48

Bismillah.

Alhamdulillah wa shukrulillah, to have lived thus far. I will be 48 tomorrow inShaAllah. No, I am not shy about revealing my real age. Some blog readers thought the age I had been disclosing was a fictitious number. I don't belong with those who aren't proud of the time that Allah has given them. If I were God, I would cut five years from their "shelf-life" since they are shy to be on the "shelf", you get what I mean? And since I am open and grateful for my age, I hope the Almighty would add five more years to the pre-determined period. LOL.

What would I/you do if we were given a bonus of five years? I could/might do a Ph.D. and write a book but that sounds like just another "big-ticket" item. The countless good intentions and small deeds that we might/could do within five years would carry a lot more marks than the seemingly major activities, like the prostitute who got to enter the Heaven for the mercy she showed towards a thirsty dog. She gave him/her water. (Refer links below for this 'Whore & Dog' story)

Perhaps, a major lesson in that narration is that no matter what business/life plans we have, what would be more crucial is the degree of mercy/kindness/positivity we show towards others - both man and animals, on the day to day basis. And...frankly speaking, I am worried to be taking more than giving and whilst I "give", it is substandard in the Book of the Lord. At the very least, I hope the messages that I had been posting, were able to touch your heart albeit in the faintest manner.  

Having said that, I cannot promise to be nice to everyone. To be frank I had blocked one reader from communicating with me because he asked me how I handled my nafs and that he talked about being a healthy male and a sapiophile. [Sorry bro, I don't care if you are an avid reader of this blog. I can't entertain chats like that].

So now you know some of the questions people asked me. If I had not stopped the conversation, I would perchance lose two months of my life just replying to messages like that. I am sure you would all agree with me that Whatsapping, FB Messengers, IG messaging etc. eat up a lot of our time. Yeah.. it would get worse for me personally when Semester 2 begins. But I must thank the Lord really that my office workload has been very light this year Alhamdulillah.

By the way, this one thing I heard a couple of days ago truly impressed upon the heart. About Asma binti Abu Bakar who tore her belt into two just so that she could fasten some food supply onto a camel. It was for the sake of Prophet Muhammad salallah alaihiwasalam and her father Sayidina Abu Bakar who were then leaving their secret hideout at Thawr Cave. For her ingenuity, the Prophet named Asma as 'She of the two belts' (Zatun Nithaqhain).

Would you do the same? Would you tear up your belt? Would you be clever when a situation warrants you to be clever in coming up with a quick solution?  

This hijrah story about the closeness of friendship between the Prophet salallah alaihiwasalam and Sayyidina Abu Bakar never failed to make me shed tears, every single time.  

I reckon I have got more than 48 scarves, what good are they for the faith which I believe in? Is it good enough as a symbol for being a Muslim? There must be more to it, there must be a lot more we could do to benefit others, no matter how small the gesture, even half a belt counts! 

Thanks for reading.
Wish you a wonderful month of Muharram and a sweet September - what's left of it.

E.I
24 September 2018

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Further readings on the 'Whore & Dog' story:
http://seekershub.org/ans-blog/2011/05/04/forgiving-major-sins-and-the-hadith-of-the-prostitute-who-gives-water-to-the-thirsty-dog/

http://www.madeenah.com/if-the-reward-for-giving-water-to-a-dog-is-jannah-then-how-about-teaching-tawheed-to-the-people/

A story about Asma binti Abu Bakar (in Malay though)
http://assalambs.blogspot.com/2012/05/kenali-asma-binti-abu-bakar-as-siddiq.htmlv