosanya walau sebanyak buih di lautan"

• Bismillahirahmannirrahim - pada tiap-tiap hendak melakukan sesuatu

• Alhamdulillah - pada tiap-tiap habis melakukan sesuatu

• Astagfirullah - jika tersilap mengatakan sesuatu yang buruk

• **Insya Allah - jika ingin melakukan sesuatu pada masa akan datang

• Laahawla walaa quwata illa billah - bila tidak dapat melakukan sesuatu yang agak berat atau melihat sesuatu yang buruk

• Innalillahi wa inna lillahirajiiun - jika menghadapi musibah atau melihat/mendengar kematian

• Laa illaha illallah - dibaca sepanjang siang dan malam sebanyak yang mungkin serta amalkan selalu moga-moga kita tergolong di kalangan orang-orang yang terpilih oleh Allah

So from now on, you know that every time you make a plan, be it with yourself, or anybody else for that matter (no matter what the plan is), always remember to add in 'insya Allah', because you never know what might happen in the future.

If people start asking redundant questions like, "bila ko balik?", or "bila tah ko kan keraja?" or the more obvious soalan-cepuk-emas or the million-dollar question, "bila ko kawin?" or anything yang sewaktu dengannya, then say whatever you want to say, the normal replies of "ada rezeki, ada tah tu; ada jodoh, ada tah tu" could work or have a cheeky comeback prepared for those questions if you must, but don't forget to add in the bit '...insya Allah...".

Ness posted a more detailed explanation on this matter on her NurAnneesa site, if you wish to find out more, insya Allah may it benefits you as much as it has benefited me.

Perhaps Allah has willed it that today you would come across my site, or find my blog link from somewhere, and happen to read this particular post so that I may be able to share this bit of my thoughts with you so that, one way or another, I hope it benefits you, your life and the people around you, insya Allah. Things do happen for a reason, don't they? Allahu a'lam, Allah knows best.

Everything that is good comes from Allah s.w.t. and everything that is bad comes from the imperfection on my part.

Jazakallahu khairan for reading, see you again soon, insya Allah ;)

Allah hafiz.

Salaam 'Alaykum.