Freedom

Maher Zain new song called freedom was inspired from our brothers and sisters which fight for freedom in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and all other countries.

Freedom ( Official Lyric )

Gathered here with my family

My neighbours and my friends
Standing firm together against oppression holding hands
It doesn't matter where you're from
Or if you're young, old, women or man
We're here for the same reason; we want to take back our land

Oh God thank you
For giving us the strength to hold on
And now we're here together

Calling you for freedom, freedom
We know you can hear our call ooh
We're calling for freedom, fighting for freedom
We know you won’t let us fall ooh
We know you're here with us

No more being prisoners in our homes
No more being afraid to talk
Our dream is just to be free, just to be free
Now when we've taking our first step
Towards a life of complete freedom
We can see our dream getting closer and closer, we're almost there

Oh God thank you
For giving us the strength to hold on
And now we're here together

Calling you for freedom, freedom
We know you can hear our call ooh
We're calling for freedom, fighting for freedom
We know you won’t let us fall ooh
We know you're here with us

I can feel the pride in the air
And it makes me strong to see everyone
Standing together holding hands in unity
Shouting out load demanding their right for freedom
This is it and we're not backing of
Oh God we know you hear our call

And we're calling you for freedom, freedom
We know you can hear our call ooh
We're calling for freedom, calling for freedom
We know you won’t let us fall oh
We know you're here with us

Dedicated to all the people struggling for freedom and dignity in the world.

Maher's Zain new music video, inspired by the revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and across the Arab world.

Concert footage from Maher Zain's concerts in Malaysia at the Malawati Stadium, Shah Alam, on the 25th and 26th of February 2011

I hate myself!

I really hate myself

I hate myself for keep screwing up making silly mistakes

I hate myself for not saying the right words

I hate myself for being so socially awkward

I hate myself when I'm being horribly judgemental

I hate myself for being heavily teary-eyed

I hate myself for always hurting myself a lot

I hate myself for not being the right person

And trust me the list goes on

I just hate myself for hating so much of me.

Ergo, I went for a quest

searching for someone

who would love me more than I could ever love myself

cheer me up through thick and thin

and through that someone

I would eventually learn to love myself.

I looked everywhere high and low

I searched for days and months and years

I almost lose hope for it

Until one day, I found that someone.

It took me a long time to realise that that someone has been there all this while

That someone showed true compassion

Taught me patience and endurance

Calm and gentle to me

And above all showed me love

That someone is Allah.

For He is the only one capable of making me happy

For He is the only one always there to comfort my sorrow

For He is the only one out there always protecting me

For He is the only one capable of healing my wounds

And above all, for He is the One who loves me more than I love myself

Praise be to the Most Merciful for all these blessings

For this life, this family, these friends, this love

There is nothing more I could ask for

His love is sufficient enough

Thank you Allah!

I love you Allah.

I really do.

^_^

~h5~

Allah knows best!

ALLAH knows what is best for us

So why should we complain

We always want the sunshine

But He knows there must be rain.

We always want laughter

and the merriment of cheer

but our heart will lose

their tenderness

If we never shed a tear.

ALLAH tests us often

with suffering and sorrow

He tests us not to punish us

but to help us meet tomorrow.

For growing trees are strengthened

if they can withstand the storm

and the sharpness of the chisel

gave the marble its grace and form.

ALLAH tests us often

and for every pain He gives us

provided we are patient

is followed by rich gain.

So whenever we feel that

everything is going wrong

It is just ALLAH'S way

to make our spirit strong.

Be strong dear! Allah knows best! ^_^

You'll do great my love..InsyaAllah..

Productivity Lessons from the Gaming World!

Believe it or not, there was a time when Mr. ProductiveMuslim, wasn’t that productive! My biggest weakness was video games – I was insanely addicted to them, and alhamdulillah I managed to rid myself of them when I went to university and had to live without them for 4-5 years.

