Sahaba: The Companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him)

The people who lived in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and followed his guidance are definitely the best of humankind. We can learn important lessons from each one of them. We as humans are good at observing something and then following it. Some of the things that may stop us from doing so are arrogance, procrastination, hypocrisy etc. We need to do two things to constantly remain on the Right Path.

We need to pray five times a day and try our utmost to follow the commands of Allah. Not only that, we have to introspect so as to compare our actions with our thoughts and feelings. This is necessary to avoid the evils of hypocrisy. The companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him) are the best examples for us. By reading about their lives and adopting parts of it in our lives we can truly see and feel a positive change.

Many Muslims do not know much about the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). When I was taught Islamic studies as a young kid, our books narrated true stories about very few of the companions. Later on, when I read about other companion it brought a big change in me. Indeed it sparked true faith inside me which enabled me to distinguish between the right and wrong. I think that one of the most important things that is achieved by practicing Islam is the sense as well as intuition of distinguishing between the Right and the Wrong.

I highly recommend you guys both Muslims and Non-Muslims to read a few stories about the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him). You can start by clicking here . I was moved by this one.

May Allah Guide Us All to the Right Path

Behavior of Changes

I was thinking about the kinds of changes we see in our lives. Are the only ones we see, the only ones that are present? Absolutely not! Some changes are very slow and some very fast. For example, wars, coups, games, new technology etc.,  involve quick changes. On the other hand, effects of war or dispute, introduction of bad innovations into a religion, brainstorming and research on a “to be technology” take much more time.

Please note that I have broadly classified the changes as quick and time taking, however they can always be classified further.  My aim is to get people to just pay attention to this broad classification of changes. The reason being, that those changes which take a long time to impact us are usually totally ignored by us. For example, aging is one of the slow changes that happens to us. While it goes along with our lives, still most of the time we do not notice or realize it unless we see an old picture of ourselves.

Simply stated, we tend to ignore changes that take some time to enact themselves. Now this is something contradictory in all humans. When we think of collecting wealth and money we think about long term strategies but when it comes to things which can impact the society or even for that matter ourselves we adopt an indifferent attitude. I think this is one of the major reasons that stops us from thinking deeply about the purpose of our lives.

Just consider yourself and think about your life. Keep in mind the classification of changes mentioned above. If you think about “slow changes”, does that change your priorities or does it even have the potential to change your priorities in life?

Have You Ever Thought?

Have you ever thought where did we come from?

Have you ever imagined what is the Purpose of your Life?

Have you ever thought what happens to people after death?

Have you ever wondered how small you are relative to this whole Universe?

Have you ever thought how our senses limit us?

Have you ever thought if this world and life might be a simulation?

Everything created by man has a purpose. The One who created Man also has a purpose. What is that purpose? Is this life aimless? Can we just do whatever we want? People who commit crimes are punished by the responsible people in this world. Can we do something bad to anyone, die, and be free of it? Does that sound to be fair?

Why are our thoughts about life and religion so contradictory?

Why is religion just a mode which we can switch into and out of whenever we feel like?

Man is essentially a hollow being. He has to fill his self. He has to set a goal, an aim, to achieve.

What is the priority of several aims he sets for himself. What is the ultimate aim?

Celebrating Birthday of Muhammad (PBUH): Right or Wrong?

I was born and raised in Pakistan. I remember every year when the 12th of Rabi-ul-Awwal would come, there would be people singing the praises of the Prophet (peace be upon him), sitting in gatherings, selling badges with names of the Prophet (peace be upon him). Being a child I got very excited about the celebration as I had no understanding at the time.

Now I realize, how much time and money is wasted on the activities when the same can go towards much more needed and noble causes, such as helping the orphans, the needy and the poor. Some of you might say, “Well what is wrong with that?”. I pose only one question. Do you love the Prophet (peace be upon him) more than his companions did? I am sure that you are not arrogant enough to say yes which brings the point home. If the companions who loved the Prophet (peace be upon him) so much, never celebrated the day of his birth, how can we do so or for that matter they must have thought that the Prophet (peace be upon him) would not like it.

Most of the people in Pakistan do not want to think this way. The concept of Islam in their minds is the one inculcated by their parents and probably a few interactions with an Imam along with whatever hearsay from friends and people whom they trust.

