GETTING REACH AS FAR AS YOU COULD!







Followers

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Want to be Closer to Allah, But Don't Know How!

 


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In many Islamic circles or presentations, I am asked a similar question from my brothers and sisters: "I want to get closer to Allah, but don't know how; or I don't have the power to do it. Sometimes I can succeed in getting close to Him when I spend time with pious friends who are affecting me, but when they are no longer around, I lose that closeness. I become powerless."

Allah, the Exalted is the Best to respond to this concern:
(When My servants ask thee concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I listen to the prayer of every suppliant when he calls on Me: let them also, with a will, listen to My call, and believe in Me: that they may walk in the right way.) (Al-Baqarah 2:186)
As Muslims, we believe in the Word of Allah, then should we not believe in the above verse? Of course we want to believe, but what truly keeps us from believing it in our hearts and feeling it when we make supplications?
If we can imagine there is a beautiful scenery in front of us, but there is also a curtain or veil between us and the scene. We can have a glimpse of the beauty on the other side, but not all. We want to see it all, but we keep sitting in our place and do not get up to move the curtain aside so we can have a full view.
Removing the veil or curtain takes the following efforts:

First, there must be a desire;
Second, the knowhow;
Third, keeping it open for full view at all times.
Sometimes people think of wanting to be close to Allah, but the desire is not strong enough. Faith is like a seed. It must be planted in fertile soil and watered. It is a process that would take time and determination.
To begin with, we must observe the most important duty Allah has prescribed to us,
Actions must lead to the cleansing of the heart of all that is displeasing to Allah. This might not be easy, especially for the younger generation.
which is devotion and worship. This is the first step for achieving closeness to Allah.  
In a Qudsi hadith the Prophet reported that Allah says,
"..my servant does not come closer to Me with anything more dear to Me than that which I made obligatory upon him. My servant keeps coming closer to Me with more volunteer deeds, until I love him. When I love him, I become His ear by which he hears, his eyes by which he sees, his hand by which he holds and his foot by which he walks. If he asks Me anything I shall give him. If he seeks My protection I shall grant him My protection… "(Al-Bukhari 6021)
While performing correct worship, one must choose the way to piety and righteousness mentioned in the hadith; a major step of getting closer to Him the Almighty. The person who has taqwa or piety, is the one who is foremost in doing good and wants to be ahead of others in goodness.
(And the foremost are the foremost. These are they who are drawn nigh (to Allah). In the gardens of bliss.)(Al-Waqi`ah 56:10-12)
He remembers his humility in front of Allah, and knows he can call on Him with hope and fear. He desires much closeness to Him.
(Call on your Lord with humility and in private: for Allah loves not those who trespass beyond bounds. Do no mischief on the earth, after it hath been set in order, but call on Him with fear and longing (in your hearts): for the Mercy of Allah is (always) near to those who do good.) (Al-A`raf 7:55, 56)
Naturally, this person also knows that charity is another way to bring him closer to his Creator, for Allah loves those who give to the needy from their wealth and hates the hard fisted.
In a Qudsi hadith the Prophet reported that Allah says,
"Allah will say on the Day of Judgment, ... O son of Adam, I asked you for food and you fed Me not. He will say: O Lord, and how should I feed You when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: Did you not know that My servant so and so asked you for food and you fed him not? Did you not know that had you fed him you would surely have found that with Me? O son of Adam, I asked you to give Me to drink and you gave Me not to drink. He will say: O Lord, how should I give You to drink when You are the Lord of the worlds? He will say: My servant so and so asked you to give him to drink and you gave him not to drink. Had you given him to drink you would have surely found that with Me." (Muslim)
 

This person does all right deeds in order to bring himself closer to his Creator. If he does all this and still does not feel as close to Allah as he wants then he might look at his environment and those he befriends and the condition of his lifestyle. Are his/her friends neglectful of Allah and often engage in idle talk or activities which Allah dislike? Are members of his family busy spending most of their time at home in front of TV watching programs Allah dislikes and he participates with them? Are friends and family the cause of his weakness in religion? Is he/she dressed properly according to Islamic mose of dress as he/she likes? 
The influence of a close friend is greater than one can imagine. One must take heed who he chooses as a close friend. Knowing our tendencies to incline to people and the worldly life, Allah warns us not to get side tracked.
( O ye who believe let not your riches or your children divert you from the Remembrance of Allah if any act thus, the loss is their own.) (Al-Munafiqun 63:9)
Actions must lead to the cleansing of the heart of all that is displeasing to Allah. This might not be easy, especially for the younger generation. Yet they must remember they are the torchbearers of Islam and they are the ones who can influence their peers better than older people. What a better blessing is it than one knowing that he is doing all he can to gain the pleasure of his Creator?
(Thus, then, if he be of those Nearest to Allah, there is for him Rest and Satisfaction, and a Garden of Delights.) (Al-Waqi`ah 56:88,89)
To maintain closeness with Allah, besides the above recommendations, one may engage in Dhikr or remembrance of Allah as often as one can
( O ye who believe remember Allah very often and glorify Him morning and evening.) (Al-Ahzab 33:41,42)
Dhikr empties the heart and the mind of impurities and brings a meaningful satisfaction to one's life.
(Behold in the Remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction.)  (Ar-Ra`d 13: 28)
Finally, since we believe in the Word of Allah, we find the solution of closeness to our Creator is given to us by Him.
(Therefore remember Me, I will remember you.) (Al-Baqarah 2:152)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

5 tIpS oN gOaL sETtInG

14 SIMPLE WAYS TO SUPER CHARGE YOUR BRAINS


Have you ever felt exasperated when you bumped into someone at the store but absolutely couldn't remember their name? Sure, it happens to all of us.

