Warrior of Light
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Posts posted by Warrior of Light
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Asalaam aleykum
Have been receiving some nice articles on islam and thought we can post them here. And we can share as in you can copy and send to friends in your own addressbox. or just plainly read them here.Hope we can all contribute.
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Asalaam aleykum, this article kinda hit home. hope u will find it worthwile reading.
why do we live on foreign lands to survive on spuds!
THE DIGNITY OF AN INDIVIDUAL
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A certain man had two sons (A and B). The younger son, B, asked the father to give him his portion of the inheritance due him. The father neither argued nor commented that he was yet to die. He divided his earthly goods and let his younger son have his portion as requested. B then traveled to a far country where he squandered his belongings with prodigal living. Afterwards there was a severe famine in the country of his sojourn and nobody gave him anything. So he took a demeaning job feeding swine and gladly ate of food meant for the swine. One day he came to himself and decided to return home where even his father's servants had food enough to eat and lived well above the level he had descended to. His father received him with open arms and threw a party for him, which irked Son A. The father assured Son A that although what was left of his property belonged to Son A, his brother must be welcomed home, but by deduction would now have to fend for himself. The crux of the matter was Son B had returned home where there were better opportunities than in the land of his sojourn. (See Luke 15 11-32 of the Bible).
Nigerians are a wealthy lot even if the bulk of our wealth resides in the hands of a few people with sticky fingers. Consequently, many Nigerians travel abroad for vacations or on business. The Lagos - London route is reputed to be the second most profitable in the world, second only to the London - New York route so that should give us a fair idea of how much Nigerians expend on foreign travel. Such 'ajalas' cut across every facet of our society: the legitimate businessman, 419 business woman traveling to perfect her latest deal, tourist cum ad hoc trader, student, people seeking medical help genuinely, pregnant woman bent on defrauding the medical system by calling an ambulance when she goes into labor so she doesn't have to pay hospital bills, visitor intent on becoming an illegal immigrant and so on. Many of these people return home with tales of how great a place the United States or England or Scotland or even China is to unsuspecting people back home. They don't have to say much with words; their conduct tells it all. They flash their dollars, which fetch a lot on the black market, forget the back breaking work used to procure it, and go on spending sprees.
The average Nigerian who has never left the country may be inspired by these people who come in and live large. Frequent vacationers may also paint a rosy picture, although many of them know the sad truth. If you stay with people when you go on vacation, chances are you will be the one spending while they clutch their meager earnings. Seeds are sown and these poor men and women left behind determine to do all they can to do the 'Andrew thing'. Sadly, unemployment and crippling inflation remains a major problem in Nigeria. So when a man or woman who has been out of school for a decade with no means of a livelihood finds an opportunity to leave for England or America, we can only wish them well, because their lives here were frustrating anyway. Others who are gainfully employed-perhaps with great jobs and prospects-sometimes also decide to leave to better their future or escape the menace of crime. Some leave for further studies (perhaps using student loans) hoping to secure a good job upon graduation.
They cross the hurdle of securing visas and spend huge sums of money to realize their dreams. Many of them do really horrendous things to secure visas (like paying some embassy officials) while others do more horrendous or ****** things to stay in those foreign countries. A young man I once knew refused to go to a Nigerian university even though he had really good grades because he wanted to travel to America. Consequently, he spent four or five years of his life idling and waiting to obtain his visa while his younger brother graduated from the university. A family I know who had their first two children in America got their son to marry a daughter who was born in Nigeria so she could secure travel papers ('organized' marriage between siblings). Wives, after getting to places like America, allow their husbands to marry foreign women to secure work permits so they can eventually also get theirs (perhaps in five years or when the man dies!). The African Americans who are normally the second parties to these deals are on to the antics of Nigerians and seem bent on starting a second slavery-that of illegal immigrants working for them while they try to get work permits through illegal marriages.