I ask you, is this really the way to lead life? Every human is given a brain which has the capability to ponder and think. Does being Muslims mean that we do not have to think about our own religion Islam and we can let people around us bring innovations into it?

Believe me it does not take a lot of effort to learn Islam correctly because it is indeed very simple. This is the beauty of Islam, you don’t have to think very hard. That does not mean that you do not have to make an effort. Unless we learn and verify what the truth is, how can we preach it to others.

Remember Islam itself is simple, but people have made their concept of Islam complicated by mixing culture with it. Please sift out your culture from your understanding of Islam. Our religion is not a compartment we can get into whenever we feel like, its a complete way of life, adopt it in its entirety, which requires you to know the fundamentals well.

If you want a detailed scholarly answer to why we should not celebrate the birthday of the Prophet (peace be upon him), click here .

May Allah guide us all to the Right Path.

Fibonacci Numbers and “Mother Nature”

Most of you would be wondering, what has “Fibonacci Numbers” got to do with this blog?! Let me give you some background information. I am studying Computer Science and I tend to relate every form of knowledge to the purpose of life. I think that any field of knowledge, for example, Biology , Computer Science, Mathematics etc., open new methods and ways to discover God and his magnanimity. So this is going to be my first post which correlates the knowledge that is already present and known with the existence of God.

First of all, what exactly are Fibonacci Numbers? Some of you who have studied mathematics should have at some stage encountered series which consist of numbers related to each other. For example, all the even numbers form an even number series. Similarly Fibonacci series goes like 0, 1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34, 55, 89,…. and so on. Simply stated it starts with two numbers 0 and 1. The next number in the series is calculated by adding the previous two. So by adding 0 and 1 we get 1 which is the third number. Then we add 1 and 1, and get 2 which is the third number and so on.

Fibonacci numbers lie at the heart of numerous natural phenomena. They are also sometimes called the Nature’s numbering system. They are present in reproduction of bees, seed arrangement of sunflowers, sea shells, dolphins, flowers, pine-cones, pineapples, and even in human beings. I am sure I have just mentioned a few and that there are many other.

If you find this description interesting, please visit Fibonacci in Nature . After you have glanced over this page and given attention to even few of the examples given, read on.

I have seen so many documentaries which try to hide or cover up the concept of God by using the term “Mother Nature”. What is “Mother Nature”? Where did this come from? Does it exist on its own?

Whenever I come across such a compelling evidence as Fibonacci numbers in nature, I have no choice but to utter that yes indeed there is a Creator who is the Designer of all this and He is the only one capable of doing so, because of the symmetry of the design.

Ask yourselves, why do you have 8 fingers, 3 bones in each, along with 2 thumbs with 1 bone in each. Is it a mere coincidence?

I can clearly see Allah the Creator and the Designer in this, indeed He is our Lord, and there is no one else worthy of worship except Him.

The Untold Legends

I was thinking about how the young Muslim generation is so much engrossed in Hollywood movies. Granted, that there are a few good movies which eventually do not make it to the top ones just because they are too close to the truth. I have always noticed that Hollywood exaggerates a lot of legends and stories into so to speak “ultra-legends”. Take for example, the movie “300″.

There are much more true and motivational displays of valor, courage and bravery in the Islamic history. Take for instance, the Battle of Badr. Why does not any Muslim movie maker stand up and make a movie. Do we still think that by doing so we would be offending non-Muslims? I don’t think so. There are movies on Crusades for instance.

The whole point is that we as the young Muslim generation are extracting motivation from the wrong source. Our source of motivation should be the lives of the Prophet (peace be upon him) and his companions. There is a movie about the life of the Prophet (peace be upon him), but I have not seen any movies whatsoever about any of the companions. Why is that so? I won’t accept division among Muslims as the source of this inadequacy.

I think making good movies which depict the truth is the best way to show the rest of the world the real crux of Islam. Our history is full of instances which can make anyone think about the way they are leading their lives. If you think about it, being Muslims, we have been ordained to follow the Prophet (peace be upon him). As He (peace be upon him) was a messenger, we also have the duty to deliver the message. So we certainly have to think about delivering the message in an effective manner without coercion and force.

May Allah guide us all.

