Ease comes with difficulty

Recently I attained a webinar on the topic "Beautiful Patience" which was conducted by Dawood Vaid [ @dawoodburooj ] of Burooj Education. The moment I saw the invite I had this feeling to attend as I wanted some answers for myself and I am pretty sure there are many people like me who are working hard, striving towards one thing but are not able to see beyond one point. So what is the solution for this?

Allah azwajjal says in the Q'uran in several places about bearing Sabr and every time I read or hear about it a sense of calmness is achieved in all the chaos around me. I want to share one powerful statement which I cam across recently but unfortunately I don't remember who said the statement. It was related to an incident in the life of prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) - "Only after trials and tribulations you reach Mehraj" (reader who aren't aware of the event of Mehraj, i request you to read about it. It was the time when almighty Allah raised prophet Muhammad salalahu alaihiwasalam to the heavens) which for me was a profound statement.

The webinar dealt with different aspect of our lives and how it affects us on day to day basis. In the course of the talk brother Dawood Vaid quoted Imam As - Saadi which is as follows "Have patience. All things are difficult before they become easy" When I heard this I pondered over it couple of times. It took some time for me to understand its beauty. All the events which happened in my life in past I complained about it at one point of time but when I overcame it I realized it only made me stronger.At times we think everything is going wrong but we don't realize that Allah is setting everything right

This one statement definitely got a change in the way I think towards a problem, hope it bring the same in you. In Sha Allah

Living with the experience of Umrah

I will be completing 100 days since I performed my Umrah on 23rd Jan 2014 and the memory of which is still very fresh. Alhumdulilah those 14 days were the most blessed days of my life. I do realize that I took a lot of time to pen down my experience as I was involved in otherworldly stuff (face palm). And now I feel is the perfect time to share that experience as all my duas have been accepted by Almighty

Umrah for most of the people is a religious obligation as it is considered to be one of the highest forms of worship in Islam but for me, it was more than worship, it was living that experience and fulfilling one of the biggest sunnah. For readers who have no clue what Umrah is, it's a form of worship which a Muslim can do in any month of the year. Some people may have a question about Hajj?  To make it simple,  Hajj is performed in a specific month called as Dhul Hijjah only.

To be honest my Umrah wasn't pre-planned like most people; rather it was a spontaneous decision. I was able to crack a big deal at work and that arranged the extra funds not just for me, but I was able to take my parents too (Alhumdulilah for this blessing). With God's grace, all official formalities were completed in time. All this while, I was bothered by one question in my mind "Do I deserve to go Umrah ?"  and I was surrounded with negative thoughts like "You know you are a sinner and now you want to go after all these years?" "Are you ready to change your life? " and all these questions were constantly hammered by the devil in my head. With a lot of self-motivation, lectures from my favorite speakers (Mufti Ismail Menk & Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan) and different notes I was able to convince myself.


I clearly remember the morning we had to depart I wore the Eh'ram (two pieces of white cloth) for the first time in my life and I could feel the chill.

Eh'ram for the first time

As scheduled we reached Jeddah airport and from there we were taken to our hotel in Makkah. We reached Makkah during Maghrib salaah (prayer) and while entering I could see the whole city come to stand still for prayer. We still had an hour to be ready for the last prayer of the day - Isha salaah. As we rushed towards Al Haram Al Sharif (boundary of Holy Mosque) my heart started pumping faster as I was about to see something which over the years I had only read, heard and seen pictures; it was the Ka'aba itself. But it didn't go as we planned as the whole area inside the masjid was completely packed (5 million people are accommodated, but still it gets jam packed for prayers). To our luck, we were able to secure a place for the next prayer. This was the time I got a minor shock seeing women trying to pray in front of men. As in Islam women are not allowed to pray along with men just to protect their modesty (so that men don't stare their backs) and also it can cause a distraction. We can't ignore the fact that it was situation bound due to space constraint so nobody had an issue with it. The moesin (caller) of the Haram Sharif started the azan (call for prayer) and it was an emotional moment for me listening to that beautiful voice calling for prayer. People stood for prayer shoulder to shoulder and it was an amazing sight to see a different kind of people, with different ethnic, rich and poor all standing in one row for prayer, making all of them equal in God's sight.

