Does that Make Me an Extremist? My Definition of Religious

Asalamu aliakuam wa rahmat Allah wa barkatoo and Hellooo!

We're on day 49 :)

Anyways, we're living in a time when many people don't want to be 'considered religious', and that's mainly because many people confuse 'what being religoius means'. I thought I would...come to the rescue and offer my definition (which is completely based on Islamic texts/traditions).

 

Being religious means being gentle to your parents, treating your neighbors good, having a connection with the Supreme Creator, the Compassionate and the Just.

Being religious means understanding your purpose on this Earth is to worship the One who created you, created the stars, the universe, the Earth.

Being religious means being peaceful, it means honoring your promises, it means treating people like brothers and sisters, it means not harming yourself or harming others, it means calling your friends with names that they like, not talking about people behind their back .

Being religious means trusting in Allah. It means loving Allah and taking Him as a Protector, and a Victor: He will bring you victory.

Being religious does not mean acting better than those who are not as knowledgable as you in religion (in terms of rules, etc.). Allah hates those who brag. Being religious does not mean judging people: you never know. Who ever you judge and deem as stupid and worthless, might be loved by Allah.

Being religoius does'nt mean 'knowing theoretical rules of religion and the hadiths' but going around bragging , acting superior to everyone, turning your back on others. That would be irreligious!

Being religious means fighting a war with Shaitan everyday against temptation. It means fighting ignorance and the dark.

Being religious means following these two ayas:"Allah commands you to do justice, kindness and give charity to relatives and forbids you from all acts of lewdness, evil, and rebellion." "(Men and women of Allah) Control their anger, and forgive people; Allah likes righteous people."

Being religious means giving charity; caressing the head of an orphan, forgiving people, and not accusing people of things they have not committed. It is not lying, it is saying the truth, it is not being racist. A white is not better than a black, and a Arab is not better than a foreigner and a foreigner is not better than an Arab except in taqwa (piety).

 

Being religious is striving to live the way Allah has ordained. It's repenting when making a mistake. It's giving the da'awa kindly and correcting mistakes gently. It's turning to Allah always, and always...
 
 
:)

P.S. If you're wondering what jihad is, you can see anonymous's question in the Islam 101 post and my answer :)

I loves....

Asalamu aliakam wa rahmat Allah wa barkatoo and HelloOo!

This post is gonna be a bunch of videos that I love ..
.
Warning: A tissue box might be handy ;)

1. If the world population was converted to 100...the Minitature Earth

This video shows how the world population would be if it was converted to 100. Very eye-opening and designed very well,  I guarantee you that when you close this video, you will be a different person. It's quite short, as well :)

2.  Think you've fallen down and you can't get up? Yes, YOU CAN.

[Start from 1:00 if you don't 'listen to music'],

3. Ummah Films- 'Arrogance'. I just love this one :) This guy's got a great sense of humor and a good message :D His short videos have been translated into several languages!



4. Jason, an Autistic basketball player, has the game of his life :)




5. [For my Muslim readers] Just one of the miracles of the Qur'an...




5. Romancing the Soul- Absolutely BRILLIANT...and they say we are the lost generation ;)




6. Besa is  a "code of honor" best exemplified in the lives of righteous, non-Jews helped Jews during the Holocaust. Muslims, Besa , and the Jews during World War II.





I hope you enjoyed these videos. Please share with me some of your favorites.
However, before I go, I would also like to request that everyone keep the Uzbek Muslims in their thoughts and prayers. A dear friend of mine has sent me a personal letter highlighting bits of what is going on. I asked her permission to share but gmail isn't opening for me. For now, you can read a bit about it here:

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/asia/2010/06/2010615144818317294.html

Step Outside of Your Little World

Asalamu alaikum wa rahmat Allah wa barkatoo (May God's peace and

blessings be upon you) and HelloooOoo!

Did you know?

-          that the Korean language operates on a SOV pattern? That means the object comes before the verb. If this sounds too grammatical for you,  in English the object in the following sentence would be an ‘apple’: She ate an apple. Now, in Korean, apple would come before ate. Cool, huh?

-           Indian brides wear red?

-          Japan has vending machines for noodles and eggs? 

So yeah, back in the day, I used to attend an international high school (in some Arabian country :P). In my own class (not even the entire school), we had students from Nigeria, India, Palestine, Egypt, Ukraine, Pakistan, Lebanon, Iran, South Korea, Iraq, Canada, United States, etc. Many of my best friends were children of parents from mixed backgrounds. For example, one of my friend’s mothers was Native American/American and her father was Iraqi. Another one of my friends was half Palestinian, half Filipino. A third was half Suadnese and half Emarati (UAE)….there were even more, but I’m not going to bore you with that (although of course, the stories of how their parents met were tres cute :D).

Yup, going to that school was a huge blessing (not that I actually realized that while I was actually attending it, lol). But there, being around so many different people from different backgrounds and perspectives, I was truly….touched by all the Colors of the World.

Something not many people, unfortunately, get to experience.

I still remember one of my 12^th grade teachers. Rather than saying what country he came from, let’s just say he was a man who really didn’t much about the rest of the world, lol. He stepped in the class, started talking to us about jiad (LOL), and whatnot and then noticed one of the Syrian girls. (If you don't know, in terms of looks, many Syrians could pass off as Americans).He asked her where she was from and she explained Syria. He said, "Oh, man, I had you tagged as a girl from Kansas but with some weird thing on her head'.

He was referring to her hijab, the veil that we Muslim girls wear.

Isn’t it a shame that at this age and time not many people know basic beliefs and principles of other people’s cultures and religions?  I don’t blame that teacher, though. He told us that he'd never met a Muslim before.

But what if we did…what if we met other people?

.

Don’t you think the world would be a nicer place?  Don’t you think there would be fewer stereotypes, less anger, less frustration? There would be more understanding, more empathy? Don’t you think that we could actually achieve peace?

So, let’s me and you do it! Today’s dare (Sunday’s dare, remember?), is to go out and meet someone new. I promise you, most people are good and kind. Join an international forum (like muslimsistersunite.com, which is not only for Muslim women), visit a blog by someone not living in your region…Because believe me, no matter where you go…people are people, with stories to tell and hearts to share…

P.S. Not only did attending this school introduce me to different cultures, but switching continents also played a huge role in that.  I was born in the US but moved later on to various countries in the Middle East. I am, in fact, always amazed at people who have lived in one city their whole lives…how does it feel? The longest I have lived in one place is 9 years :D) Yeah, miss Pancake, I so know you could beat me! :P

P.S.S. Do you have an interesting fact to share?