The list of bizarre behavior is endless. People impersonate others whose passports they steal. Women in Nigeria jump to marry foreign returnees so they can have a chance to see the world. People pay off winners of green cards through the diversity visa lottery program and change their names all in a bid for a sojourn in a foreign land. Once while returning from a training course in Holland, my colleagues and I encountered a young woman about to be deported at Schipol Airport. She was screaming at the top of her lungs with her shirt off and her breasts bared save for a discolored bra. The security men were really rough handling her yet she kept shouting that they could not deport her to Nigeria because she was not from there. Meanwhile her Ibo accent was so thick it was all I could do to refrain from saying, "Come now, sister. Home is not that bad.'
Try sitting in an airport lobby with Nigerians waiting to board a plane to Europe or America. You are likely to hear a cacophony of the English Language. From the well educated executive to the student to the area boy who can't string two sentences together without committing a grammatical error. Yet, more than anyone, this area boy speaks louder than anybody, telling whoever has the misfortune to sit nearby how life in America is so good in his imitation of a ghetto accent. He wears his apparel with pride-clothes that remind us of gangsters and other American low lives. For so long embassy officials have harassed and embarrassed us. Like the moth drawn to an open flame we keep flocking there for visas. Airline officials maltreat us, but it does not deter us. We must have that foreign trip. Immigration officials and eventually foreign employers do the same with no apparent effect on us. It is either our skins have got so thick or the promise of dollars blinds us to everything else. In a moment of sanity, we must ask ourselves, 'Are we really better off living at subhuman levels in foreign countries?'
The reality is that immigrants-legal or otherwise-work their fingers to the bone, day in day out to make the dollars. Ninety-five percent will never live above poverty level. I do not mean poverty levels as defined by the government. Forget their grand houses and upscale furniture because most are bought on credit. Forget the society wedding they had months back, because most of it was funded by credit. Many buy into the foreign systems (American especially) of borrowing and thereby get locked into a continuous cycle of taking credits and working to repay their debts. An entire family that once lived in a three-bedroom apartment or a house in Nigeria cram themselves into a one-bedroom apartment with each member doing one odd job or the other. When one of them is getting married or a friend of the mother is celebrating her father's death, they hop on a plane to Lagos to display in such offhand manners money they slaved to get. Is there something wrong with the picture or am I being unrealistic?
Even the professional who leaves for say an MBA program does not really fare better if we take a deeper look. You fund the education with student loans, which you have to repay by working in the system. Corporate America or England or wherever when not in recession has enough of their people without you adding to their burdens. Besides, several factors limit your performance, like your accent, lack of a professional network, grasp of a new professional culture, et cetera. You may earn a good living, but when you stop counting how much Naira you will get from converting your dollars, is it really worth it? Do you have the influence your colleagues back home have? Are you making a significant impact on the corporate world? Do you see yourself ever attaining the pinnacle of your career in those countries? Five percent may fare really well and that's about it.
'Get real', many people tell me. How else can I afford to build that mansion in the village? If I stayed back how would I have paid for my lavish wedding? If I didn't go and do odd jobs how else would I have paid for my children to school abroad? How do you think I finance my lifestyle or business or whatever? Is it really rational for people to slave for dollars enduring myriad insults in the process only to squander the money on 'owambe' parties back home? Dear countrymen and women do we really need that mansion to live good lives or are we seeking the praise of societal sycophants? A registry wedding with twenty people in attendance will still tie you and your spouse together just as good. With prayers that staff of universities do not strike often, those children can get good educations right here. Please, let us stop to reevaluate our priorities.
The Nigerians who were frustrated back home may have a point that a foreign country holds the key to a better future. So may the five percent who do really well abroad-people like the Buchi Emechetas of this world. What about the ninety-five percent languishing in self imposed jails of foreign sojourns? You may fear being ridiculed for returning home. After all, your friends would have advanced far in their careers. You may wonder where you will start a new life, where you will fit in. Regardless, I enjoin you to bite the bullet.