There was an addictive quality about games which I didn’t understand; I knew they were fun, and an “escape” from reality, but there was more. I recently came across a TED.com talk in which the speaker deciphered the addictive qualities of games and how gamers are essentially ‘productive’ in their own weird way.

So I thought: what lessons can we learn from gamers and gaming to help us be productive in our daily activity? If you think about it, gamers are actually ‘productive’ in what they are doing – they are very ‘focused’, ‘hard-working’, and ‘determined’ in achieving their virtual goals. It makes you wonder sometimes what could be achieved if the gamers around the world redirected their concentration, efforts, and persistence to real and positive works.

This is not a call for us to jump to the next console, but rather to extract lessons from the gaming world that will insha’Allah help us reach “blissful productivity” (i.e. productivity that is so enjoyable we don’t want to stop!).

Gaming is addictive due to 3 main ingredients:

1. Purpose/Meaning
Games give purpose and meaning to the player – they have ‘missions’ to complete and ‘levels’ to ascend. This sense of purpose keeps gamers going for hours, repeating levels again, and again, and again, and rarely giving up. If you look at the best games, they are the ones that have the most compelling story with the strongest purpose! (Call of Duty anyone?)

2. Social Network
Before the advent of the Internet, console games and even simple board games were a social event. Families and friends gathered to have a good time. Now the gaming social network has ‘evolved’ with the Massive Multi-Player Online Games; millions of people around the world, connect, meet, talk, fight, run, jump, and battle together! The social bond between the gamers sometimes is at the expense of familial ties, either weakening them or completely ruining them.

3. Epic Wins
Games provide epic victories! Which gamer in the world doesn’t love that final momentous blow to the evil boss? It’s a sense of achievement. On the other hand, and I know this personally, which gamer doesn’t hate that black screen of death with the annoying text: Game over! These epic wins are strongly connected to a gamer’s pride, causing a gamer to spend hours until he/she achieves that ego boost! And the ‘Game over!’ screen is strongly connected to a gamer’s negative feelings, so that he/she will fight so hard (with their fingers) to save themselves from that ‘disgrace and disappointment’!

So purpose, social interaction, and epic wins/losses are the three key ingredients that make games so addictive and their players to be so ‘productive’ and ‘hard-working’ in their virtual words. Now, let’s apply these three ingredients in the real world and see if it can make us productive:

1. Have a Purpose/Meaning for whatever you do
It’s amazing how we go about life with little or no purposeful intent in anything we do. We have no purpose behind our studies, no purpose behind our work, no purpose behind our fun time. If you want to have a productive and enjoyable life, have a strong purpose! Alhamdulillah, as Muslims, we were given the biggest and best purpose in life; a purpose not just confined to this temporary life, but for both the dunya (temporary world) and for the eternal Hereafter (akhirah); and that purpose is to worship Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala). But how many of us truly connect to this purpose?

2. Build a Social Network around what you do
If you want to be productive in what you’re doing, involve others! I can tell you from personal experience how my productivity doubles when I’m working on a project with others, compared to when I’m working on a project alone. When we work with others, we commit to work together and don’t want to look bad, so we try hard to keep our promises. But when we work alone, we often lose self-accountability and motivation. SubhanaAllah, this made me think how Islam is such a “community religion” – if you look at most of the rituals in Islam, they are done in “Jama’a” – congregation. Salah, Hajj, Fasting Ramadan (you fast with your community and break fast with them), etc.

3. Imagine your Epic Wins/Losses
Make sure whatever you do, you can imagine it’s ‘epic moment of victory’ to which you can positively and excitedly connect. Make sure you imagine the ‘epic moment of loss’ as well so you deter yourself from slacking and being unproductive. Let’s look at the example of studying for exams: your joyous moment would be passing your exams, seeing your parents smile for your achievement, receiving your certificate; by contrast, your moment of loss is failing your exams, seeing the disappointment on your parents face, and/or repeating the whole year again, while your classmates move on to the next year! We can apply this further, to our entire lives; our epic win is…Jannah! Connect with Jannah through the descriptions given to us in The Quran, and you’d really not want to lose it! And also learn about the epic loss, Jahanam so you deter yourself from anything Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) dislikes.

