Will the lessons ever stop!!!?

Yesterday happened to be one of those days...

I did one of those stupid things that give women a bad name (though I'm sure men do it to!)

I locked the keys in the car!!! I know, I know.... but these things happen ever so often right!? Anyway, from that silly incident I happened to learn some profound lessons, and so I thought I'd share them with you:

People are essentially kind: As I sat and waited for my bro to bring the spare keys, so many people stopped to help. From the shopping centre security guys to the ordinary passer by- all of them tried, in their own way, to help me (an absolutely complete stranger!!!). Now I know we can sometimes tend to get this negative view of people... but well, yesterday restored my faith in people. The world is not as crazy and sick as the news makes it seem... there are actually decent people out there!!!

Time is never wasted: In the time I waited I made valuable use of my time by reciting durood. Then how can we ever be at a loss right??? I sat there thinking that it didn't matter how long I had to wait... with durood on my tongue my seemingly wasted time could be transformed into a beautiful act that I wouldn't have otherwise done! Its all about perspective, right???

We need to walk a mile in others shoes: One of the guys who stopped to help was a sweet oldish guy. he chatted about how he was into cars (and the motor industry) in his younger days. He was the friendliest guy of all. And then, when he explained it, it all made perfect sense! He said that he was stranded one day for hours... and nobody came to his aid. He waited for soo long and nobody even bothered to offer him a ride home. That's when I realised that he was trying to offer so much help, simply because he knew how it felt! And that's when I realised that the world would be soo much better if we just walked a mile in each others shoes!!!

Only Allah can help you: As I sat there waiting I realised that it is only Allah (swt) who can help save you from inconveniences of life. How many times do we simply just get into our cars, without realizing that anything could go wrong? How many things do we take for granted each day? We get into this thinking mode where we assume that life just goes on, and all is generally supposed to be normal- so we forget to appreciate when things go smoothly!
Yet how many time were we locked out of the car or house? How many times did we get into accidents? How many times were we delayed in cues? How many times did we just have a really crappy day?
So as I sat there I thought, when all goes smoothly and well, we really mustn't forget to thank Allah (who has willed it so!) Alhamdulillah.

No one can save you: added to that too is the fact that nothing can save you. No matter how rich you are, how beautiful, how famous- nobody (except Allah) can save you from these minor inconveniences, form these little time consuming things that can really kill your day!

So well, I guess we should remember this and begin each day by asking Allah (swt) for blessings for our time, and our day!

And lastly, I my suspicions were confirmed once again... It is all about the attitude! When things go wrong you have two options: you can either make a fuss or cry, or you can have a good laugh and kick your problem in its face! Either way, your attitude determines everything!!!

So here's hoping you all have a wonderful issue-free Jumu'ah Day! (Ameen)

Peace in the midst of chaos

Well the other day my sisters and I had our first book launch. Alhamdulillah, we managed to complete an ongoing project that now culminated in an all around, chaos induced, launch.
Now you can imagine how insanely busy we had all been- running around like crazy people trying to get everything done. There were invites to send, things to buy, presentations to be prepared and hall decor to be setup. We had a hundred and one things to do, not to mention that we were seriously short-handed!!!

The day of the launch, well... it was just plain down crazy. Apart from the fact that I was tired (and walking around like a zombie), there were so many last minute arrangements that still needed to be made that my mind was reeling at it all. I have to admit, I was stressing out! I kept freaking out about the crowds who had arrived earlier than expected, at the food that looked as if it was just too much, at the presentations we had to give and how unprepared we were... well, one can only imagine.

In the midst of it all, however, the time for Zohr salaah approached and I decided to leave whatever I was doing to first finish my salaah.

Let me tell you... that was all I really needed!!!

As I put my head down in sajdah, I allowed the inner peace to wash over me. Performing my salaah like this, in the midst of all the chaos, gave me such a feeling of satisfaction and contentment, that all the previous feelings of stress disappeared immediately.

Suddenly I was a whole new person. I made a dua to Allah (s.w.t) for ease and success and I simply stopped worrying. (worrying never helps anyway, does it?)

I left that room with a whole new outlook, with a sense of peace and calm. I was resigned to remain calm at the face of whatever may now come. Simply put, my salaah helped me to 'chill out!'

So next time you're feeling stressed out and unsure about yourself, just make wudhu and go perform your salaah. Really, if you let it, it can make a world of difference.

Communication these days!!!

Has anybody else ever found the urge to scream in frustration at your computer when you realize how ineffective they can actually be? (Probably not!)