You may want to borrow a leaf from the prodigal son at the start of this article and return home. Maybe you squandered money you sold off your parent's properties for or perhaps you had no inheritance to squander, but are caught in the bog all the same. Nigeria may not have all its infrastructures in place, the cost of fuel may have reached an unprecedented high, and according to general parlance, many things may not work well, but it is home. You have an inheritance here and should be committed to helping rebuild Nigeria. Our economy is opening up, the telecommunications industry has ushered in many jobs, the government is still talking about privatizing many state-owned enterprises, and it can only get better, with your help. Shake off the indignities associated with your funny job in that foreign country. You deserve more out of life so dare to embrace the dignity of an individual.
Written by:Tolu Odunlami Sunday, November 23, 2003
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Lagos, Nigeria
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Asalaam aleykum
Received this quiz from a dear friend.Time for self assessment. Well what you waiting for ? just be honest to yourself.
the web address of the quiz below.
http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?sectionID=&surveyID=108
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The tourist in Mombasa had a friend as a translator by the name of Mr. Makeke.
When in a small restaurant in town things went like this:
Tourist: Do you have vegetables here.
Makeke: Mnavyo vijimeza hapa.
Waiter: Vijimeza vidogo hatuna.
Makeke: No sir, they don't have.
Tourist: OK, fine, do you have hot dogs.
Makeke: Sawa, je mnao mbwa wa moto.
Waiter: Loh! Bwana we, hatupiki mbwa hapa.
Makeke: They don't cook here
Tourist: What type of snacks do you have here.
Makeke: Aina ngapi ya nyoka mnao hapa,
Waiter: We bwana we hapa hatupiki aina yeyote ya nyoka, mwache akale nyumbani kwao.
Makeke: They don't cook any type of snacks here, maybe you can go back and eat at home.
Tourist: OK, at least give us a cocktail juice.
Makeke: OK, tupatie hata juisi ya mkia wa jogoo.
Waiter: Hebu tokeni na bangi lenu hapa, tena sasa hivi kabla sijakasirika.
Makeke: Lets get out of here, I think this man is crazy!
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Guess its called living. lol
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hope im not 2 late but would love to be part of this spiritual venture.May Allah repay your efforts.
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Mashallah brother Nur. Thanks for sharing your insights.Its the most beautiful menu ive ever read.Mashallah
About writing a book i have a suggestion you can publish them under a pen name to keep it anonymous and you could also create a website and charity under that name to do more good. An example i can give is Harun Yahya -he is known by his pen name though a biography has been attached but so many ppl can fill in the profile. Well and i beleive you will have a large audience of people if u continue to publish your work in english, somali and later in different languages. As somalis are now multilingual and not all of us can read somali unfortunately.
Keep up the good work .
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This is a question that has gone unanswered for centuries......but, now we know.
If you put a woman on a pedestal and try to protect her from the rat
race...you're a male chauvinist.
If you stay home and do the housework...you're a pansy.
If you work too hard...there's never any time for her.
If you don't work enough...you're a good-for-nothing bum.
If she has a boring repetitive job with low pay...this is exploitation.
If you have a boring repetitive job with low pay.....you should get off your
lazy behind and find something better.
If you get a promotion ahead of her.....that is favoritism.
If she gets a job ahead of you......it's equal opportunity.
If you mention how nice she looks......it's sexual harassment.
If you keep quiet..........it's male indifference.
If you cry............you're a wimp.
If you don't........you're an insensitive ******* .
If you make a decision without consulting her.........you're a chauvinist.
If she makes a decision without consulting you......she's a liberated woman.
If you ask her to do something she doesn't enjoy....... that's domination.
If SHE asks you.........it's a favor.
If you appreciate the female form and frilly underwear......you're a pervert.
If you don't..............you're gay.
If you like a woman to shave her legs and keep in shape..............you're
sexist.
If you don't.................you're unromantic.
If you try to keep yourself in shape................you're vain.
If you don't................you're a slob.
If you buy her flowers.............you're after something.
If you don't....................you're not thoughtful.
If you're proud of your achievements........you're full of yourself.
If you don't....................you're not ambitious.
If she has a headache............she's tired.
If you have a headache.............you don't love her anymore.
If you want it too often.........you're oversexed.
If you don't................there must be someone else.
