Mind Palaces (And What We Keep In Them)

Where will our journeys end? HOW will our journeys end?

It is easier to stick to your desires, to waste your time, than to make productivity out of it.

Going through our heads, what useful things do we keep in them aside from the education we got through our school systems, and the likes and dislikes of our families? I expect hundreds of songs, movie scripts, match scores and players, celebrities, behind the scenes, and useless knowledge found on the internet as ‘facts’ take up more of your memory space than we know.

Back in the good old days of childhood, I remember watching a movie with some Chinese connections, speaking about a monkey king (yep, you read it right). Anyway, what I really liked was that the mentor had said that how can water be poured into an already full glass?

Have you thought about it that way?

Every time you go for an interview, you clear your head and just focus on the interview. Every time you go for a speech or a debate, you just focus on the coming event. Mothers focus on their kids and throw out all the useless knowledge from their heads. Students focus all of their mind and heart (and sell their souls) for their studies. For men it is their work (well, and the kids if they are willing to change the diapers!).

However, direct needs like food, sleep, shelter, and duties like, work, grocery, and such are easy to fulfil. And letting into your desires easier still. But practising Islam over the desires is where it gets interesting.

The question is; how can you practice something that is opposite to your desires?

From a personal experience, back when music started to become addictive and I was going deeper and deeper into it, I suddenly noticed how my Qur’an recitation disappeared to nothing. In fact, it was difficult to listen to the Qur’an recitation as well. And that got me scared. What exactly was this, that drove me away from my religion? The more I listened to music, the lesser I connected with the Qur’an. 

To the Muslims out there, think about it. Especially if your phones and devices have more than a hundred songs in them; when was the last time you picked up the Qur’an and read it? When was the last time you listened to a lecture? When was the last time you prayed without a song playing in your head? When was the last time you took another milestone like praying more Salah, giving more charity?

“The mind is everything. What we think, we become.”

Buddha.

I have seen people who say that religion lies only in the mind and in the heart. If they believe and have faith, then it isn’t necessary to practice it.

However, the fact is that actions reflect the state of the mind. 

It is simply how it is. A mother’s love is displayed in her actions, a student eager to excel has his or her efforts as proof, a man hopeful to change for the better will change his lifestyle. Believing to be a better person isn’t enough. The mind will act accordingly to what your thoughts and mindset are.

But there is another thing that stops Muslims from Islam; shame.

That is another thing that stops us Muslims from practising our religion. With all the news of terrorists and such fighting in the ‘name of Islam’, we find ourselves becoming targets more and more. And even if the society does not target us, we are ashamed of our identity. We want to edge away from it.

We are afraid of what it has led to represent, when in reality, we should practice it to show people that it doesn’t preach what the terrorists, extremists and media show it to preach. My target are not the groups I have mentioned. I am addressing my fellow Muslims. Our negative mind forces us to take our religion in the wrong way.

“You cannot have a positive life and a negative mind.”

Joyce Meyer

The question now is; why I am explaining all of this?

What I am trying to explain to my readers is, to practice any part of Islam, you need to start with a fresh slate. You need to overpower your desires. You need to become confident in your choice, from a beard to Hijab, from a congregational prayer to established prayers and so on.

For a better life for ourselves and our children, we do everything in this life to give them the perfect home and the perfect life, but worry very little for the life beyond this one.

It isn’t easy to change. But it isn’t impossible either.

Half-Written Notebooks

I stared at the books and the books stared back.

I tend to look back first before moving forward. It kind of clears the mind and makes you realize the mistakes you have done and what is left to make mistakes in! But it also helps you wonder what you have to do when the new year comes.

So another year in the Georgian Calendar is at an end, and another year of our life has passed. Immortality is something no one will have in this world.

“Every soul shall taste death.” (Surah Al-E-Imran: 185)

Looking back, I think my year has overall been productive, and even the mistakes I made were the ones that helped me push forward. You see, this Head Admin, sitting behind the laptop screen is very hesitant of posting all articles even when they are from authentic sources. The last thing this one sister wants is to lecture others while she herself had not changed for the better as the days, weeks, months and eventually years go by before meeting the Lord of the Worlds.

This certain blog started from when I stared at the books and the books stared at me back. These books, so heavy with knowledge, and in a language that the majority of the world understands, were so many resting on the shelves that the first book would be gathering dust by the time I turned to the last book. These were like the little Chinese elderly, full of knowledge for anyone to benefit. So at the spur of the moment, and throwing caution to the winds, I got online and started the blog, with a purpose of providing others with the knowledge of Islam.

For someone like myself, an average human being who takes interest in movies and have listened to music in the past, I knew I needed to change. Wearing the Hijab and observing the prayers and the fasting, doing Umrahs and etc. (I mean, don’t get me wrong, I have done many things that I do not wish to tell because I want to hide my good deeds), all of this was fine, but like a person with a job who is trying to get a promotion, I knew I needed more. So cutting down on the most of the music and even movies to the point that I do not know majority except a bare few to count on the fingertips, I think my year went better than I thought.

Knowledge of Islam astounds the mind and widens the intellect.

There are a few questions that arise though; what is the status of our Iman? When it takes so hard and so long to build, how strong is it really? Does it really need nourishment?

It certainly does need nourishment. Like a sapling in thirst for water and sun, or child in need of the warmth of a mother’s lap, our Iman needs tenderness and care, as well as nourishment in the form of knowledge to make it grow. Islamic knowledge is not something to avoid. In fact, it astounds the mind, widens intellect, which were some of the things I fell in love with. And some things are better explained with a little bit of the past. You see, that is where the beauty of Islam lies, in the knowledge it provides. It is not like some piece of fiction or fantasy or some other genre that would disappoint you as you read along the plotline, but the more you know, the more you love your deen and the more your Iman swells in your heart.