Think about emails. You send someone an email with a certain tone, mood and message that you're trying to convey. But when they read it (unless they actually 'read' into the present situation) its all just words. How do they know what you're trying to communicate? You know what I mean?

So you wanna send a nice friendly message to a friend who you just fought with. You're write that you're sorry and that next time you wont do it (whatever you did) again. Your friend (who is still angry at you) assumes that you are angry at her, and when she reads your email she reads it with hostility. Her tone (in reading it) is hostile, and so she assumes that your tone (of the email) is hostile too. She takes your apology for sarcasm and anger towards her. Even though you really were sorry- she just didn't pick up on that!!!

Its really strange that despite the progress of communications technology, relationships and interpersonal skills have gotten so much worse! So you can chat for hours to a person- discussing anything at all, but if you see them tomorrow, you wont know how to talk to them... crazy right???
And what about all our virtual friends that we make. We don't even really know them do we? If we had to meet them tomorrow, would we have any idea what to say? (Though I suppose if it wasn't for virtual communication- then we wouldn't even know that person to begin with! I guess that in the absence of real relationships, virtual ones are the next best thing!)

Just discussing this reminds me of something my friend said the other day. She was feeling really bad for not realizing earlier that a guy liked her. See, he was emailing and chatting with her and was obviously throwing around hints that he liked her but she never even noticed. It was only a while after everything, when she was re-reading her old chats (for some strange reason) that she actually really 'read' all that was written and realized all he 'said'. That same guy now avoids her (I guess now she finally understands why!)
It makes you wonder doesn't it, how many things, feelings, moods, frustrations and problems are we missing out on with all of our virtual communication?
The world may be getting smaller, but I sometimes think that the distances between people are only getting bigger.

Oh, and I've come up with a crazy way of expressing my feelings when emailing. If I'm saying something important with a tone that's open to interpretation, i think I should include the following tag line: mood, tone, expression and outlook.
So my tag line for this post would look something like this:

Mood: happy yet reeling at the irony of communication today.

Tone: incredulous yet peppy.

Expression: slight smile.

Outlook: for communications in conjunctions with relationships- awfully bleak!!!

Have a great day folks!!!

Life and Death

I was sitting at a funeral house, 2 days after the funeral, when a realisation suddenly came over me: 'Life goes on!'

The grandfather of the house (an old family friend) had suffered from a stroke and passed away. The Funeral was on Thursday. This day, the day I came to this obvious but striking realisation, was Saturday. My family had been invited to read Quraan and eat supper, along with enough guests to fill the very big house.

Now I've never really suffered a big loss. My parents both came from broken homes and my grandparents were never really a big part of my life (well, the deceased ones anyway). I guess because of this, I dont really understand the conflicting feelings that the bereaved have to deal with. What I expected was to find the family somber and tearful, instead I was greeted with a very different sight. Seriously, it just did not look like a funeral house. Now im sure that the family were all just putting on brave faces for all their guests; and I do not doubt that they really truly were grieving, but listening to all the chattering conversations, and staring at all the smiling faces, well I guess it just brought me to that all important realisation- that life truly does go on!

I realized the reality of the fact that each man is born alone, and will die truly alone. And once you down there- six feet under- nobody knows what you're going through. So why is it that we tend to spend so much time living for this life, and so little time preparing for our final abode? How come all we care about is our relationship with others, and we forget to care about our relationship with Allah. After all, isn't Allah (SWT) the only Being who is always with us???

Back to this event though. The eldest granddaughter just received a proposal, and all the talks with the 2 families are currently going on. So there I was sitting and listening to them discuss this soon to be son-in-law and I couldn't help thinking further about how life so easily carries on without you. Soon this family will be holding a different type of event, a wedding (insha Allah), and their lives will begin to head in a very different direction (one filled with new spouses and new births). And though the grandfather will live on in their hearts and minds, their lives will most assuredly continue.

Ok, so I know you're thinking 'yeah- this is obvious', well you're right it is all obvious. After all nobody expects life to stand still after the death of a loved one right? Its just that sometimes we get so stuck working and toiling for this life, that it comes as a shocker when you actually witness how quickly life can just continue. Im starting to ramble, so I better wrap this up!

I guess my point is that we all need to spend a little more time improving our relationship with Allah. And while we must, no doubt, have good relationships with others, we must still realize that, without us around, life inevitably goes on... that should bring us down a notch or two dont you think...?

image from: http://stavangerphotobytanty.blogspot.com/2007/05/muslim-graveyard.html

You can do anything

I spent the morning painting- the walls, not canvas. And well, what do you know- I actually managed to do it. Ok so that sounds really silly, let me explain!