Men die first because they want to.
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hehehe funny, just wondering what would the somali one be like? after reading the indian ladies.
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Sorry for taking my time.
Originally posted by La Fidele:
[ Out of curiousity, do you think people are right to be focusing this battle on France and not equally on Turkey, itself a predominantly Muslim country? Or are they two different cases?
I beleive the battle should be focused on both countries , really.When you look at the political system they both use -secularism they are the same. But Turkey has an islamic background so naturally it could be justified to allow the right of its ppl to practice their culture and religious obligations.On the other hand france is a predominate chrisitan country. For whatever reason this countries hold hijab against,the right of freedom of expression and worship is being denied.
Are there any private universities in Turkey, or are they also restricted by the state?
All private Univ are restricted by the state. In the past some Univ were lenient they allowed them to be covered but they were not allowed to appear on their graduation day with their scarves on , so the girls skipped their graduation ceremony.As of now i recall the leneiency no longer exists.
I've read recently of female parliament ministers who have been admonished for wearing the hijab within Parliament, and also of the Prime Minister and other Cabinet ministers' veiled wives being pressured not to attend official state events. If you are still in Turkey, have you any news of these brave Muslimahs?
True, the minister had to leave the parliament she is now living in Canada(Dual nationality). As of the Cabinet Ministers wives they still go covered to the few as' peu' official events. They do not appear in State events some ministers even said as long they couldnt have their wives accompany them they wouldnt appear. And yes im still in Turkey.
I would also like to add a link on this issue a statement made by the president of Turkey a secularist on the International Womens Day.
Titled Are womens problems limited only to the headscarf issue?
http://www.turkishdailynews.com/FrTDN/latest/dom2.htm#d22
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Ameenah sis your welcome.
Lady mo ,
kunichua (thanks) in chinese also means - massaging in swahili (verb-chua).Guess my fellow swahili speakers will frown when i say kunichua.
Talking of languages to learn love to learn somali and arabic.Inshallah one day will speak em fluently.And later perfect my français.
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Ameenah sis your welcome.
Lady mo ,
kunichua (thanks) in chinese also means - massaging in swahili (verb-chua).Guess my fellow swahili speakers will frown when i say kunichua.
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Cutting out organs without the relatives consent is theft. Theft of organs is a crime.Beleive there had been scandals in the Uk especially at childrens hospitals. I agree with you all but when it comes to the cornea.according to law in alot of countries you can excise it without the relatives consent to save another persons eye sight and well nobody notices it.
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Asalaam aleykum
Madhabs do we really need to belong to one? I beleive we should stick to the Quraan and hadith of the Prophet SAW.I may be raised as a shafii but am curious enough to pick selectively from other madhab and incorporate it in my life at the end we have one aim to fulfil our duty to do better for our own soul and be nearer to Allah.
It is due to this small things which will divide the Muslim Ummah to 73 groups on the judgement day and only one will be successful -those who followed the Quraan and sunnah.
May Allah show us the right path.Amin
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Thanks , i lost a book on that topic.And its always good to read the meaning of your name. im happy
As our Prophet SAW said give your children good names.They are beautiful and they deserve beautiful names. -
Originally posted by caramel_kisses:ok....can some1 translate to me what cont batch said to me in swahili? plzz :confused:Oh, he says he likes you.
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Translation for Ameenah:
Originally posted by Continental Batchelor:
[qb] ^^^^Ameenah....Meme kiswahili yangu ni inzurisana. Na jua luqa tatu. English, Somali and kiswahili!.
My swahili is good. I know three languages. English........
Sasa kuna walendo wengi sana hapa wanajifanya wanajua kiswahili!.LOOOOOOOL.
These days there are alot somalis(from the motherland) who claim to know kiswahili.
To Cont.bach naona kiswa chako kimekuwa kidogo rusted.
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Mashallah we have become a Multilingual nation.
I speak english, swahili, turkish and a rusty french.
Görüşürüz.
