I usually don't do these types of social issues/controversial posts but I guess I needed a place to rant and since this is my xanga, I can do that. Please note that in this post I am not referring to anyone who posts out of concern for the Muslims or concern for people in general and tries to use their internet outlets as ways to sincerely advise and remind the people. Those of you guys who do this...I love you all for the benefit you provide all of us and the raw sincerity with which you write.  Really I do. May Allah reward you. One such brother wrote an extremely sincere, raw post on his xanga. I am subscribed to him and it is a recent post. InshAllah you will find it and hopefully derive some benefit from his thoughts. Please don't hold anything against me if I offend anyone, I apologize as I don't mean to hurt anyone's feelings inshAllah.

So I've noticed recently on this mad rush that we've developed on social networking and blogging sites like facebook and xanga (yes, I am a part of both), people have been leaving extremely spiritually intimate comments about themselves in their facebooks and posts. Some people will go out of their way to explicitly mention on their STATUS on facebook (this is that creepy feature where you can tell your friends what you do every hour of your life) as: "currently trying to rectify my soul...". What?...Vhat? God, dude, that takes alot of time to sign in and put up.

Let me try and give some exaggerated and some not-so-exagerrated examples of things people write on their blogs/facebooks.

"I wish I could be closer to Allah...I try sooo hard and I feel like I'm so sincere but for some reason it just doesn't work."

"Trying my best not to show off or be proud in my heart. Its so hard but I am glad I'm at least trying"

"Trying to read Quran everyday and make it a habit. I wish I was closer to the Quran...blah blah blah"

"I want to get married so my wife can wake me up for fajr prayer. That would be so awesome. We'd pray together and stuff. Yeah, we'd read Quran to each other. lololomgthx! Sigh...I wish I could find her. By the way, my number is 123-456-7890. Gotta go to sleep. Tahajjud tonight! lolkthanxbye!"

Ok..please buy this shirt if you are going to post that again:

"I feel so ashamed because of all my sins. I'm such a sinner. I'm a sinning sinner. I'm so bad. I want to ask for repentance for all the sins I did."

"I'm a sinner. I'm the worst person out of anyone ever. I sin alot. I need to go back to Allah". See above, etc.

Are you serious? Please!!! My beloved siblings in Islam - if you want to be closer to Allah - TELL HIM. Not me! And not the rest of the world! If you don't want to show off...then stop telling me about it! If you want to read the Quran...SIGN OFF AND READ! And if you want to get married....go look and look for the awesome pious supar dupar hijabi sister who has prayed more fajrs in her life than we have all five prayers together - in whatever Halaal manner best pleases you! And why are we telling people about our sins and being so extreme about it? If we are sinners than we should repent to Allah privately. That's it. Case closed. Baath khatam. End of estory. Yes, estory.

I mean really, I know that we all have our own blogs and we all have the right to post whatever we want. For everyone who is saying: "Well its my blog and you don't have to read it and I am an independent person and this is my right" I am not talking about rights. Yes yes there is freedom of speech, and its your blog and you have the right to be an individual. Good job for being so deep and profound and realizing that you should be your own person. Please enjoy this picture of a cookie:

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I am not questioning anyone's sincerity. That's between people and Allah. I am talking about safety. I am talking about how spiritually unsafe it is for a person to expose their spiritual nakedness for every single person on the face of this planet to see. How can a person who is trying to root out the disease of showing off....POST ABOUT IT? That makes me feel kind of like this:

No, it doesn't make me feel stupid. It makes me feel confused.

It concerns me when we do this because we are falling into the trap which we are trying to escape from, by opening our hearts up to the world. This is why we have scholars, ulama, counselors, spouses, and older brothers. Talking about our detailed personal spiritual development in public is a huge risk in two ways:

1. Publicizing one's spiritual state, can lead to the world knowing your inner weaknesses.

2. Publicizing one's spiritual development is dangerous because it can lead to arrogance, pride, showing off, and open up all sorts of nasty trapdoors set by shaitaan concerning pride and conceitedness.

There is a huge difference between that, and mentioning something that you happen to come across in your development/studies, and making a point of letting people know about it so that it encourages them to do good.