When I was younger, and actually wanted to join in on the painting and fixing that my elder siblings were doing- I was simply told that painting was too hard. "Well, it doesn't look to difficult" I would protest, but they would simply reply that painting was indeed more complex and tougher than I could imagine.
Fine, that was that. I closed myself off to the idea that I could ever do it.

So when my younger brother begged me to help him paint, I instantly told him that I couldn't. "I don't know how to paint", I told him- "I'll mess up all the walls."
He argued that painting was easy and that I would be able to do it. He argued so hard and so much that I decided to give in and go and try it out.
That's when I was pleasantly surprised- it turned out to be not- so- difficult after all! In fact, despite my lack of painting skills, the room really looks nice!

You see sometimes in life people scare you without even realising it. In this case my siblings were all probably right- I probably was too young too paint! But, inadvertently even, my mind somehow started believing that I could never ever do it- even though I was now far older.

That's the thing about life, that's the thing about us all. There are so many things that we all think we just can't do. But if there's another human like us out there who can do it- then why can't we? We are all capable of doing anything that we want to. But we tell ourselves constantly that we can't. We can't run marathons, we can't do so well, we can't learn quraan, we can't write books. The list goes on and on.
So let me ask you now! Why can't we?
If we open up our minds to the possibility that we could achieve what we want, we might just to discover that the thing we always thought we could never do, actually turns out to be something attainable and enjoyable...

Watch your words!

The other day I went with my mother to visit a sweet, little old lady. (no really- she really is sweet, little and old!!!). As we were leaving she enquired as to whether I was married or not and, on telling her that I wasn't, she spoke such beautiful words of encouragement. She said that its no problem; that I should take my time and choose the right person; and that Allah will give me exactly what I want! (See, I told you she was sweet!).

Now consider this in contrast to other people's comments. When they see someone unmarried they make remarks like: "When is it your turn. You must get married now!" I mean surely they have to realize that everybody wants to get married. Sometimes people just cant find the right person, things just don't work out, and Allah just didn't will it yet! Surely they've got to think that by them asking silly questions and making silly remarks, it will only make someone feel worse! I don't know, maybe that's the problem there- they just don't think!!!

I think that deep down (deep, deep, down for some people who make it a point of hiding it) everybody wants to get married, have children and settle down- men and women! But its because of people with all their silly remarks that those unmarried people are forced to make claims like: "No, I'm not ready for marriage", or "Marriage is just not for me!" Marriage is for everybody. Everybody wants it! How do I know this. Well, because these same people who make these claims end up getting married the minute they find someone great!

It makes you think. Words are so important and can have such an effect on the lives of others- an effect that we cant really foresee. Just these few sweet words from this old lady left such an impression on me. Imagine all the stupid things people say just so that they can make conversation. What kind of effect will those words have on others?
So if there's any messge that we should take from all of this, its that we should watch our words! What lasting effect they may have on others- we will never know!

Sometimes we forget to remember

My Internet was down for more than a day. Man that was frustrating! I felt lost without it. I mean these days I usually do everything with the Internet. Any info I need, any key word searches- with Internet at my fingertips I'm tuned in to the world around me. Not to mention my constant blogging and emailing. So to have no Internet for like a day or so- it really felt so weird.

But then it got me thinking! Last year this time I didn't even have broadband Internet. I hardly used Internet- I used to check my emails from my phone, and I used other resources for daily needs. How did I become so dependant on it soo quickly? How could I feel so lost without it when, up until recently, it wasn't even a part of my daily life?

That's life, I guess... We get accustomed to things so quickly and we begin to forget the time when we never even had it- and I guess that's when we begin to forget what a big favour it really is. Because all of life's little conveniences- they really are favours that Allah has bestowed upon us. Its so easy to forget that. Its so easy to take things for granted. And when Allah gives us those little reminders (like when your Internet goes down) that's a wake up call to show you that it really is a gift. And its a reminder that we should be grateful for all that we have.

So here's hoping that you and I all remember the numerous favours that we have been fortunate enough to receive. And here's hoping that our eyes are always open wide enough so that we are able to see those favours and acknowledge the generosity of our most Supreme Creator. Insha-Allah

Change can be good!

For years my father used to love the same old tea. Lemon Tea. It was all he ever bought. Day in and day out he would drink that exact same flavour without changing or getting tired of it.

