السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

In the introduction of his compendium of Shafi`e fiqh entitled "Al-Majmu`." Imam an-Nawawi mentions that Imam asy-Shafi`e used a walking stick for which he was asked: "Why do you carry a stick when you are neither old nor ailing?" He replied: "To remind myself that I am only a traveller in this world." 

While he was alive, Imam asy-Syafi'e used his walking stick to remind himself of the vulnerability and precariousness of Life. On his deathbed, he rejoiced: 

"When my heart was hardened and my courses constrained,
I made my hope a stairway to Your Forgiveness.
My sins burdened me heavily, but when I measured it by Your Forgiveness,
O Lord! Your Forgiveness was the greater."

SubhanAllah! This is the perspective and outlook of a man with strong conviction of Faith in his heart. When the wisdom of knowledge and deeds are applied judiciously, all forms of weaknesses and despair will transform themselves into sources of strength and hope. All manners of attachment to everything ephemeral will dissipate, if we direct our utter dependence on The One - who is Permanent and Everlasting. This surrender necessarily demand from the believer, complete Trust in the handhold of Allah (s.w.t.) and the Wisdom it entails.

With this attitude, one's living and dying (and everything in between) will be a more beautiful process because the Hereafter will be more comforting for the believer as his final and permanent abode. There is always another perspective that will give him hope. In short, this is the true meaning of complete submission to the Will of The Almighty.

This is corroborated by a Hadith Qudsi, in which the Beloved (s.a.w.) narrated that Allah (s.w.t.) said: "A servant [of Allah] committed a sin and said: 'O Allah, forgive me my sin.' And Allah said: 'My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them.' Then he sinned again and said: 'O Lord, forgive me my sin.' And Allah said: 'My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for them.' Then he sinned again and said: 'O Lord, forgive me my sin.' And Allah again said: 'My servant has committed a sin and has known that he has a Lord who forgives sins and punishes for sins. Do what you wish, for I have forgiven you." {Bukhari, Muslim}

The path is made so easy for us, so don't complicate it. And this is done out of the Absolute Mercy and Absolute Compassionating nature of Allah (s.w.t.) upon us. On many occasions, it seems as though we don't deserve such kindness and love from Him. But, He has made them available for all of us - that means He has not given up on us, and so we should not give up on ourselves.

That speaks a lot about our condition, and most importantly, our complete dependence on His Majesty.

So, it is quite high time that we place our expectations, instead of upon His creations who will disappoint, on The Creator instead. Trust that supreme handhold that will never break. Hold fast to the Rope of Allah - for every living moment that we are alive, that Rope is being offered to us. Put your Faith to allow Him to navigate your route back to Him. 

Hope, is a stairway to Allah's Forgiveness. Faith, is in trusting Him to pave the way. For indeed, hope and His Forgiveness will be your success, in this world and the next.

That, assuredly, will be our most beautiful journey back home.

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Prayer is one's intimate conversation with his/her Lord. Allah (s.w.t.) says: "Indeed, I am Allah. There is no (other) gods but Me. Therefore worship Me and establish prayer for My remembrance." [Ta-Ha 20:14]

But more often than not, we tend to think of God as a third person: whom we ask from, while expecting to be heard and our problems magically solved. Is there a way in which we can go beyond perceiving prayers as mere ritualistic worships and view them as ways of instilling God-consciousness within, as well as developing greater intimacy in our relationship with Him? Eo ipso, can we be more compassionate in the way we appreciate forms of worship? 

This brings to mind an inspirational story between Prophet Musa (a.s.) and a shepherd, narrated in Rumi's "Mathnawi," abridged as follows:

"There was once an unworldly shepherd whose heart overflowed with love for the Creator. All day long, as he tended to his flocks, he would speak aloud to God: “Where are you, my Beloved? How I long to serve You!” 

One day, Prophet Musa passed by the meadow and heard the shepherd called aloud: “Where are you, God, that I might stitch Your clothes, mend Your socks, polish Your shoes, comb Your hair and bring You a cup of milk?”