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Asalaam aleykum
Havent read any book or article on the topic but do rememeber viewing a video named Africa the sleeping continent and others presented by a Tariq ??? . (late 90s)A Muslim businessman/lawyer of AfroAmerican origin from LA . he even visited South Africa and lectured there. He mentioned the fact that Muslims had conquered South America and the statues made were in tribute to the mUslims as they came and traded and went back home.
Allah Ya Allam.Thats what i remembeer.
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Asalaam aleykum
Grateful this topic came up. would like to share.
I had the awful experience of being forced to put on the head scarf by my uncle when was 13.(I was the eldest)AWFUL WHY?- He never gave me a reason more than its supposed to be that way.Its not that i didnt know Allah used to fast and pray an obligation you couldnt run away from in our household, its just needed an explanation.It was a hard time, the peer influence n stuff.and when i reflect back as i didnt know the real reason why i used 2 put it on the benazir bhutto style n still coz of PE put on my shorts and also act well immaturely. At that time i assumed he forced it on me because of cultural reasons. Ive seen alot of young girls in my society go through the same process.My mum is covered but well i beleived it was her obligation i guess at that time being a hajiat.
Im grateful later with my own initiative i wanted to learn my religion went to an islamic high school and managed to understand the truth about islam.Not what we hear and just agree on.Alhamdullilah. Hijab is a covering -it covers your body and soul. It is an obligation to all female muslims.Most of the people still beleive it only deals with your clothing. as said earlier the inner hijab is more important but you need both the physical(clothing) and the nonphysical(character, behaviour..) together to live in harmony.
hijab in some societies (as in the scarf and the overcoat) has been used as a way of identifying a group of people where i grew up it was the indians(muslim), arabs and somalis who dressed up that way REGARDLESS OF THEIR CHARACTER.Which was sometimes a disgrace as all female muslims become stereotyped. For some of them they were force by their families to dress like that.(oppression???)
As of Turkey the purpose of hijab has been misconcepted. The authority not the govt but the army see it as a threat. They fear it is being used as a political front to free the land from secular ruling to sheriah. Also hijab if you talk with the layman he will tell you that it prove that we are uncivilised.It dates back to the history of this land. The old ottaman empire was islamic and well in alliance with the arabs. When the republic of turkey was being established hatred between turks and arabs flared. The founder of the state abolished the fez and had women take off their chadars as they were signs of uncivilisation and reflected the arab heritage which they wanted to abolish.People became educated to become westernised -the new turkey was formed.A new political movement.Now though you find most of the people still are proud of this ottoman heritage but do not live upto their muslim responsibility. As a foreigner the first qn you will be asked is are you muslim? its obvious by your dressing being female but they still ask. the second qn will be were u a muslm before you came here? And of the natives etiquette he will place his hand across his heart and say Alhamdullilah.
Well there was a lot of chaos on the hijab abolishment in turkey but noone helped. most of the girls stayed at home in the first couple of years. Later they came back to school as everyone thought that it would pass over. When you look at it abolishing the hijab was used as a way of denying the talented muslim students in turkey their right to study and have positions in goverment. They came back to school some wearing wigs others like myself take off our scarves within the Univ grounds. We know that its haram but how many million of talented females can afford to get education abroad or private schooling? Even in the so called religious school and Univ a new ruling has been inforced they are only allowed to be covered when they read the Quran.Hope is there that maybe the laws as they are man made will change and by that time Inshallah there will be enough support to change them.The trend now is more girls are for the islamic values.More older people are returning to their Lord too.
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Interesting snaps.I agree they look somali to me. Our people had moved to the shores of Uk and South africa thanks to the british. When you look at their attire has a resemblance on what somalis used to wear traditionally (used to see em in weddings and hear about the attire in granmas stories).
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Originally posted by Lakkad:Sade,what of Nugis Book did you read?I read the river between, a grain of wheat and weep not child. My favorite though was the river between.
Referring to the somali author never heard of him
. sorry for my ignorance are there any links where i can peruse his works? -
Ive had the pleasure of reading books written by african writers . writers like P'Bitek Okot,Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Chinua Achebe, Camara Laye, Francis ?(Author of betrayal in the city).Been an eye opener of the struggle against colonialism and the new independenct era.Reading them too made me appreciate the rich african cultures and beleifs . happy readings.
