Fab Twenty Twenty | KL on 1st Jan 2020

Bismillah.

Kuala Lumpur 00:58 1st Jan 2020

Bismillah

Alhamdulillah it is Allah who creates time and space. He'd let us experience the arrival of 2020.

Like most people, I am grateful for the last decade 2010-2020 and I look forward to the upcoming decade 2020-2030. I have a feeling it's going to be fantabulous, bi-iznillah.

That pic above, as all other nice pix of KL cityscapes : ) was taken by me, a lttle later after the midnite hoo-ha. It was very civilized, believe me, LOL. It was taken from a rooftop at level 42. This one below too.

Between the Kuala Lumpur Tower in blue
to the Four Seasons Hotel on the extreme right
may we see it all through,
for each challenge, let's take it in our stride! 

They say we should "do something today that your future self will thank you for". I thank myself again and again for having started this blog a decade ago. I thank the Lord for His tawfik, that goes without saying. Imagine, if this wasn't created. Imagine if I wasn't brave to embrace the unknown. I rejoice in knowing about 1.3 million 'Bismillah' had been recited by the visitors. Glory be to God. 

Indeed, glory be to Allah, there were times when we did not consciously plan something but He arranged everything and made it happen. I watched a tausiyah on Nabawi TV a couple of days ago, where one shaykh made the audience reflect on the myriad of ways Allah "forces" you to do something or go somewhere.

 

Lately, I noticed a posting in 2011 on Habib Umar bin Hamid Al-Jailani's tausiyah had resurfaced. When some old postings resurfaced and became top 5 for the week, I would revisit them, so for that, I thank the audience for making me do some revision on past lessons, continually.

Every time I do that I am humbled at how generous the Lord has been all these years. And He teaches us in wondrous ways. One major lesson I learned towards the end of 2019 was simple and rather "old" - to leave that which does not concern you. Old in that we have heard it so often, yet it's difficult to practice. But of late, I was able to better internalize it. I got the hang of it. It's so liberating. Alhamdulillah. 

People's opinions/drama? Let it be.

People do this, do that. Don't care.

I am thoroughly enjoying myself as an MBA student and doing my own thing. I used to be a wee bit stupid,  accommodating people's agenda and vision. But now I only let me be the only opportunist towards myself. Grabbing opportunities on self-development and self-purification.

May Allah continue to grant us tawfik and hidayah. May Allah continue to grant us useful knowledge and success in this dunya and akhirah and bless our lives year in, year out.

Happy New Year 2020, folks!

As ever,
E. Ismail

A lesson on "leave that which does not concern you":
http://lisanaldin.blogspot.com/2009/12/true-invocation-shaykh-ad-darqawi.html