Prophet Musa became enraged with the shepherd. “How dare you talk to God like that! What you are saying is blasphemous. You should stuff cotton in your mouth if you cannot control your tongue. Then, at least, no one would hear your outrageous insulting words. Is God a mere human, that he needs to drink milk and have his hair combed and his shoes polished? You insult the Almighty by such talk, and you are an enemy of the faith. Let us pray that the Creator will not punish the whole human race because of you!”

The simple shepherd was shattered. He did not really understand what he had said to God that was so rude, or why the prophet had called him an enemy. Sobbing heartbrokenly, he said, “You have set fire to my soul. From now on, my mouth is sealed!” He then led his flock away feeling wretched and bereft.

Thereafter, while Prophet Musa was continuing on his way toward the city, Allah addressed him: “Why did you come between Me and My loyal servant? Why did you separate the lover from the Beloved? We have sent you so that you could unite one to the other, not break their ties. I did not create this world for My profit. My Creation is for the benefit of My creatures. I have no need of their praise and worship; it is the worshipper who benefits, not Me. Nor do I care for what form the worship takes. It is the sincerity of the heart that alone interests Me. Those bound by outward correctness are unlike those bound by their love for Me."

Humbled, Prophet Musa went back to look for the shepherd. After much searching, he finally found him in tatters, praying. He said: "God has spoken, and He told me that there is no need for etiquette in your speech to God. You are free to talk to Him in any way you like, with any words you may choose. For what I thought was your blasphemy is actually the faith and love that saves the world.” 

But by then, the shepherd had no more words that needed to be said. With a compassionate smile, he simply moved away."

There are many insights that we can learn from this inspirational story, but importantly, there are many paths to Allah (s.w.t.) He is not contained within selected myopic journeys defined by others. Each of our journeys are personal and therefore, we need to find for ourselves which path we need to take toward Him. At the end of the day, we have to be personally accountable for that choice.

Secondly, when advising or admonishing others, be moderate, be respectful, be inspiring. Don't desire for instant gratifications, so do not expect instant results. All that is expected of us is to merely continue planting the seeds. Faith, is to be convinced that Allah will sustain that seed which you have planted and bloom it into a beautiful, strong tree in the future. You may, or may not, be around to witness the harvest - but that is not your task. 

Your personal peace, is that you have benefitted someone by planting the seed, and benefitted many others who will enjoy the shade when that seed grows into a strong tree. 

Your peace with God, is achieved at that very moment that small seedling was planted, whether it eventually bloom into a flower or not. Indeed, how Merciful and Compassionate Allah (s.w.t.) is!

So start planting a seed today, and measure out your life not by the harvest that you reap but by the seeds that you plant.

Love, 
The Alchemist. 

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

While re-looking through my notes in preparation for class next week, this passage from "The Forty Rules of Love" inspired me. As a background, this was the time when Shams first arrived in Konya to meet Rumi. On the way, he perchance upon a peasant who gave him a way of passage and spoke highly of Rumi. It is worthwhile to quote the passage verbatim et literatim here, as follows:

*startquote* Shams asked:"Tell me, what is so special about about Rumi's sermons?"

The peasant fell quiet and squinted into the vast horizon for a while. His mind seemed to be everywhere and nowhere. Then he said: "I come from a village that has had its fair share of hardships. First the famine, then the Mongols. They burned and plundered every village in their way. But what they did in the big cities was even worse. They captured Erzurum, Sivas, and Kayseri and massacred the entire male population, taking the women with them. I myself have not lost a loved one or my house. But I did lose something. I lost my joy."

"What's that got to do with Rumi?" I asked.

Dropping his gaze back to his ox, the peasant murmured tonelessly, "Everyone says if you listen to Rumi preach, your sadness will be cured." *endquote*

Islam come into this world to provide Hope for mankind. Its message is beautiful and uplifting, its teachings are simple and direct, its ways are inspiring and enabling, and it is manifested by prophets who are noble and charismatic. Muslims, as Allah's khalifas, must demonstrate and embody these foundational characteristics of their Faith, to the best of their abilities. They do so through their deeds, their speech, their writings, their WhatsApp, their Facebook or Twitter entries - and the opportunities are endless. 