Now was the time to experience Ka'aba!! Slowly we entered the masjid with Talbiya (proclaiming one's coming to his Lord) and there it was in front of my eyes, the most beautiful, the most serene and the calmest thing I had ever seen; The ka'aba. The first sight of it was breathtaking and at that moment I was not able to hold my tears.

First sight at Ka'aba

Now, this is the very same place where 1.5 billion Muslims all over the world face in their prayers (We don't pray to Ka'aba, for us, it's a direction to pray). I remember I made a Dua immediately after seeing Ka'aba for the first time. With this experience, we moved forward and started our Tawaf (i.e encircling the Ka'aba). One requires making 7 rounds to complete one Tawaf. During every round, I was constantly making duas and praising Almighty God for this blessing.

During Tawaf you get to see many important things which are as follows:

Hajre Aswad: (the black stone from the heaven) which one should try to kiss (not mandatory though). In my first Tawaf it wasn't possible to kiss Hajre Aswad, so I just raised my hands in the direction of the Hajre Aswad then kissed it.

Hatim:  Hatim is a semi-circular half-built portion which was originally a part of the Ka'aba but which could not be included in the main structure when the Ka’aba was rebuilt. It is obligatory to go around it even while performing tawaf

The C shaped is Hatim area

Rukn Yamani : After passing the three corners of the Ka’aba you reach the fourth corner known as Rukn Yamani. One has to touch it with both hands or with the right hand. There is a beautiful supplication which one should make while walking between Rukn Yamani and Hajar-e-Aswad:  "Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanatan wa fil-akhirati hasanatan wa qina azabin-nar." (Translation: Oh my Lord!! Grant me success in this duniya (life) and grant me success in aakhira ( here afterlife) and protect me from the hell fire.

Maqam Ibrahim  (Prophet Ibrahim station): Here one has to offer two rakaat salaah (prayer)

One of the miracles of Prophet Abraham (A.S), which many of us might be unaware of, is that when He stood on that rock, it became soft and his feet dived into the rock which resulted in the impression of his feet on it.  After several hundred years, those impressions are still on that rock. Below is the picture of the impression

Zam Zam water: After praying one has to drink the zam zam water.

ZAM ZAM well structure at Museum 

Sae: Sae is a process of running between two mountains called as-Safa and Marwa. This is done to imitate the struggle Prophet Abraham's (peace be upon him) wife Hajr had to do in order to find water for her son Prophet Ismail (peace be upon him) in the middle of the dessert. One has to make 7 rounds (walking between two mountains) to complete the Sae process.

Shaving or Trimming of hair: The final step to complete the Umrah is shaving one's head (for men) and clipping small flicks (for women).

With this, I complete my Umrah (Why so serious? lol)

The whole process of Umrah teaches you many lessons and the most important are having SABR (Read here about Sabr) I stayed in Makkah for 6 days and then we left for Madina. During my stay in Makkah, I offered 5 daily prayers, made Tawba i.e repentance (only Allah knows how many times), even prayed Salatul Tasbeeh, visited important sites, met numerous people from different parts of the world. (one brother even said I have Algerian accent lol). I found Turkish people to be most helping and well mannered even outside the Haram. I have to bring one important thing to notice over here and it's about behavior towards women. Alhumdulilah it feels great when you see women treated with so much respect (the way they deserve) especially when people are making their Tawaaf and its jam packed but still, men try their best to keep the distance from non-mahram women.

In next couple of days I had an opportunity to visit few important sites as part of my Umrah starting with:

Al Taneem (Masjid-e-Ayesha)

Masjid-e-Ayesha

It is located in “Al Hil about four miles away from the Holy Ka"aba between Makkah and Medina. Whoever plans to do multiple Umrahs has to visit this masjid (as it is outside territory) and from here one has to make his/her Umrah intention again.

Arafat 

This is a mountain where people come during Hajj. It's a breathtaking site during Hajj as all Hajis (Muslims performing Hajj) stand here under the open sky making dua for forgiveness. This is the very same place where all humans will gather on the day of resurrection and their accounts will be accounted in front of Almighty Allah subhana wata'ala 

Hadith: The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said, ‘There is no day on which Allah frees people from the Fire more so than on the day of Arafah. He comes close to those (people standing on ’Arafah), and then He reveals before His Angels saying, ‘What are these people seeking.” (Tirmidhee).

