JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE WORLD

Asalaaamu alikum Waragmatullah hi wa barakaatu

i tust that youare all well?

JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE WORLD... ( OR SO IT SEEMED;-)

So last w/e we set off on a journey... to Klerksdorp... a frend decided to get married to a girl from there... so we decided to make a holiday of it...

interesting place klerksdorp... NOT!!!... nothing much to write home about but... the people made us feel welcome and we indulged in sum of the local dishes... mielie pap en tamatie sous... with wors.... interesting, indeed. Klerksdorp itself is a small town... it got all the basics... we being the people that we are, are always in search of hallaal food... go figure... and that was an adventure on its own... and henceforth the halaal tour 2008 took in the sites in and around the dorp... KFC- not halaal. Nandos- not halaal... they said they were... but i didnt see no certificate!!!

and then like an oasis in the desert... we stumble accross this heavenly place... called Chicken Licken... halaal nogal... and so we feasted our fancies upon the wide selection on offer... chicken wings with hot source...mmmp:-P

the thing i like about travelling... is that it opens your eyes to a different world... and any journey has the potential to provide inspiration to the wandering individual...

like with all journeys when it ends u take time to reflect... and take in your experience... Life is a journey... they say... enjoy the ride... they say... so thats what we did.

the striking thing about any community is the fact that we all have our peculiarities... take the following for example on saturday evening at the wedding one person in our travelling troop made conversation with a local... we wanted a braai grid... coz well we wanted to braai the ribs that Br Hayder had with him... they said that they would bring us the grid and so we invited them over to enjoy the braai with us... [ 2hours later] ... they show... up what follows is almost a summarised yet verbatum conversation:

Klerksdorp localz: " Slmz" [ walking around our room and introducing themselves]

US: "ws"

KL: [ now settled ..their leader remarks...] " your'll smoke weed?"

US: with disillusionment written on our faces... we say "no"

[ the conversation continues...and the atmosphere tenses up... but soon we realise we aint getting any grid... ]

Kl: "O so you guys really wanted to braai?"

US: Yes... [ DURR a tinge of sadness in our eyes... :-(]

the end.

Moral of the story: Always make sure that when u say u need a braai grid... u mean a braai Grid!!!

they were nice guys.. they wanted to make us feel welcome in their town... what the above tells me is that in life .. many obstacles and temptations will come our way... the question is how are we going to respond???

So this week i leanrt alot... and i was reminded of this verse in the Quraan: " Have they not travelled through the earth and seen what was the end of those who were before them? And verily, the home of the Hereafter is the best for those who fear Allah and obey Him (by abstaining from sins and evil deeds, and by performing righteous good deeds). Do you not then understand? "[ 13:109] - i dont have the tafsir for this ayah.. so go look it up.. im sure your'll find the meaning to be meaning ful...

So this weeks Lesson 1: ---- So indeed we may journey near and far... we may be far away from home... but we will do well to rememebr that our Rabb will not fosake us... unless we forget HIm... and Allah SWt tells us that He is Most Merciful... So lets be steadfast in our salaah... home and away, Inshallah.

Lesson 2: -- as no doubt many masjids celebrated the laylatul meeraj... we were once again reminded that salaah is our salvation... our direct line to Allah Swt... our break from our daily lives... our oppertunity to draw closer to Allah swt...

So no matter were we journey to on this BIG EARTH ... know that Allah SWT is with us... The Prophet SAW was reported to have said " the earth is my masjid" [DAwud] ... so we got no excuse not to ...

i leave you withthis Hadith...

Mujahid (ra) narrated that Ibn Umr (ra) said that the Messenger of Allah(saw) took hold of me by a part of my body and said:"Be in the Dunya like a stranger, or a traveler passing through. And consider yourself amongst the people of the graves." So Ibn Umr (ra) said to me (Mujahid(ra)): 'When you wake up, do not speak of yourself at night, and when you sleep, then do not speak of yourself in the morning. And take from your health before you become sick and from your life before your death. O slave o Allah, indeed you do not know what your name will be tomorrow '

Tirmithi Vol.7:Hadith 2435

Explanation:

And consider yourself amongst the people of the graves. – meaning remember death often. And consider this as your ultimate destination so that you will not attach yourself completely to this Dunya and its beauties.

When you wake up, do not speak of yourself at night, and when you sleep, then do not speak of yourself in the morning. – meaning speak not of yourself as if you know that will live to see the night / the next morning. Allah can take your soul at anytime and in any place, at your appointed time.

O slave o Allah, indeed you do not know what your name will be tomorrow ' – meaning that tomorrow you might no longer be alive and your name will be only a memory to those you leave behind in this Dunya.

Think. ponder. reflect.

PS: " the Salaah is the meeeraj of the believer"

PS2: register for the Reviving the islamic spirit conference... www.msacape.org ... last few seats available...

PS3: u wanna smoke some weed:-)

Wii: Qiyaamul layl Programme this saturday... 9pm... Taronga rd Masjid... Moulana Muath is our guest ... all welcome.

Xbox: Dragonflies are the fastest flying insect. A Dragonfly can move up to 35 mph

PSP: A cow, an ant and an idiot...

A cow, an ant and a idiot are debating on who is the greatest of the three of them.
Cow: I give 50 litres of milk every day and that's why I am the greatest!!
Ant : I work day and night, summer and winter, I can carry 52 times my own weight and that's why I am the greatest!
It's your turn now--- Say something.........lol..hehehehe:-) !!!

Peace. Llove... chicken wings...!!!