Our Beloved Prophet (s.a.w.) said in a hadith: "On every person's joints or small bones, there is (an opportunity for) charity, for  every day that the sun rises." [Bukhari & Muslim] Giving happiness and joy to others, helping them see things with a positive outlook, uplifting their spirits, encouraging them to carry on living - are all manifestations of charity.

I am convinced that by cheering someone else, we are in fact embellishing and planting the seeds of happiness for our own famished souls. If someone is happier today because of you, then you have lived a fruitful day.

Make someone happy today, and by the Grace of The Almighty, you will be happy tomorrow.

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Some years ago, a good friend gave me the book "Into The Wild" by Jon Krakauer, as my traveling companion for the 27hrs flight from Singapore to Seattle. The moment I read the first page, I was transfixed and completed the book by the time I left Narita, Tokyo - way ahead of time. Fortunately, I had Sir Richard Burton's unexpurgated translation of "One Thousand and One Nights @ The Arabian Nights" for the rest of the journey.

A sleeve description of the book reads as follows: "In April 1992, a young man from a well-to-do family hitchhiked to Alaska and walked alone into the wilderness north of Mt. McKinley. His name was Christopher Johnson McCandles. He had given $25,000 in savings to charity, abandoned his car and most of his possessions, burned all the cash in his wallet, and invented a new life for himself. He took up residence at the ragged margin of our society, wandering across North America in search of raw, transcendent experience. His family had no idea where he was or what had become of him until his remains turned up in Alaska." It was McCandles' journey into the wild to find himself, as a reaction to the kind of life he was expected to live.

Such introspective journey, albeit not as dramatic, also resonates in Islam. We are encouraged to travel through this earth. In surah Al-Ankabut, Allah says: "Journey in the land, then behold how He originated creation" [29:20]. A striking example is the story of Prophet Musa (a.s.) who travelled far and wide to search for Khidr who had been favoured with divine knowledge. You can find the details enumerated in surah al-Kahf 18:60-82.

In another beautiful story about the spirit of traveling for knowledge, a man came to Abu Darda' while he was in Damascus. Abu Darda' asked him "What has brought you here, my brother?" He replied, "A hadith which you relate from the Prophet (s.a.w.). Abu Darda' asked, "Have you come for some other worldly need?" He replied, "No." "Have you come for business?" He said, "No." "You have come only to seek this hadith?" He said, "Yes."

Abu Darda' then said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah (s.a.w.) say: 'Whoever travels a path seeking sacred knowledge, Allah will place him on a path leading to Paradise. The angels lower their wings for the student of sacred knowledge, pleased with what he is doing. The creatures in the heavens and the earth seek forgiveness for the student of sacred knowledge, even the fishes in the water. The superiority of the religious scholar over the devout worshipper is like the superiority of the full moon over the other heavenly bodies. The religious scholars are the heirs of the prophets. The prophets leave no money as a bequest, rather they leave knowledge. Whoever seizes it has taken a bountiful share." (Ahmad, Abu Dawood, at-Tirmidhi, ibn Majah)

There is a colossal difference between traveling to savor different experiences, engaging lifestyles different from yours so that you are enriched by contrasting perspectives - as opposed to being a tourist, consumed by taking landmark Instagram photos or designer shopping. Its akin to another classic literature, The Odyssey, the Greek epic poem attributed to Homer, concerning the adventures and ordeals of the Greek warrior Odysseus after the fall of Troy as he struggles to return home and reestablish himself as the King of Ithaca. The Odysseus who left Troy, was not the same Odysseus who eventually arrived at Ithaca.

That is the effect of discovery and travel - you will be transformed. The Beloved Prophet (s.a.w.) commented on our human condition: "Be in this life as though a stranger or a traveller." [Bukhari] Our existence in itself is a journey - be it physical, mental, spiritual, emotional or intellectual - life is a journey manifested in different experiences, so don't make excuses for it. We are never static, and as far as this is our condition, we are always on a journey. Broadly speaking, we all are on a journey of returning 'Home."

Such journeys, even if not physical, forces us to leave our comfort zone - and that is a good thing. It makes us taste the richness that Life has to offer, open up our minds, acknowledge our vulnerabilities, see the beauty and ugliness of fellow mankind all at the same time, it keeps us on our toes, to be more conscious, to take calculated risks and helps in the maturity of the Self. Through it all, we will be humbled by His Majesty and be more grateful for our small share in it.

