Secret of April

My first birthday message was from my beloved 'Man of The House'- , my 'little' brother, Muhammad Syazwan.

I woke up this morning, surprised to see a chain of text messages in my inbox. A lot of birthday messages from families (my 3 sisters Alin, Baby-E, Wani) and friends (too many to list down). Thank you for all of you. You are very dear to me and your prayers are very precious to me. May Allah provide you with goodness and blessings.

Obviously, I need to tell you not.

Alhamdulillah, Allah gives me one more chance again this year. It is my 22nd birthday. All praises to Allah.

Thank You Allah, even when I feel alone, 

You grants me with family

always telling me, "We will pass this together"

Thank You Allah, when I am thoughtless,

You gives me friends

whispering words of strength in my ears

Thank You Allah, when I lost in dark,

You were there

enlighten me with Your hope.

Violet Orchid

Last year my friends celebrated my birthday in Dr. Hammudah's Junainah.A 'junainah' in arabic means 'small gardens of Heaven-Jannah'. It was not actually a party or anything. I might called it as a coincidence, perhaps because it was actually 'Towards Tamayyuz Workshop' for our class. 

It was such a beautiful day. The sun shone down upon the earth. The skies were blue with clouds floated by. The orchards looked fresh green from the top of  the four-storey building. The flowers were blooming. Faces were smiling! 

To all my beloved friends, ikhwah and akhawat, thank you for being there that day. I still remember, the time when our leader, Zulkifli, stood up and asked everyone of us to make a short speech before we ended up the workshop. The scene began to change. Meaningful phrase were uttered. I could see sincerity those faces. Faces of friends that will not leave their friends slipping away. Hearts filled with ukhuwwah fillah. We laughed and cried. 

"Allah unite us in al-jannah, like You unite us today in this junainah." Ameen.

That was, a memoir of a birthday.

Well, it is not a sin to celebrate a birthday. Islam supports the celebration of a birthday if it is an expression of gratitude to Allah for His bounties, sustenance and blessings in man’s life, as long as that celebration does not include anything that may displease Allah, the Almighty. 

"In Islam, birthdays are not considered `eid (a festival) like   

`Eidul-Fitr or`Eidul-Adha, because `eids have conditions 

and guidelines such as not being allowed to fast during the days of Eid.
Therefore, birthdays are simply occasions of a person's date of birth

and are a matter of culture. If a person wants to commemorate

his/her date of birth, then he/she may do so,especially 

if he/she takes the opportunity to reflect on the past and pledge 

to be better during the following year. However, to make the 

birthday an important occasion is not recommended or encouraged." 

 www.islamicity.com

The Prophet himself, may Allah bless him, used to commemorate his birthday, thanking his Lord for His great kindness to him. He would express this commemoration by fasting, as we are told in a hadith narrated by Imam Muslim: 

 In this context the Prophet (pbuh) was asked about fasting on Mondays, and he answered: “It is the day on which I was born.”

The methods by which his birthday may be celebrated vary widely, but the objective is the same: whether in fasting, giving food to the poor, gathering for the remembrance (dhikr) of Allah or calling down blessings upon His Messenger, and listening to the story of his virtues and mighty achievements. Allah has commanded us Muslims to rejoice at the things by which His grace and mercy comes to us. 

Allah (swt) said in Qur'an: 

Say: "In the Bounty of Allah, and in His Mercy (i.e. Islam and the Qur'an); -therein let them rejoice." That is better than what (the wealth) they amass.
(Qur'an 10:58)

And We have sent you (O Muhammad) not but as a mercy for the 'Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists).

(Qur'an 21:107)

 And let me finish this post with a sincere reminder of a noble history of April.

Our Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) the Master of Prophets, was born in Bani Hashim lane in Makkah on Monday morning, the 12th of Rabi‘ Al-Awwal, the same year of the Elephant Event, and forty years of the reign of Kisra (Khosru Nushirwan), the 20th/22nd of April in the Year of Elephant (571 A.D.), according to the scholar Muhammad Sulaimân Al-Mansourpuri.

Above all this, thank you Mama for giving birth to me. You raised me up with grace and love so I can stand on mountains...and walk on stormy seas. Thank You Allah, for my Mother!

Age is only the cycle of solar, full moon, and nature  

outlined by needles hours, minutes and seconds of a clock.  

Pahrol Mohd. Juoi, Nota Hati Seorang Lelaki