And what is its strength?

The question should really be: Do you test the strength of the things that are close to your heart? You would not risk a child’s life in some dangerous stunt, nor would anyone risk the love of their beloved parents. Just like one would try everything in one’s power to keep the thief away from the house, the Iman is like gold placed in the safebox of our hearts and it should be treated with the same care and protectiveness.

One of my teachers once closed her fist tight, and then she showed her fist by holding it up. She said that imagine that this is your Iman closed in your fist and the Shaitan will do anything in his power to get to it and break it. There are a million ways to get into the fist through the nooks and crannies, and the cracks between the fingers and the flesh of the palm. If one way does not work, he will take another, and another and another. So be vigilant and make sure you keep protecting your Iman.

Always having a love for science (some may call it addiction!), many of the verses of the Qur’an are simply astounding when it comes to the way the Universe works or how the human child came to be, or how the sun and the moon brought about day and night. The rights and duties of men (poor little souls), women and children are simply amazing. I would go on and on and still it would not be enough.

It took me the blog to  actually realize, deep down, my love for my religion brought me true happiness.

You see, my little notes on different books, my screenshots in the my camera roll and my scribbled pages scattered through the room  were like these half-written notebooks which finally came to this organized platform in the form of this website meant to share my love for my religion and show others, especially my own brothers and sisters, what it means to be a Muslim, and to enjoy it in our busy lives. Trust me when I say this, this is much more addicting than coffee and in a good way!

So here’s the thing, with this coming of this new year, make a tiny resolution; put an Islamic change in your life. With actions and not words.

Trust me when I say it will astound you.

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Al-Akram: The Most Generous

 

Verse from the Quran:

“Recite, and Your Lord is the Most Generous.” (Qur’an 96:3)

Explanation: 

• Allah is the Most Generous towards His servants in many ways, one of which is teaching human beings all the things that they did not know, including the names of everything, reading and writing, and the means of livelihood.
• Al-Akram is: the superlative form of ‘kareem‘ which means noble-hearted, magnanimous, and generous (i.e. ‘The Most Noble-hearted’). Some have said that it is specifically referring to the understanding, patience, and disregard – all traits of the noble-hearted – which Allah shows towards the ignorance of His servants.

Application:

• Knowing that Allah is the Most Generous instills love for Him in the hearts of Muslims. His generosity towards humankind, in the face of disobedience and disbelief, is so great that the heart becomes full of admiration, awe, and respect. Love increases for the Most Generous One.
• This can also be a means of inspiration to be generous towards others, as it is indeed an excellent trait to possess. Although we cannot reach the level of greatness of Allah’s generosity, we can exhibit as much generosity as is within our ability.

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Al-Akhir: The Last

Verse from the Qur’an:
“He is the First and the Last, and the Outward and the Inward; and He is Knower of all things.” (Qur’an 57:3)

Explanation:

• Allah is the Last; there is nothing that will come after Him or exist after Him, for He will exist always and for eternity, while everything else will eventually perish. Allah says:

  “…Everything else will be destroyed except His Face…” (Qur’an 28:88)

• In the verse from Surah 57 (al-Hadeed), Allah puts four of His names together: The First, the Last, the Outward and the Inward. These four names in conjunction show the vastness of His knowledge, and they indicate that there can be no escaping or hiding from Him. Everything is known by Allah, for He is the First, the Last, the Outward and the Inward. Ibn Kathir mentions that Ibn Abbas recommended reciting this verse when one has doubts in his or her heart.

Application:

• Knowing that Allah is the Last compels the hearts of the believers to sense and comprehend Allah’s greatness and eminence.
• This knowledge encourages them to put their own existence into perspective.
• With the short life spans of human beings, and the lack of control over the length of such life spans, the fact that Allah is and always will be, even after everything else perishes, is most compelling to the heart.

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Al-Ahd: The One

 

Verses From The Qur’an:

“Say [O Muhammad]: He is Allah, (the) One.” (Qur’an 112:1)

Explanation:

• Allah is the One Who has no equal or partner.
• He is singled out in all forms of perfection. No one shares in His qualities of perfection.
• Ibn Katheer commented: “He is the One, the Singular, who has no peer, no assistant, no rival, no equal and none comparable to Him. This word (Al-Ahad) cannot be used for anyone in affirmation except Allah the Mighty and Majestic, because He is perfect in all of His attributes and actions.”
• Aishah said that the Prophet (SAW) sent (an army unit) under the command of a man who used to lead his companions in the prayers, and he would finish his recitation with “Say [O Muhammad]: He is Allah, The One.“ (Qur’an 112:1). When they returned (from the battle), they mentioned that to the Prophet (SAW). He said to them: “Ask him why he does so.” They asked him, and he replied: “I do so because it mentions the qualities of the Most Gracious, and I love to recite it (in my prayer).” The Prophet (SAW) said: “Tell him that Allah loves him.” (Bukhari)
• Abu Saeed al Khudri narrated that a man heard another man reciting (in the prayers): “Say [O Muhammad]: He is Allah, (the) One.“ (Qur’an 112:1), and he recited it repeatedly. When it was morning, he (the first man) went to the Prophet (SAW) and informed him about that, as if he considered that the recitation of that Surah by itself was not enough. Allah’s Messenger (pbuh) said: “By Him in Whose hand my life is, it is equal to one-third of the Quran.” (Bukhari)

Application:

• Knowing that Allah is the One and Only can inspire the servants of Allah to dedicate all of their worship solely to Allah and no other.
• By understanding this attribute of His, the worshippers of Allah are motivated to pray directly to Allah without including intercessors or associates, for verily Allah has no equal or partner, as He is the One.

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