In another quotation from "Into The WIld," McCandles said: "My point is that you do not need me or anyone else around to bring this new kind of light in your life. It is simply waiting out there for you to grasp it, and all you have to do is reach for it. The only person you are fighting is yourself and your stubbornness to engage in new circumstances.” 

Keep on traveling into the unknown, either physically to places, or by learning new things so your mind can be dazzled by various wonders.

To be charmed by Life is to have lived.

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

While re-reading "The Forty Rules Of Love" in preparation for our new book-reading class next week, I was struck by Rule No. 7 which goes like this: "Loneliness and solitude are two different things. When you are lonely, it is easy to delude yourself into believing you are on the right path. Solitude is better for us, as it means being alone without being lonely…"

First, we often misconceived 'loneliness' and 'solitude' as being one and the same. In doing so, we missed out on the benefits of both. Particularly in these times, most people suffer from loneliness because they have never experienced solitude. And if one is not accustomed to solitude, how can one be intimate in the privacy with his/her Lord?

In the field of human science, psychologists differentiates "loneliness" as something negative while "solitude" as a positive state of mind. This is because loneliness is deemed as something that depletes us and is imposed upon us - whereas solitude is a conscious choice, a springboard to greater self-awareness, and grounds us in who we are that enables us to reach out and give to others.

There is a resonance to the concept of solitude within Islam. One is encouraged to be in a state of regular self-reflections and introspections. Beyond the obligatory deeds, one performs the night vigils in the stillness of the night - a selfless sacrifice of a believer in one of the highest order of intimacy with his Creator. When one performs the supererogatory fasts, one tries to do so in secret. When one performs charity, the left hand does not know what the right hand does, and the list goes on. These acts are not lonely acts despite performing them alone, but these are acts of solitude, love and intimacy between a needy believer and his loving God. During those moments, there are private and beautiful blessings being transpired in their solitude. 

This spiritual saying sums it all up: "to be alone in the crowd" - despite being busy in the hustle and bustle of urban, modern living and all that it demands from us, one's connection and solitude with Allah s.w.t. is always maintained. That is our pillar. That becomes our anchor. That prevails as our handhold with the Divine. That becomes our balance.

How do we apply this concept into our day-to-day existence? It is easy, really. This world is temporary, so treat it as it is. Don't take life too seriously because at the end of the day, we have to let it go willingly. 

Take a moment to enjoy what you have - there is more to life than rushing for deadlines. Take a step back, breathe in deeply and appreciate your life in all its glory. Be grateful.

Let go of things that drags you down. Do not carry baggage as it slows you in your path. Be humble.

Enjoy your quiet time. Be alone sometimes, and always be in a state of solitude. Make peace, within and without. Forgive. Forgive. Forgive. Forgiving will set you free.

Smile, love, and choose to be happy.

Life is indeed beautiful, Alhamdulillah!

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

During one of my classes yesterday, we had a visitor from Texas sitting in. The topic was on Taharah. At the end of the session, he came up to ask: "If God is God, why does it matter that we need to perform ablution or ghusl prior to performing our prayers? Or to cover our awrat? Shouldn't God be looking into our hearts instead?"

A fair question for someone who is new to Islam. 

First, the affirmation that Allah s.w.t. does look into the condition of the heart of His servants even for ritualistic worships. In fact, in all matters actually.

Instead of answering his question immediately, I posted him a question: "If President Obama were to invite you for dinner at the White House, what would you wear for dinner?" He replied: "If it's a White House reception, then surely I will wear tuxedo and tie." So I asked him: "Why not wear what you are wearing today (bermudas and tee-shirt)?" And he replied: "Well, that's improper, isn't it?"

I smiled and replied: "Therein lies the answer to your question." It is easy to assume everything about Allah. In this case, He should be this and that, instead of us being such and such. It is a security blanket to cover up for our shortcomings. 

Since we are in a relationship with our Creator, this process is about our Adab  with Allah s.w.t. It is easy to perform deeds as an act of obligation, but it takes a more nuanced and intimate approach to do them with mindful consciousness. It makes the world of difference between these two states of being.