Mina 

Tents at Mina

It is a  valley situated between two mountains east of Makkah, about five kilometers away from Al Haram Masjid. All Hajjis need to make a stop over here for the night.

Muzdalefah 

Collection of stones

It is a place between Mina and Arafat where people go, after standing in Arafat.

Masjid-e-Masha’r Al Haram It is called Qazeh too , and it is the place where Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon Him), gave his last sermon to more than 100,000 sahabas (companions) [Quick fact: The judiciary system in every country of this world is based on this sermon.] Read about the Last Sermon here

Birthplace of Prophet Muhammad (Peace and Blessings of Allah be Upon Him)

The house in where Allah’s apostle was born is located close to the Al Haram Masjid. It is at a walking distance of 5 to 6 minutes away from the masjid.

Jannat Ul Mua’lla 

Cemetery in Makkah

It is the cemetery of the people of Makkah. It is located on the way to Mina. The grave of Bibi Khadija (the first wife of Holy Prophet) and that of, Prophets' son Qasim, Asma Bint AbuBaker, Abu-Talib, Abdullah Bin Zubair, and other members of the Holy Prophet’s family may Allah be pleased with them all, are in this cemetery. Jannat Ul Mua’lla is situated near the Al Haram Masjid.

Mount Thour 

Mount Thur

This mountain is one of the most significant historic sites in Makkah.  It has Thour cave where Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and his closest companion Abu Bakr (RA), spent three days before fleeing persecution in Makkah for Medina.

Al Nour Mountain

Mount Nour

It is the mountain which has a cave known as "GAARE HIRA" and in this cave, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) received his first revelation from Allah swt through angel Gabriel (archangel Gabriel). The first verse that was revealed to our beloved were  

"Iqra'a bismi rabbikka" meaning "Read, in the name of your Lord"

Contemplating Life and People

Every day after finishing my Maghrib Salaah (evening prayers) I used to spend time at the terrace of the masjid.

The terrace gave a splendid view of the Ka'aba and it was the best time for me to contemplate my life. I observed many people clinging to the Ka`aba. From a distance I could see them crying, tears rolling down their faces. Looking at those tearful eyes, made me wonder that every soul is a sinner and only God Almighty knows what that soul suffers from. At that very moment, all my sins were placed right in front of my eyes and I burst in tears. I don't remember for how long I was weeping but for every drop of tear, I could feel peace entering my heart. After making dua for forgiveness I started making dua for all my friends who had requested me. 

Departing from Makkah

I do not know where or when  I will die and whether I will be in Heaven, but I am at peace with one thought in my mind that I have touched a piece of Paradise. Indeed!! The mercy of Allah swt touched me :) I left Makkah tul Mukarramah with a promise of coming back soon - In Shaa Allah.

P.S: My experience at Medina will be posted soon In Shaa Allah

What is Sabr?

We all pass through a phase in life where we find ourselves lost and the the question that bothers us is what's happening and why with me? In this situation hundreds of questions wander in your mind without any answers to serves a the final destination.

When we are afflicted with a calamity we find ourselves shattered. Here calamity can be anything related to your love, your relationship with your family, it can even be your professional life and so on. Even in this tough times we are surrounded with our family and friends but still we see ourselves as all alone. In these type of situations we hear our well wishers using the word "SABR" Now if you ask somebody who knows arabic, urdu or hindi can give its literal meaning which is to have patience. But in reality there is much more to it. Patience is just on part of having sabr.

In this post I will try to explain its meaning  in the light of Quran. The word Sabr has a broader meaning which includes forbearance, endurance, steadfastness, perseverance and restraint. Putting all this together you have Sabr. We all know almighty God has put all of us in this world for a test and we need to be conscious of this fact and work accordingly. We need to pass it and protect ourselves from failure. Its not that Allah (Subhana watalah) gave us test and not the answers.

