(Credit: To the rightful owner)
Akhirah is an Islamic term that means “after life”. The message states that someone that doesn’t care about your after life, or where your soul will end up after death, is a person that doesn’t care about you.
—Moonlight
While science can answer a lot of questions, no matter how much it progresses, two questions it will never be able to answer: One, what is the purpose of the existence and two, what happens to us when we die? It is this vacuum that I felt created the materialistic and the hedonistic culture. If this is the only life then one must make hay while the sun shines and in order to do so one needs money. Such a culture is bound to cause psychological problems in a human being, as there is going to be an imbalance between the body and the soul. —Imran Khan
Just read a great article on Imran Khan (click here to see). Having the experience of living in both a Western and Eastern society, it is not hard to picture what he is trying to state. After reading his article, I can tell that he is a leader that understands his people very well.
Moreover, since this is a transitory world where we prepare for the eternal one, I broke out of the self-imposed prisons, such as growing old (such a curse in the western world, as a result of which, plastic surgeons are having a field day), materialism, ego, what people say and so on. It is important to note that one does not eliminate the earthly desires, simply that instead of being controlled by them, one controls them. —Imran Khan
From an ex-captain of the Pakistani cricket team to a person of strong belief and a person that is working on getting the nation on the right track…I wonder what both of my grandfathers, who were once diplomats and worried greatly about the state of Pakistan after retirement, would have said about him if they were still alive (may they rest in peace).
—Moonlight
(Source: Quran 22:46)
—Moonlight
(Credit: To the rightful owner)
A Muslim man in supplication.
What a beautiful photo. I feel at peace just looking at this. The light in the background looks very heavenly too.
Speaking of heavenly light, I had a dream once in which I was flying up into the clouds and that I saw a golden gate with a fountain in front of it and a beautiful golden palace behind it. There was light radiating over the entire place. When I saw the spectacular scenery, my heart felt a burst of energy and a feeling of happiness that I can’t even describe. It was a feeling of awe, fascination, happiness, and something out-of-this-world…a type of feeling that I’ve absolutely never felt in real life.
When it was time to leave the place, I felt a rush of sadness and I didn’t want to go back to Earth, which was below the heavenly place that I had visited in the sky. ‘Til this day, I wonder what the place that I had seen in my dream was. I’ve had the same type of indescribable feeling in my dreams by seeing out-of-this-world-like flower meadows and gardens that are absolutely breath taking and the kind that probably would never exist on Earth. I never feel like waking up after such dreams.
There was one particular dream that I had more than a year ago…probably around the end of 2011 and the beginning of January 2012, but I still remember it very clearly even ’til today. I thought it would be strange to share. Usually dreams have meanings, but I never really look very deep into them. Even Islam recognizes dreams as sometimes having important meanings.
In this one dream, there was a young and very handsome guy with short black hair, who looked like he had an attitude. He was angry for some reason and tried to make a confrontation. I said, “I’m not afraid of anyone except…” Then he finished off my sentence by saying, “Allah”. I was surprised…the guy wasn’t a Muslim, but how did he know that I was going to say, “Allah”? A while later, he looked like a very warm and kind-hearted person. I didn’t even do aegyo. =P There was more to this dream, but I guess sometimes it’s good to keep some things a secret otherwise it would no longer be considered special.
All I can say is…what a strange dream!
Has anyone ever had dreams in which they’ve never seen someone before, but then see that person in reality a while later?
I sometimes wonder what the meaning behind some of those dreams are. I’ve tried doing a bit of research on such dreams and it turns out that others have also experienced this kind of strange phenomenon of seeing someone in a dream that they’ve never seen in real life and then seeing that person later on in their waking life.
People often state that the person that you think you’ve never seen in real life, but see in a dream, is someone that your subconscious mind has captured an image of while passing through a crowd in your waking life. However, that can’t be entirely correct. Why? Because blind people have never seen and can’t see shapes or colors in their waking life, yet they can see them in their dreams. Interesting, right?
If you thought that was interesting, research shared dreams. It’s when one person has the same dream as another person!
Maybe I should start keeping a dream journal.
—Moonlight
Granada, Spain
Is anyone into history?
Last night I watched a wonderful documentary called When the Moors Ruled in Europe. The documentary discusses the major aspects of Islamic Spain and the Golden Age of Islam, which was present in Al-Andalus, also known as, Andalusia. To be more specific, Andalusia is the southern part of Spain in which Islam flourished for several years (711 – 1492 A.D.).