The other day he went to the shop and bought a few different flavours. (He had previously  tried some different flavours but I guess none of them ever stuck.) Now we stood and laughed at the different varieties that he had brought home- cherry, green tea, lime- there was no way he was gonna enjoy these flavours right? My sister and I even joked about how we would enjoy the cherry flavour but how we didn't think he would like it. "Oh well", my sister- the resident tea maker said. "We might as well give it a try right?"

To our great astonishment my father really enjoyed the cherry tea. He enjoyed it so much that when my sister gave him his good old lemon tea the next night- he didn't like it anymore. Yip, his beloved lemon tea now waned in comparison to the delicious cherry taste... who would've thought???

Ok, so I'm not just telling this story because I have some weird storyteller compulsion. Rather, once again, I took a lesson out of a silly little incident. From it I realized that while we are all usually apprehensive to change, it can sometimes bring about surprisingly wonderful results. Its natural to be afraid of the unknown, but if we never embrace the unknown, how will we ever truly know anything...?

I hope I can remember this lesson and use it next time to remind myself that while change may be weird and scary- it may just be better than what I could have ever imagined.

Judging others

The other day I bumped into an old family friend. She wasn’t dressed in what I would call modest clothing- and wasn’t wearing hijaab either. Obviously I never said anything but I clearly did notice how she looked and thus, a thought or two clearly must have gone through my mind.


A few days later we had this shindig by my house and she came along with her father. Now even though I really hate judging others, I must have judged her in some way or another because I was actually surprised when she spoke passionately about taking care of her father and of trying to attain Jannat. Here was this girl who didn’t always wear abayas and scarves, and yet she was striving to look after her father and spoke beautiful words about working towards trying to earn Jannat.
Sometimes we have this tendency to think that those who dress modestly and wear hijaab and niqaab are better Muslims. We tend to look at those who don’t dress this way as if they are somehow lower. Now I’m not saying that it’s all right to wear skin tight jeans and no hijaab! Ladies, you know you gotta cover up right! Instead I’m saying that we have to stop judging our Muslim sisters.

How many times do we pull our noses at one of our sisters and silently judge that we are better than them? How many times to we criticise what others have done- without even knowing what we would have done in a similar situation? What gives any of us the right to think that we are better that anyone else...? Allah is the only Judge, and only He knows the insides of us all.

If you look around you might see that the one with the best manners may not dress as modestly as you do. On the other hand you might see that the niqaab clad sister has terrible manners and treats people badly. Who can judge which one is better? Surely only Allah can. It’s about time we stop judging others- thinking that we’re better just because we do so and so and this and that. We should all remember that only Allah knows and should rather leave the judging up to Him. Don't you all agree???

Never mind the shoes

A few days ago my family and i complained about how people steal shoes from the masjid. I mean really, its laughable that you have to lock your shoes in a locker when you go to pray. Your shoes... come on!!! We ranted and raved about ridiculous people who go through great lengths to steal shoes (to be fair though, the price of some shoes can actually pay for a full week's meals); we spoke about the inconvenience, the crime and the matter in general. It must really be a nuisance to come out and find that your shoes are missing.

Last night when my brother returned from Esha he informed us that a man, who was leaving the Masjid, had just been shot and killed. All of us were shocked and silenced. This had happened just down the road from our house right outside the Masjid that we all knew so well. And as we started talking about it, exclaiming our sadness and surprise, my father said the very thing that i had been thinking: "never mind the shoes". In comparison to a life, who cared about the shoes? In comparison to a murder, who cared about the shoes?

When incidents like this occur it really puts things into perspective. It makes you suddenly question what truly matters, it makes you wonder about your own life and it makes you appreciate your loved ones.

It makes you consider what you would do if your father, your brother or your husband just didn't come home one day. And it makes you realise how truly connected we all are when you can feel sadness for a man and a family that you had never met before.

May Allah grant him Jannatul Firdous Insha-Allah and allow this incident to serve as a reminder to all of us; a reminder that we should focus on what truly matters in life, and forget about the shoes.

Reflection

A simple family moment left me with a very valuable lesson...

My nieces and I were playing dress up the other day when the younger one (4 year old Ayesha) got hold of my surma. Needless to say she liberally began applying it to her eyes- a task which she thoroughly enjoyed. Now i don't need to tell you what she looked like- what with being a 4 year old and all.

Since she didn't have a mirror nearby she didn't know how weird she looked, and even though everybody else kept gasping and laughing at her, she was oblivious to the sight of her face.