Lets look at what Allah (Subhana watalah) says in the Quran:

When in trial or turbulence seek assistance through sabr, through bearing patience, through restraining and through salaah (prayers) [Chapter 2, verse 45]

Oh you who believe! You need help, seek assistance by sabr and salaah (prayers) [Chapter 2, verse 153]

Oh you who believe! Bear patience and endure & protect the limits of Allah (subhan watalah) in order that you may succeed. [ Chapter 3, verse 200]

Further more, patience here can be broken down to three:

1. Endurance required in order to fulfill the commands of almighty
2. Restraint required in order to abstain from prohibitions led down by almighty
3. Acceptance of the decree of God when a calamity strikes.

I will conclude this post with an authentic hadith of Prophet Mohammed (sallahu alaihi wasalam) peace and blessings be upon him said, "When a calamity strikes a believer it only makes him stronger if he keeps Sabr"

I wrote this post today as I saw one of my close friend is going through a lot of trails in her personal life.I pray to Allah (Subhana watalah) that my friend and everyone else who is going through similar phase keeps sabr and make their trails easy for them. Aameen

Feelings that are difficult to express

I don't know what to do,
I honestly thought I could get over u.
I can't get u out of my head :(
and I wish this thought was dead.
If I actually had the courage, I wouldn't be able to tell u

I wouldn’t be able to say my true feelings loud……

Oh, I hate that word, FEELINGS!!! They are so complicated, they ruin things…..

Sometimes they are interpreted in ways that I didn’t mean for them to be.

Sometimes they ruin relationships that I worked so hard to make,

Sometimes I forget that I don’t have feelings.

They just take over my mind, paralyze my brain, and I get so confused……

Bcz I don’t want to like anyone, not anyone

Even though you are even more amazing than I really think,

Even though it pains me to even talk to you, knowing that you don’t how I feel bout u….

And there I go again using the word Feeling

The world would be so uncomplicated if humans didn’t have feelings, if we just behaved like robots.

I would take everything back just so that I wouldn’t have to feel about you this way,

Bcz I know we will never be together after this.

So no, I don’t want to be optimistic, I don’t want to confess to u about the way I feel,

I don’t want to think about the future without u.

It doesn’t matter that I think that there is connect between us,

It doesn’t matter that I would give everything up to be with u

Bcz its not happening L L

And I won’t ever be able to say I……….U

Bcz I do, but u can’t know that. You can’t  know how I Feel

 Title: The confused love

A night full of dreams,A dream full of screams.
The dream becomes reality, In its entirety,

There comes soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;

Looking back, I see the many times I went astray,
I forced  my will on others and I tried to get my way.

I see the big mistakes I made, the things I failed to do.
So this I pray – that I may have the chance to start anew.

With each passing day, my feelings for you gets stronger.
I'm building my patience to wait a little longer :)

I didn't even know you I only knew your name,
I wasn't sure what to do I didn't know who to blame.

Her beautiful eyes are nothing like ours,
They're so deep and bright I believe they were stars.

I knew I thought you attractive I could tell that you were nice,
The butterflies were so active That I couldn't think twice :p

Inspirational lines by Muhammad Ali

A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty has wasted thirty years of his life.
Muhammad Ali 

A rooster crows only when it sees the light. Put him in the dark and he'll never crow. I have seen the light and I'm crowing.
Muhammad Ali 

Age is whatever you think it is. You are as old as you think you are.
Muhammad Ali 

At home I am a nice guy: but I don't want the world to know. Humble people, I've found, don't get very far.
Muhammad Ali 

Boxing is a lot of white men watching two black men beat each other up.
Muhammad Ali 

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee.
Muhammad Ali 

Frazier is so ugly that he should donate his face to the US Bureau of Wild Life.
Muhammad Ali 

Friendship... is not something you learn in school. But if you haven't learned the meaning of friendship, you really haven't learned anything.
Muhammad Ali 

Hating people because of their color is wrong. And it doesn't matter which color does the hating. It's just plain wrong.
Muhammad Ali 

He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life.
Muhammad Ali 

I am the astronaut of boxing. Joe Louis and Dempsey were just jet pilots. I'm in a world of my own.
Muhammad Ali 

I am the greatest, I said that even before I knew I was.
Muhammad Ali 

I believe in the religion of Islam. I believe in Allah and peace.
Muhammad Ali 

I figure I'll be champ for about ten years and then I'll let my brother take over - like the Kennedys down in Washington.
Muhammad Ali 

I figured that if I said it enough, I would convince the world that I really was the greatest.
Muhammad Ali 