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sade-edas- lol eda's another girl name
my own goes -adias- sounds fishy add a few letters got addidas, lol.
Interesting articles
in General
Posted
In The Name Of Allah,
the most Beneficent, the most Gracious, the most Merciful!
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Rasulullah S.A.W. said, "Jannat lies under the feet of your mother."
Rasulullah S.A.W. said, "If you read the kalima with conviction just once, Jannah becomes upon you."
Rasulullah S.A.W. said, "A women who reveals her body or even wears tight fitting clothes wont come within 500 years of the smell of Jannah."
Rasulullah S.A.W. said, "The dust which settles on a man while he is out in the path of Allah; not only the fire, but the smoke of Jahannam is haraam for those parts of the body."
Rasulullah S.A.W. said, "I only curse 3 types of people;
1. Those people who do not look after their parents when they are in old age.
2. Those people who do not take full advantage of the blessed month of Ramadan.
3. Those people who don not say, 'Salallahu -Alayhay- -Wa-Aalahay Wasallam' when my name is mentioned."
Rasulullah S.A.W said, "An intelligent person is one who is constantly thinking about and preparing for death."
Rasulullah S.A.W. said, "It is better for a man that a steel nail be driven through the centre of his head rather than if he touches the palm of a strange women."
PLEASE TAKE 2 MINUTES OF YOUR TIME TO READ THIS.
Imagine this happening to you...
One day during Jummah Salah, a 1,000 member congregation was surprised to see two men enter, both covered from head to toe in black and carrying sub-machine guns.
One of the men proclaimed,
"Anyone willing to take a bullet for Allah remain where you are."
Immediately, the congregation fled, and out of the 1,000 there only remained around 20.
The man who had spoken took off his hood, looked at the Imaam and said,
"Okay Maulana, I got rid of all the hypocrites. Now you may begin your sermon."
The two men then turned and walked out."
Too deep not to pass on?
"Funny how simple it is for people to trash Allah ... and then wonder why the world's going to hell."
"Funny how we believe what the newspapers say ... but question what the Qu'ran says."
"Funny how everyone wants to go to heaven ... provided they do not have to believe, think, say, or do anything the Quran says."
"Funny how someone can say 'I believe in Allah' ... but still follow Shaitaan (who, by the way, also 'believes' in Allah)."
"Funny how you can send a thousand 'jokes' through e-mail and they spread like wildfire ... but when you start sending messages regarding Allah, people think twice about sharing."
"Funny how the lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene pass freely through cyberspace ... but the public discussion of Allah is suppressed in the school and workplace."
Funny, isn't it?
"Funny how someone can be so fired up for Allah on Friday ... but be an invisible Muslim the rest of the week."
Are you laughing?
"Funny how when you go to forward this message ... you will not send it to many on your address list because you're not sure what they believe, or what they will think of you for sending it to them."
"Funny how I can be more worried about what other people think of me ... than what Allah thinks of me."
Are you thinking?
Will you share this with people you care about?
Or not?
ALLAHU AKBAR
Allah is great
During the next 60 seconds, stop whatever you are doing, and take this opportunity. (Literally it is only 1 minute) All you have to do is the following: You simply say "A prayer" for the person that
sent you this message. Next, you send this message to everyone you know.
In a while, more people will have prayed for you and you would have obtained a lot of people praying for others. Next, stop and think and appreciate Allah's power in your life, for doing what you know is pleasing to him. If you are not ashamed to do this, follow the instructions.
Allah said, "If you are ashamed of me, I will be ashamed of you."
If you are not ashamed, send this message...only if you believe.
"Yes, I love Allah. Allah is my fountain of Life and My Savior. Allah keeps me going day and night. Without Allah, I am no one. But with Allah, I can do everything. Allah is my strength."
This is a simple test. If you love Allah and you are not ashamed of all the great things that he has done for you, send this to everyone you know.