Work smart, not Hard

Sadia my friend. She just sent me this email and thuogh I had read the anecdote somewhere before, it still made me smile. :)
I have Mashallah been very lucky with the people around me...so much like the son in the story...especially my friend Anisa...wonder if I can ever love people unconditionally like she does. When she wants to do something for me, or for anyone for that matter, well, she has the will to do it. And we are so much happier for it. May Allah bless her kind soul...

Here's the aforementioned email copy:
An old man lived alone in a village. He wanted to spade his potato garden,but it was very hard work. His only son, who would have helped him,was in prison. The old man wrote a letter to his son and mentioned his situation: Dear Son, I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won't be able to plant my potato garden this year. I hate to miss doing the garden, because your mother always loved planting time. I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. If you were here, all my troubles would be over. I know you would dig the plot for me, if you weren't in prison. Love, Dad.

Shortly, the old man received this telegram: "For Heaven's sake, Dad, don't dig up the garden!! That's where I buried the GUNS!!" At 4 a.m. the next morning, a dozen local police officers showed up and dug up the entire garden without finding any guns. Confused, the old man wrote another note to his son telling him what happened, and asked him what to do next. His son's reply was: "Go ahead and plant your potatoes,Dad... It's the best I could do for you from here.

"NO MATTER WHERE YOU ARE IN THE WORLD, IF YOU HAVE DECIDED TO DO SOMETHING DEEP FROM YOUR HEART YOU CAN DO IT. IT IS THE THOUGHT THAT MATTERS NOT WHERE YOU ARE OR WHERE THE PERSON IS."

Laughed again today...and some soothing Dua'as

Yep. That's me again, Alhamdulilah. Atleast two people must have said that to me today; "Nice to hear you laugh like that again." Oh well. C'est La Vie. And of course there is solace in prayers.

"And when My servants ask you concerning Me, I am indeed close (to them): I respond to the du'a (prayer) of every suppliant when they call on Me" - Quran 2:186

How true. Here are some more prayers from the Holy Quran which I am sure will provide succor to whoever seeks it from the Almighty:

Our Lord! Bestow on us endurance and make our foothold sure and give us help against those who reject faith. (2:250)

Our Lord! Take us not to task if we forget or fall into error. (2:286)

Our Lord! Impose not on us that which we have not the strength to bear, grant us forgiveness and have mercy on us. You are our Protector. Help us against those who deny the truth. (2:286)

Our Lord! Lay not upon us such a burden as You did lay upon those before us. (2:286)

Our Lord! Let not our hearts deviate from the truth after You have guided us, and bestow upon us mercy from Your grace. Verily You are the Giver of bounties without measure. (3:8)

Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and the lack of moderation in our doings, and make firm our steps and succour us against those who deny the truth. (3:147)

Our Lord! Forgive us our sins and efface our bad deeds and take our souls in the company of the righteous. (3:193)

Our Lord! We have sinned against ourselves, and unless You grant us forgiveness and bestow Your mercy upon us, we shall most certainly be lost! (7:23)

Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy, and make us die as those who have surrendered themselves unto You. (7:126)

Our Lord! You truly know all that we may hide [in our hearts] as well as all that we bring into the open, for nothing whatever, be it on earth or in heaven, remains hidden from Allah (14:38)

Our Lord! In You we have placed our trust, and to You do we turn in repentance, for unto You is the end of all journeys. (60:4)

Our Lord! Perfect our light for us and forgive us our sins, for verily You have power over all things. (66:8)


And finally....

Allah puts no burden on any person beyond what He has given him. After a difficulty, Allah will soon grant relief. (65:07)

On the occassion of Hajj, here's wishing everyone a very blessed pilgrimage and may Allah grant us all enough wisdom to put implicit trust in him. For Allah says again;

"And He provides for him from (sources) he never could imagine. And if any one puts his trust in Allah, sufficient is (Allah) for him. For Allah will surely accomplish his purpose: verily, for all things has Allah appointed a due proportion." (65:03)

Ameen to these wonderful verses...and may we never despair in times of test and in times of peace, and may we always have enough grace to submit ourselves to the caretaker of the Universe.

A sadder and wiser me...

"He went like one that hath been stunned,
And is of sense forlorn :
A sadder and a wiser man,
He rose the morrow morn."
-S.T. Coleridge, Rime of the Ancient Mariner


If life was a piece of cake, few would have relished its taste. Err, food surfaces predominantly even in my profound thoughts, ahem. Jokes apart, adversity does indeed make us sad, but it also offers oppurtunity to become wise. 'When the going gets tough, the tough get going.' Heard that one before.
But you know, sometimes it makes us very sad. And then you don't understand what to do. And then you realize that when effort and understanding fail, then it only means one thing-that Allah had a different plan...and surely there must be some good in an apparant evil. Or else it would have worked out just the way you wanted it to. Oh well, C'est La Vie. Easy to say, hard to follow. Hard yes, but not impossible.
Prayers, they say, can change destiny. And I have seen that happen, way too many times to ignore that bit. And have also seen how prayers not answered work favorably too...because what you wanted so bad at one time, wasn't so good after all, in fact; we are often better off without it.
Easy to say I know. Or else there would have been no tears. No moments of despair. But then again, a phoenix rises from the ashes too. And Allah is close to those who bear with patience. And I hope we have enough grace to accept that. Ameen.

Dear Diary...Confessions of a 'Blogs of Note' wannabe

Dammit. The more great 'blogs of note' I see, the more inadequate I feel. There are probably millions of wannabe bloggers like me who will never make it to the A-list because...well because we are just not upto it! These pros must be real geeks to understand the gobblydook and nitty-gritties of blogging. There's some new tech thing on almost all blogs and you know you will never be able to catch up! If just good ol' writing could do the trick, sigh! (Actually, it wouldn't help even if that were the criteria, considering the stuff we dole out! LOL)
Hmmm...the problem is, except the occasional and inconsequential ramblings, mere mortals like me have err, precious little to blog about, which is I think, pretty evident by the way I am going on now. Ahem.
Now let's see. Should I talk about the painful dentist's appointments I have been having every week since 2 months (If only medical prosecution was more real in India, I would sue my previous dentist for the disaster he's done with my teeth) or should I blog about the delicious cakes I had today, or maybe about how I haven't gotten upgraded to the beta version of blogger yet??? Hmmm...maybe there should be something wild like the Blogger's Rasberry Awards, maybe I could win an accolade or two there! Hehehe....and I thought I was 'creative'...You never realize how sparse innovative ideas are untill you begin blogging. And while you engage in a losing battle with your muse, the blog serves as your redressal system. Just like the ol' 'Dear Diary...' days. Only it's more public now. Bet Bridget Jones would never have had those 'profound' thougts if she knew they were going to be fodder for public consumption. And now, if my snooty li'l blogger brother reads this, he will drive me crazy by gloating on his 'Told ya I was better' refrain. Sigh. The things lack of inspiration does to you!