Dear Gamers…

Now before I end, I want to make a small address to our dear gamers. The number of hours that gamers spend playing video games is shocking. One study estimates that gamers around the world collectively spend 3 billion hours per week, playing games! Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi rajoun! I want my dear Muslim brothers and sisters who are addicted to gaming (just like I was) to wake up and be productive with their life, and find better hobbies or sources of relaxation.

Here are some steps for how gamers can “wake up” from their unproductive lifestyle:

1. Purpose/Meaning
Honestly, do you think reaching that extra level or slaying that villain will add any true valuable meaning to your life? Really, ask yourself? Reflect on Surat Al-Asr (#103), because indeed we are not losing time but also wasting it.

2. Social Network
Is the random stranger behind some computer using a female avatar to hide his identity really your friend? Is this unknown person closer to you and more valuable than your parents who have taken care of you their whole lives and done a lot to keep you happy (whether you know and notice it or not)?

3. Epic win/epic loss
I remember that after the euphoric win in a game or finishing the last level, I would find myself feeling empty inside. I wasn’t truly happy; my happiness was a fleeting moment and distraction. Most gamers resolve this by going and buying a new game, but then what? When does the cycle end?

So a sincere call to my dear Muslim brothers and sisters, from your brother who has been there, to get out of this addiction and wake up to the real world.

The real world is so much more beautiful, so much more satisfying, and it needs you, each one of you, to save it and achieve the ultimate epic win, Jannah and the pleasure of Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala)!

source: http://www.productivemuslim.com/productivity-lessons-from-the-gaming-world/

Good mood ^_^

Every normal person feels depressed at times but it's definitely not a good idea to dwell on those negative thoughts and wallow in bad feelings. Feeling sorry for yourself, heartbroken and self pity are some examples of unhealthy moody atmospheres. On the other hand, good mood starts with a good attitude. It will somehow keeps our days upbeat and positive. Good moods are awesome! - though sometimes it can be quite hard to maintain those moods. Still, we can do something to preserve this good healthy vibrant in our lives! Let's get yourself back to one! =)

Put on something nice and good - not just pretty or expensive clothes but comfortable enough that give us the sense of feeling good. Often, the way we dress reflects our emotions. Messy clothing will only reinforces the negative aura.

Remember your loved ones - Simply name five people that you love and take a few minutes to keep in touch with each of them. Use all sorts of techno, just a simple 'hello' and 'i miss u' will do. Emails, Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Yahoo! you name it.

Reward yourself! - this is the best part of all! Have a reward each time you manage to finish up a task or two. Take a stroll to the beautiful garden nearby or just go on chatting with an old friend. But be careful not to overindulge in it!

Do something that you love - this is it, this is when the time you want to go for shopping, indulge in scrumptious food, immerse in breathtaking views, go for nice summer holidays and the list goes on and on. Ok..I believe this particular point would be overlapped with the point 'reward yourself' as you're doing what you would love to do ideally after you've done something decent and worthy to be rewarded. Let's make it simple then, for instance I love to cook and bake but haven't got enough time to do it so let's wait until I've finished my revision task. Get it?

Do something nice for someone else - how ironic it is when we're doing something to make others happy, we can also feel positive and happy. The act of giving is amazing which can alleviate the depression and give some relief to the heart. It's not necessary have to be something big or fancy, just something that the person will appreciate.

Always count your blessings - the most crucial one! There are so many things that we tend to take for granted as simple as good health, nice food, living in peace, beautiful sceneries, abundance of love and care etc etc. Alhamdulillah, praise be to Allah The Almighty for giving us the chance to have all those things even if it's just for a second. Alhamdulillah!

Keep your positive mug forward! Oopss i mean MOOD!

Ok I'm feeling good now! ^_^ Hope you too then!