But really. One reason we are so spiritually bankrupt is because we worry about other people rather than worrying about Allah. Please..lets worry about Allah. Let's write to him those things which we are saying to people which don't really need to go their ears.

Allah knows the very deepest whispers of our hearts. If we call to him, ask him, inform him with our own lips and testify to him of the state of our own souls - inshAllah the need/desire we feel to tell other people about our inner states will diminish.

The most popular name in the world is Muhammad. And those named after him or after one of his names in their own names: Ahmed, Mustafa, Basheer, Nazeer, Siraaj, and the other names of the Prophet, the numbers become staggerring.

We all know that, but we never reflect. That were you to take all of humanity and each person were to be grouped according to his/her name, that vast portion of humanity that is named after the most merciful, gentle, and soft-hearted human being ever to walk to the face of this planet would out number every other group by millions.

What a legacy God caused to be left behind in this world for His Messenger. Imagine what that legacy will be in the Hereafter. Such a great gathering of humanity testifies to their love for him, by their very names.

The very name itself - Muhammad - "the one who is praised/deserving of praise". One cannot even insult him without calling him by his name and in effect, addressing him as the one who is deserving of praise. SubhanAllah.

Once a group of kuffar were heard referring to Mudhammam, an insult, when referring to the Prophet. Upon hearing of this the Prophet simply smiled and said: "They are speaking about some man named Mudhammam, while I am named Muhammad!"

Peace and blessings of God be upon him, his companions, his family, and children, and those who follow him with ihsaan until the Day of Judgement.

(this post was prompted by a conversation dealing with your standard pro-mawlid/anti-mawlid argument that never goes anywhere; but has nothing to do with that topic hehehe)

There is always controversy surrounding things like celebrating the birth of the Prophet (saw). Even Christmas is looked upon by many Christians today as being a holiday that is pagan in origin and having no basis in Christian theology.

Regardless of whether or not a person celebrates the Mawlid (the birthday of the Prophet [saw]) - every Muslim will testify that he does love the Prophet (saw). Those who sing, beat drums, and even dance on his birthday to celebrate it as an act of worship and dhikr will claim to do it out of love for him. Those who refrain from such acts thinking them to be innovation will claim to refrain from it out of love for him. SubhanAllah how there is such a constant - the love for our Messenger, peace be upon him.

One question I asked myself - is what REALLY testifies to our love for another human being, specifically our Prophet? Does singing, dancing, beating a drum; or refraining from that and calling it innovation - do either of these things really prove/show our love for him?

When we want to prove our love for someone in this world, usually, it means to go through their hardships, trials, tribulations, sacrifices, pains, and miseries - by being right next to them every step of the way. To be ready to face anything that your beloved will face, and to face it head on, as if it was just as much your burden as it was your beloved's. While they are suffering, if you sing songs about them, or sit quietly and think about them - this may seem like love, but does not prove it. What proves it, is that one gets up, rises to the occasion, and stands next to their loved one and says, "your task is my task, your way is my way, and your pain will be mine."

1400 years stand between us and the Messenger, but this...is the heart and soul of our following of Rasulullah. Obedience. Imitation. Attempting to follow in his footsteps even if it means enduring some hardship similar to his, though his was greater than any man's. Having his marks and the marks of his companions in our actions, in our very beings. Saying to ourselves, if my Prophet (saw) went through hardship to spread the message of this deen and call the people and educate them; if he gave up his sleep, money, time, and health to worship his Lord - that we too must do the same. That we are ready to sacrifice much of our comforts and entertainment to accomplish the two primary objectives of Rasulullah:

1. Worship his Lord Night and day.
2. Call people to the way of his Lord night and Day.

So if we claim to love Rasulullah (saw), does it not behoove us, rather than to call something bid'ah and claim that this person or that person is an innovator; or to sing songs and beat drums in the masjid and claim the Sunnah - that we spend more time doing what he did - spending night and day working hard for the success of the Deen and the success of our own souls in gaining nearness to the Creator?

Four things are exceedingly difficult - to forgive while angry, to give alms during want, to abstain from sins in solitude, and to speak the truth before the person from whom may come fear or favor.

-Ali (radiAllahu 'anhu)