It was only when she looked at her own reflection (by accident as she passed by a window) that she finally realised how she looked. She was so surprised at her reflection that she excitedly exclaimed: "What happened?" It was in this moment, while we all laughed at her, that i was taught a very valuable lesson.

 It takes true self reflection to understand and realize what we really look like.

Just like how we could all see what Ayesha had done to her face, others can see our character. And just like how she was oblivious, we too are sometimes unaware of our own flaws. We have to actually look at ourselves clearly, examine our characters, examine the situations we find ourselves in, and examine people's attitudes towards us; in order to understand the type of people that we are.

I have a creed that i have lived by for many years now, and I'd like to share it with you. When someone tells me something hurtful i carefully consider what they've said and begin a process of self questioning. The hurtful statements may either be right- in which case i examine my actions and try to rectify it; or they may be wrong- in which i case i simply shrug it off and try very hard not to let it bother me. You see while people may sometimes be very valuable in helping you to understand the type of person you are; they can also easily break you. So next time, take my advice and try this for yourself.

I think that its important for all of us to constantly be engaged in a process of self reflection. We certainly won't leave the house without first checking how we look, so why spend another moment without considering how we look on the inside and what our characters and behaviour is saying about us...? Real self-reflection can tell us what we're made of, and that's a lesson I'd love to learn.

Abu Darda (radiyallaahu 'anhu) said that Allaah's Messenger (salallaahu 'alaihi wa'sallam) said:
There is nothing which is heavier upon the balance than the good character
Reported by Ahmad (6/446 and 448)

Sometimes silence is even better...

So since people have been commenting on the post 'its hard to say I'm sorry' and since this is an interestingly debatable subject, I decided to highlight it a little bit more.

My sister had an argument with her husband. It was nothing serious, just the usual complaints you hear from married people. Now, after days of fighting, after arguing with her husband and unloading her mind- now do you know what she says: that she should have just kept quiet. Now i know its difficult, I mean really- I know. (Even worse so when you happen to have a big mouth like me...) But the thing is that when you talk and when you say what's on your mind- even if you know you're right; it seldom ever makes things any better. Now my sister's husband is angrier than before due to all the things that she said to him. So here's the question right: Even though you may know that you're right, and even though you feel like you need to get if off your chest; when it causes more problems in your marriage, with your family or with your friends; is it really worth it? Is the triumph of a good argument or the satisfaction in blowing off steam worth ruining a relationship???

So what can you do then? When you feel that you're being wronged in a certain way; when you feel like you desperately need to vent so that you can feel better; and when you feel like your mind is about to explode; if you can't tell the person in question (due to fear that it will make things worse) what do you do? well, I'm no expert but if you like, you can try some of the methods i use:

1. Always start with dua. Sometimes when things get a bit tough i just sit on my musalla and talk to my Creator. It really helps. Tell Allah your problems (sure, Allah already knows it but it will help you feel better.) Ask Allah for patience and for guidance. Beg, cry and be sincere... I promise that when you're done, you'll feel much better.

2. Talk to someone who you know will give you good advice. Its no use telling someone just so that they can echo your own sentiments. Speak to someone wise who will give you good, logical advice. Sometimes they'll help you come up with solutions that you never thought of before.

3. If you feel that you still need to tell the person in question how much something is bothering you, make sure you do it when you're cool and calm. It doesn't help when you scream and cry because your points and arguments gets muddled up. Choose a good time to speak about it, when both parties are calm and there's more of a likelihood that the person will listen and think about all you say.

4. Stay away from the accusing phrases like 'you did this or that' and rather use phrases like 'I feel that...' You'll be surprised at how much more effective they are.

5. Try your best to swallow your pride and swallow your words. Not only will it make your Creator happy, but it will make you a better person too. (and that's a satisfaction that never wears off...)

As usual, post your thoughts, opinions and criticism...