Despite being the strongest computer on the planet, our brains do lapse. It's hard to blame them really. As humans, we spend much of or existence stuffing our brains with stuff. Some stuff is worthless, some of it's meaningful, some of it, well, it's just stuff and there is an endless amount of it.

No matter how powerful our brains are, they need recuperation time, to be kept in shape, and even an occasional charge. Think of it as a tune up for your brain. Skipping brain maintenance is as silly as the person wandering the parking garage because they forgot where they parked. Is that you? Are you that person? Sure. We all are at some point. No worries, there is hope.

Now I am not a brain surgeon and I am not going to suggest you do anything surgical or dangerous. I am however an astute student of human behavior, so I always look for simple ways to super charge my brain.

Here are some things you can begin doing as soon as today to begin the great brain tune up.

1. Eat Almonds
Almond is believed to improve memory. If a combination of almond oil and milk is taken together before going to bed or after getting up at morning, it strengthens our memory power. Almond milk is prepared by crushing the almonds without the outer cover and adding water and sugar to it.

2. Drink Apple Juice
Research from the University of Massachusetts Lowell (UML) indicates that apple juice increases the production of the essential neurotransmitter acetylcholine in the brain, resulting in an increased memory power.

3. Sleep well
Research indicates that the long-term memory is consolidated during sleep by replaying the images of the experiences of the day. These repeated playbacks program the subconscious mind to store these images and other related information.

4. Enjoy simple Pleasures
Stress drains our brainpower. A stress-ridden mind consumes much of our memory resources to leave us with a feeble mind. Make a habit to engage yourself in few simple pleasures everyday to dissolve stress from your mind. Some of these simple pleasures are good for your mind, body and soul.

* Enjoy music you love
* Play with your children
* Hug a stranger
* Appreciate others
* Run few miles a day, bike or swim
* Start a blog
* Take a yoga class or Total Wellness routine

5. Fast for a day
Fasting cleans and detoxifies our body. It is known fact that heavy food not only causes stress on our digestive system but also drains our brainpower. Fasting relieves toxic emotions such as anger, grief, worry, and fears - before they accumulate and cause disease. By cleansing toxic emotions, fasting strengthens metal clarity with increases memory, concentration, creativity and insight.

6. Exercise your mind
Just as physical exercise is essential for a strong body, mental exercise is equally essential for a sharp and agile mind. Have you noticed that children have far superior brainpower than an adult does? Children have playful minds. A playful mind exhibits superior memory power. Engage in some of the activities that require your mind to remain active and playful.

* Play scrabble or crossword puzzle
* Volunteer
* Interact with others
* Start a new hobby such as blogging, reading, painting, bird watching
* Learn new skill or a language

7. Practice Yoga or Meditation
Yoga or Meditation relives stress. Stress is a known memory buster. With less stress, lower blood pressure, slower respiration, slower metabolism, and released muscle tension follows. All of these factors contribute significantly towards increases in our brainpower.

8. Reduce Sugar intake
Sugar is a non-food. It’s a form of carbohydrate that offers illusionary energy, only to cause a downhill slump once the initial burst has been worn off. Excess intake of sugar results in neurotic symptoms. Excess sugar is known to cause claustrophobia, memory loss and other neurotic disorders. Eat food without adding sugar. Stay away from sweet drinks or excess consumption of caffeine with sugar.

9. Eat whole wheat
The whole wheat germs contain lecithin. Lecithin helps ease the problem of the hardening of the arteries, which often impairs brain functioning.

10. Eat a light meal in the night
A heavy meal at night causes tossing and turning and a prolonged emotional stress while at sleep. It’s wise to eat heavy meal during the day when our body is in motion to consume the heavy in-take. Eating a light meal with some fruits allows us to sleep well. A good night sleep strengthens our brainpower.

11. Develop imagination
Greeks mastered the principle of imagination and association to memorize everything. This technique requires one to develop a vivid and colorful imagination that can be linked to a known object. If you involve all your senses - touching, feeling, smelling, hearing and seeing in the imagination process, you can remember greater details of the event.

12. Sex
Our sexual imagination often empowers our ability to daydream, which strengthens our brainpower with greater imagination, visualization and association.

13. Control your temper
Bleached food, excess of starch or excess of white bread can lead to nerve grating effect. This results in a violent and some time depressive behavior. Eat fresh vegetables. Drink lots of water and meditate or practice yoga to relieve these toxic emotions of temper and violent mood swings.

14. Take Vitamin B-complex
Vitamin B-complex strengthens memory power. Eat food and vegetables high in Vitamin B-complex. Stay away from the starch food or white bread, which depletes the Vitamin B-complex necessary for a healthy mind.

HAPPY TRYING..

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

me....


be strong than the others..
when you feel down because you did'nt get what you want,
just sit tight and be happy..
because God has thought of something better to give you...