I have traveled to Spain in the Summer of 2009 and visited the cities of Madrid, Seville, Granada and Cordoba. Seville, Granada, and Cordoba happen to be part of Andalusia/Southern Spain and are absolutely breath-taking! The pictures that I’ve placed here in this post clearly do no justice. Since I had studied the history of Spain and learned about Andalusia in my high school history class, it was very interesting to see those places in real life.
Interestingly, much of the architecture that is present throughout Spain is Islamic architecture. So, even if one is not visiting the southern part of Spain, he/she will still see some influence of Islamic architecture in Madrid or elsewhere in the country.
Plaza de Espana, Seville, Spain
It is amusing to know that even video game companies send their staff to several countries to study the architecture of those places and obtain ideas from them to use in the setting of video games. Final Fantasy, particularly Final Fantasy XII, is one game that includes settings that are heavily inspired by Mediterranean and Islamic architecture. On another note, Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones had a scene (click here to see) that was shot in Plaza de Espana in Seville. I’ve been to the place and loved it! Islamic architecture was noticeable over there as well.
My favorite tourist site, however, was the Alhambra in Granada. The intricate designs on the wall and the amazing architecture of the palace…phenomenal! The documentary that I watched also mentioned a special geometric trick that was utilized in building the mosque.
During the Golden Age of Islam, the Muslims had made many innovations, particularly in the areas of science (medicine, chemistry, mathematics, astronomy), and philosophy. Meanwhile, other European countries were struggling through the Dark/Middle Ages. Many of the scientific and philosophic discoveries made in the Age of Enlightenment, which bought Europe out of the Dark/Middle Ages, drew influence from the discoveries made in Islamic Spain.
It’s also amazing how the paper-making invention revolutionized the world and was perhaps considered the best thing since sliced bread during those times. Today, we have the Internet that has revolutionized everything!
Great Mosque of Cordoba (Mezquita), Cordoba, Spain
Anyhow, just like the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, Islamic Spain also rose and fell. This was primarily due to the reason that Muslims started to go astray from the Islam and were indulging in things that were forbidden. The fall was clearly a punishment. As the people of Andalusia became care-free, Europe was preparing for the Crusades. You can guess what happened next. The Crusaders had taken many of the scholarly works from the Muslims and brought them to Europe where people would suddenly be inspired to rise from the Dark Ages.
I watched the documentary, Cities of Light: The Rise and Fall of Islamic Spain, when I went back to my uni. after my Summer trip in 2009 (I had post-travel depression/post-vacation blues at that time >_<). I was inspired to watch the documentary when I took a course in philosophy during that semester. My trip to Europe helped me a lot in understanding the documentaries that the professor had shown in class. The documentary that I watched during my free time in the dorms, however, goes in-depth on what exactly happened from the start and end of Islamic Spain. Surprisingly, this was also the time I actually discovered Korean dramas and K-Pop! xD
A view of the Mezquita in Cordoba, Spain
Apart from watching historical documentaries, it’s nice to gain insight on historical moments through people that actually lived through those times and can share their experiences with others. One of my friends in high school was 1/3 French, 1/3 Saudi (Arab), and 1/3 Greek, and I remember her grandma attending our World History class in 10th grade to speak about her experience of living in France during WWII. This may seem off-topic, but I would like to share her brief account (no, not a fan account =P) of her experience (I had written about it in a blog that I used to have during my high school years).
My friend’s grandma, who I will refer to as the lady, used to live in a small town in France that shared a border with Germany. During WWII, the Germans soldiers crossed over the French border to take control of France. The lady vividly described the night she woke up and looked through the window of her home to see the German soldiers advancing through the forests that lined along the border of France and Germany. The French people in her town could not retaliate against the German soldiers, so they went about quietly doing their regular choirs and tried to avoid trouble. The little French children in the town, however, would stand up on the rooftops of their homes and tease the German soldiers. The elderly French people had to scold the children and warn them not to mess with the German soldiers.
Furthermore, the lady used to work at a bakery that her grandma had owned. There was a time when a few German soldiers barged into the bakery and demanded some food. The lady was angry and didn’t want to listen to the soldiers, but her grandma said that it was best to just hand over some of the food in the bakery.
There was also an incident when the lady and her grandma heard that Hitler was in town and that he was attending a party at a hotel to celebrate their victory of successfully taking control of some of the areas in France. The lady and her grandma decided to travel to the area outside of the hotel to get a glimpse of Hitler, the man that everyone had been talking about during that time. The lady’s grandma even bought her camera! However, in the process of taking a photo of Hitler, one of the 19-year-old soldiers that was accompanying him saw the camera in the grandma’s hand and kicked it. The grandma fell and the lady had to help her up. Can you believe it!? Flash-forward a little later on, the lady met her future-husband-to-be at a British military base in France.