Greet those you know and those you don't

OK, so this is getting pretty funny. So i was shopping yesterday when i came across a Muslim woman. Now I've been on this mission lately to incorporate greeting strangers into my life. I have decided that when i see a Muslim woman that i will try to make it a point to bid her a warm 'assalamu-alaikum'. Ive started doing it too and let me tell you, it feels pretty good. So anyway, yesterday when i saw this woman i smiled at her and then proceeded to greet her. She returned the greeting and then asked me: "Hows your mother?" i must have looked baffled because she then asked me if i knew who she was and then realized that she had actually made a mistake and i was not the person that she was thinking of. So here's the question right, do we live in  a world where if you greet strangers they automatically assume that they know you from somewhere??? OK, to be fair, I must have looked like the person she was thinking of since that's what she said to me when she realized her mistake. But you know what, its happened before. Yip, on another occasion when i greeted another woman she flat out asked me if i was friends of her children- automatically assuming that for me to greet her i must have known her. The worst part is that we are all guilty of it. We have forgotten the advice of our Prophet (S.A.W) to greet those we know AND those we don't- so much so that when you greet strangers, they think you know them! Beyond the laughter (well i find it funny when people try to figure out who I am every time i greet them) I think its really very sad. Greeting brings about unity and love for your fellow sisters. And conveying salaams is not just mere words, but rather a beautiful dua that you wish upon your fellow Muslims. So lets all make a resolution to be more friendly to our Muslim sisters and to greet them every time we can- you'll see what a difference it makes!

A Good Reminder

I gotta say, sometimes I forget to remember that Allah has control over everything. Oh, I know it sounds fairly obvious- but sometimes when it comes to everyday life I tend to take it for granted. Do you know what I mean?

The other day I baked my chocolate cake. I call it mine because even though it’s a recipe that we got from a tin way back when, according my family the way I make it is the best. Thus, it is with utmost confidence that I usually bake this cake, knowing that it’ll turn out great (like it has a 1000 times before) and knowing that it is a family favourite. Now when I usually make something for the first time and I’m not very confident about it I tend to be extra cautious, recite extra ‘bismillahs’ with every ingredient and make extra dua that the thing will turn out great (after all, who likes a flop anyway???)

But when it comes to the chocolate cake its like because of the confidence I invest in myself, I forget to ask Allah to help me, and as we all know Allah (SWT) is in control of everything.

This time around I got a little reminder when my chocolate cake, my golden oldie chocolate cake, flopped. Ok, so it didn’t really flop but rather over flowed. I used the exact same pan I always use but for some reason the cake overflowed. (Well I don’t need to tell anyone how disappointing that is!) The contents toppled out and began burning at the bottom of the oven and the cake, usually fluffy and tip top beautiful was disfigured. And that’s when my mind told me that I had mistakenly put confidence in myself and my experience and not in Allah (SWT).

So of course I sincerely repented, thanked Allah for the reminder, made extra dua that the cake was still enjoyable and did not get wasted, and proceeded to frost my disfigured cake with a rich chocolate icing. And you know what, despite the mess, the cake still turned out to be absolutely delicious. My Merciful Almighty Creator (SWT), despite my pride and confidence in myself, still accepted my dua and still mercifully willed for the cake to be even more delicious than other times.

So instead of just an ordinary day baking an ordinary cake, this day provided me with a reminder that I should never, under any circumstances, forget that anything and everything only occurs with the will of Allah(SWT) and that I should always put my confidence and trust in Him. Alhamdulillah.

Mourning a mouse

Have you ever had moments in life that have left with you with the aftertaste of a lesson well-learnt? You know, when things happen and then a short while later you say: "Aah,that taught me a lesson". well this is one of those moments.

For the past few weeks i have been terrorised by a mouse, yip- you heard me right, a mouse. Fast, small, furry- seriously they creep me out. Anyway, i kept on just wishing that the thing would die already; that he'd swallow the poison, or get caught in the trap. Well this morning he eventually died- the poison turned out to be his undoing.

Now instead of being pleased that he was gone, i was, wait for it... sad! I was really sad to see that the little thing had died, because i had poisoned it. So i kept on reassuring myself- he's unhealthy, unsanitary, etc... Yes, i had reason to get rid of him but my emotions got the better of me and left me feeling sorrow and sadness.

When I thought about it further i realised that in this lied a very important life lesson. I had gotten rid of him, I was nasty and cruel, irrational and emotional, simply because i was afraid, and because he was different. Sure he was a dirty rodent- i had to get rid of him, but how many times in life have we rejected other things due to fear or ignorance?



Think about it, how many times in life have we rejected people or even ideas, simply because they are different from our own? How many times have we been cruel and nasty to others just because we found them annoying? If they were to die (hopefully not due to poison) wouldn't we feel sorrow for the way we behaved? If they were to die, wouldn't we feel regret and guilt?
Sure, I'm taking this incident out of context- i mean you can't really compare mice to people, but the whole incident just spurred these thoughts and made me realise that while people are around we need to work extra hard to make sure we treat them well. They wont always be around to irritate and annoy us so maybe we should just try to hang in there, exercise patience and make sincere dua to Allah(SWT) to make us better people. I'm gonna try it out, will you...?