Halal Food USA: We Are What We Eat

I came to the United States as a student few years back. Being a Muslim, I had to research about halal food availability. Remember, eating Halal is just another way of purifying yourself because what you eat is You! It is similar to lots of other religious acts whose sole purpose is to purify. Charity (Zakah) purifies your wealth, Prayer (Salah) purifies yourbody and soul. Pilgrimage (Hajj) wipes off all the sins that you have committed, of course if done with the right intention.

Internet was a great help regarding this matter, as some mosques have lists of Halal foods that one could buy at local stores such as Wal-mart. However, these lists are by no means comprehensive.

Most of the Muslims think of Halal only in terms of food and forget about it when it comes to cosmetics and other body care products especially tooth paste. I found out that most of the tooth pastes for instance, have glycerin among other ingredients. That is almost sure to be from animal (not slaughtered in the proper way) sources and thus not suitable for usage by Muslims.

After a bit of research, I found a tooth paste from Toms of Maine, which is totally natural and has no ingredients whatsoever from animal sources. All of this sounds too difficult to dig deep into and find out. The good news is that now it has been made very easy with websites such as Islamic Food and Nutrition Council of America .

This website is a great source of information regarding Halal products in a lot of categories. Moreover, they have a Halal digest which includes updates on what new companies have been certified by the council. I was surprised and pleased to see the Halal sign on a cheese product in my local Wal-mart supercenter. Please remember that while this website lists a lot of products and provides very good information, it is by no means the “complete Halal Food Repository”. The aim of these guys is to spread awareness among the people and to certify products as Halal.

This website is a great learning source for all kinds of ingredients. It gives authentic information as to what is not a Halal ingredient and why? Most of the people think that products other than meat have nothing wrong with them. Through my own experience I have found out Potato chips products, sauces, milk, juices etc. that have a tiny ingredient which is enough to exclude it from the Halal category.

I recommend all the American Muslims to take advantage of this website and know about what they are eating.

Islam and the General Model of Life

Most of the people think about life as something with so many perils and hurdles in it, each one of its own kind. Granted, that there are good times but almost all of us know that mostly we have to put in effort, make a struggle and live on.

In such a situation, it helps to think about life in a more general manner. I was thinking about how we humans do almost anything, what is the real model behind it? Most of the things we do have a source of motivation to start with. As we keep doing that thing, our motivation diminishes. Eventually, we reach a point where either we would quit doing that thing or we need to refresh the motivation somehow.

We can either refresh whatever sources of motivation we currently have or find a new one. The sooner we do that, the more likely we would continue doing that thing with the same diligence and exuberance that we used to.

This fits so well with the model of life promulgated by the Qur’an. When one is always wary of the accountability of his/her deeds in the hereafter, that serves as a source of motivation to continue doing good deeds. Renewing the source of motivation is similar to praying five times a day with the intention and spirit that you are standing in front of your Lord, Who has no partners.

The way I look at it, all the religious acts are basically either short-term or long-term means of refreshing the motivation. Consider the repetition of prayers within a day, the annual arrival of the month of Ramadan, the annual obligation of paying charity (if you are eligible and fit the criteria), and the ever more frequent (or should be frequent) reminders of the Hereafter and the Day of Judgement.

What are all of these? In addition to others benefits that they have, they serve as the sources of motivation for Muslims all over the world. Moreover, most of us, Muslims and non-Muslims, follow the same model of motivation bundled with whatever we want to do.

Muflehoon Blog

Assalam-o-Alaikum (May the Peace and Blessings of Allah be on You),

I begin with the name of Allah(God) and pray that He guide me to the Right Path and enable me to distinguish between the Right and wrong. The one whom Allah guides will never be mislead.

I hope to convey the true message of Islam to people to enhance the global understanding of this religion. Although I am not a scholar of Islam, but whatever I put here will be researched in the best possible manner in accordance with the true morals and values of Islam.

Please be advised that my aim is not to start a debate with people of other religions, rather my aim is to enlighten people with the true essence of Islam in order to get rid of the false image that is purposely portrayed by the global media.

I think Internet and especially the blogosphere is one of the best places to voice one’s opinion and get the message across to a wide audience. Not only that it is truly one of the biggest sources of getting feedback which everyone in the process of learning and understanding ought to love.