That’s all I remember of her story. Pretty interesting, huh?
Alhambra, Granada, Spain
On a completely random note, my friends got to see Korean actor, Song Joong-Ki, at a fan meeting in Abu Dhabi today! They are the same lovely friends that met ZE:A at a fan meeting and saw my favorite member, Siwan, last year! I hope they had fun! ^^ They all had to appear when I left the U.A.E. =P
—Moonlight
(Credit: To the rightful owner)
Hamid al-Qasyrasi (rahimahullah) said:
Though we know death is certain, we have not prepared ourselves for it. Though we know paradise is definite, we have not worked for it. Though we know the hell fire is sure, we have not feared it. So why are you delighted? What are you waiting for? Death is the first visitor from the Almighty bringing good or evil tidings… get closer to your Lord.
It’s almost 5 A.M. Couldn’t go to sleep the entire night (I have to wake up early!). I felt restless, so I decided to calm myself by watching Islamic lectures and browsing through related readings. It worked, alhamdulillah! I feel at ease right now.
Good night/good morning!
—Moonlight
I know a man who lost his parents but refused to be called an orphan. Man enough to love a strong woman years older than him, worked for her and made her stronger, opened his heart to her, shared his fears to no one but her, romantic and was faithful to her till her last breath.
Cleaned after himself and sewed his clothes. He was good looking, courageous and fearless. He never judged anyone on their pasts or looks, and was moderate, open-minded and tolerant.
His neighbor was Jewish and his cousin-in-law was a Christian priest. Was beaten and exiled when he was helpless. Was merciful when he became stronger.
Intelligent, wise and a hard worker, built a long lasting nation out of nothing in the last 20 years of his life. He had no parents, but loved his daughters and grandchildren. His last will was, “BE GOOD TO WOMEN”.
This man is a dreamer, this man is my Prophet Mohammed, a man worth looking up to – peace be upon him.
Prophet Mohammed (PBUH) is a role model for many of us even ’til today =) People that are not aware of Islam have a lot of misconceptions about him. If one were to sit and learn about his life, he/she will be amazed by the positive changes that he was able to bring forth to a society that had completely gone astray during his time. We do not worship him, but simply look up to him as a man that was close to being perfect in terms of behavior and character. ^^
—Moonlight
I feel a sense of calmness after watching this. I really love her lectures, subhanAllah.
I find it rather strange when people assume that others are living a more amazing life. That’s not true. Everyone has hardships in their life and are tested in different ways. It’s just that some people wouldn’t know about the hardships that others are experiencing because they don’t like to share the world their story and gain sympathy for it. We shouldn’t be quick to assume that we are the only ones experiencing hardships in our life and everyone else isn’t.
Keep the faith!
—Moonlight
This is a nice video by sister Amal, who gives a speech on the truth about Islam ^^
—Moonlight
(Credit: To the rightful owner)
“Whoever reads Surah Al-Kahf on Friday, will have a light that will shine from him from one Friday to the next.” (related in Al-Hakim)
Thousands of years ago, several young men of faith fled persecution and took shelter in a cave. In its darkness, they found illumination, and Allah, subhanahu wa ta’ala, immortalized their faith for generations to come in the Qur’an with a Surah of such wisdom that the Prophet Muhammad, sallallahu alayhi wa alihi wa sallam, recommended it be read on at least a weekly basis.
A means of protection from the darkness of Dajjal himself, Surah Al-Kahf alerts its readers of the very weaknesses within themselves that contribute to the chaotic world that heralds his arrival. Throughout its parables, from the companions of the Cave, to the story of Musa and Al-Khidr, to the expeditions of Dhul-Qarnain, it portrays the many realities of life through the lens of belief in the oneness of Allah. It is an examination of the human condition, contrasting between opposites such as powerlessness and strength, arrogance and humility, and ingratitude and thankfulness, while linking all these states to the presence of the Creator in one’s hearts and actions.
In our current times, where the presence of evil in the world makes some question religion itself, Surah Al-Kahf answers the questions of the skeptics with the clarity of faith and demonstration of the Measure of Allah in the world. Outlining both the importance of the external dimension of the Sacred Law and the internal dimension of Tawheed in our lives, it presents its readers with a compelling look into the relationship between our worldly life, the Unseen and the Hereafter.
Like those youth who retreated from tribulation into the cave generations ago, we all face challenges in life and faith, and it is only in the cave within where we can find peace and security.
(SOURCE: Fisabilillah (in the way of Allah)