I hated every minute of training, but I said, "Don't quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion."
Muhammad Ali 

I know I got it made while the masses of black people are catchin' hell, but as long as they ain't free, I ain't free.
Muhammad Ali 

I know where I'm going and I know the truth, and I don't have to be what you want me to be. I'm free to be what I want.
Muhammad Ali 

I never thought of losing, but now that it' s happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life.
Muhammad Ali 

I wish people would love everybody else the way they love me. It would be a better world.
Muhammad Ali 



I'll beat him so bad he'll need a shoehorn to put his hat on.
Muhammad Ali 

I'm not the greatest; I'm the double greatest. Not only do I knock 'em out, I pick the round.
Muhammad Ali 

I'm so fast that last night I turned off the light switch in my hotel room and was in bed before the room was dark.
Muhammad Ali 

I'm the most recognized and loved man that ever lived cuz there weren't no satellites when Jesus and Moses were around, so people far away in the villages didn't know about them.
Muhammad Ali 

If they can make penicillin out of mouldy bread, they can sure make something out of you.
Muhammad Ali 

If you even dream of beating me you'd better wake up and apologize.
Muhammad Ali 

It isn't the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it's the pebble in your shoe.
Muhammad Ali 

It's hard to be humble, when you're as great as I am.
Muhammad Ali 

It's just a job. Grass grows, birds fly, waves pound the sand. I beat people up.
Muhammad Ali 

It's lack of faith that makes people afraid of meeting challenges, and I believed in myself.
Muhammad Ali 

It's not bragging if you can back it up.
Muhammad Ali 

It's the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.
Muhammad Ali 

Life is a gamble. You can get hurt, but people die in plane crashes, lose their arms and legs in car accidents; people die every day. Same with fighters: some die, some get hurt, some go on. You just don't let yourself believe it will happen to you.
Muhammad Ali 

My toughest fight was with my first wife.
Muhammad Ali 

My way of joking is to tell the truth. That's the funniest joke in the world.
Muhammad Ali 

No one knows what to say in the loser's locker room.
Muhammad Ali 

Old age is just a record of one's whole life.
Muhammad Ali 

Only a man who knows what it is like to be defeated can reach down to the bottom of his soul and come up with the extra ounce of power it takes to win when the match is even.
Muhammad Ali 

Rivers, ponds, lakes and streams - they all have different names, but they all contain water. Just as religions do - they all contain truths.
Muhammad Ali 

Service to others is the rent you pay for your room here on earth.
Muhammad Ali 


Silence is golden when you can't think of a good answer.
Muhammad Ali 

Superman don't need no seat belt.
Muhammad Ali 

The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses - behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights.
Muhammad Ali 

The man who has no imagination has no wings.
Muhammad Ali 

The man who views the world at 50 the same as he did at 20 has wasted 30 years of his life.
Muhammad Ali 

There are more pleasant things to do than beat up people.
Muhammad Ali 

There are no pleasures in a fight but some of my fights have been a pleasure to win.
Muhammad Ali 

To be able to give away riches is mandatory if you wish to possess them. This is the only way that you will be truly rich.
Muhammad Ali 

Wars of nations are fought to change maps. But wars of poverty are fought to map change.
Muhammad Ali 

We have one life; it soon will be past; what we do for God is all that will last.
Muhammad Ali 

What keeps me going is goals.
Muhammad Ali 

When you can whip any man in the world, you never know peace.
Muhammad Ali 

i Mourn for Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs was the man who had right answers
too bad he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

A visionary he was he produced many gadgets
he knew how to stand tall against all Microsoft fagots.

On Oct 5, 2011 he died
every apple user dropped and cried.

Altough we know apple will survive
Steve Jobs has a very long drive

So put up your feet and take rest
while what you produced will always be success.

For a man with grey hair you always dressed best
and your presentations ruled the west.

The turtle collar black shirt you always wore
Presenting the newest products you simply adore

CEO of apple is what you were.
Now everything is simple blur

Congratulations Steve
who always wore black sleeves.

Apple is the Best!!!
I admit i Cried when you addressed.

You were stepping down and said who will success
Apple will always be the best!!!

Lastly i would say,
i Mac
i Pod
i Phone
i Tab
i Mourn