Islam is a beautiful religion, full of wisdom and harmony. The Beloved Prophet s.a.w. said: "The best among you are those who have the best manners and character." [Bukhari] In another hadith, he said: “I was only sent to perfect noble character.” [Ahmad] In the Qur’an, Allah s.w.t. declared the Prophet s.a.w. as follows: “Truly, you are of a tremendous character.” [al-Qalam 68:4] 

This should be sufficient to address the importance of having beautiful adab in everything we do, with the Prophet s.a.w. as our role model. Adab, is not exclusively the domain between a servant and his Lord, but also extents between His servants. This is how the Qur'an describes our relationship with Allah and our relationship with mankind. This is why we do most of the things we do. If there is no Adab, the things we do looses its beauty, its meaning and its significance.

Adab defines us. It distinguishes true knowledge and acquired hand-me-downs.

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Situated at the corner of Holland Village is a quaint 40-years old mosque. For many years, this was the only mosque in Singapore that delivers Friday sermons in English every week. It was at this very mosque that some years ago, I had the privilege to deliver my first English Friday sermon. And the relationship between us persisted, despite the few years that I was living in the United States.

There is always a very warm 'kampung" spirit demonstrated by members of the mosque committee whenever I am their Khatib every month. The long-time chairman himself was a retired Captain in the Army, who is now 85 years old, and is referred to with endearment as "The Captain," both by the congregants and by our very Prime Minister.

You will have known by now that this quaint and historical mosque was due to be torn down by end of last year, but by the Grace of Allah, their lease was extended till the end of April this year instead. As the Chairman said to me after prayers today, we will keep on praying that our lease will be extended, but meanwhile, we will continue doing what we do. Who knows? Allah may just reply to his, and his committee's prayers, insyaAllah.

On the way back home, these words struck me. Everyone there knew of the impending closure of this mosque by end-April. But meantime, I must say, the mosque was overflowing with Friday congregants today. On top of that, I also noticed that there were many new faces that I have not seen before. 

This observation taught me some valuable life lessons: how do we carry on, knowing that the end is near? For example, how would a cancer patient who was given a certain number of months/weeks by his doctor, brave the remaining days of his life? One can wallow in sadness, or take the remaining days positively - which is in reality, a test of true submission and hence, Faith.

Allah s.w.t. said in surah Al-Ankabut: "Every soul shall have a taste of death; then unto Us you shall be returned" [29:57], meaning that everything and everyone is a transient being. We will all eventually meet with our end in this realm, in one way or another. Our anxiety rests in the uncertainty of that end. 

It is natural to be afraid of something that we are not familiar. But the fear of death for believers always hinges on 'being ready' for it: i.e. have we done enough to ensure a smooth passage to Jannah? But, if we really think hard, we will never be completely ready. And I am not sure that is the intent set out by Allah s.w.t. anyway.

What matters, in my personal opinion, is the quality of every single choice that we make, guided by the teachings of Faith. Every decision in this transient existence will determine the quality of that unique personal journey that we all take. In the end, was it a beautiful journey full of hopes and joys, of happiness and peace, of loving and being loved, of mercy and compassion, of having learned and being beneficial to others, of being a source of inspiration and a guiding light unto oneself and others - in that personal journey back to Him (s.w.t.). It is to keep on improving daily and making a difference. Sayyidina 'Ali (k.w.) said: "I suffer the greatest loss, if I am the same today as I was yesterday."

Ergo, living in Faith means living in the here and now, because we cannot control nor determine our future. So we should be proactive with our present. Faith is internal and introspective in nature, hence we should strive to always maintain a positive perspective in the way Life unfolds itself before our eyes, and that will shape how we respond to Life. Faith also dictates that we should always think well of Allah and His Plans, and there is always a silver lining behind every cloud. Faith is to be celebrated.

These lessons were taught to me by observing the way the committee members of Kg Holland Mosque managed themselves, despite the impending closure of the mosque. Their positive outlook, certainly as a result of the fortitude of their Faith, brings in bigger crowds I have seen in months.

So, if you have a chance, or if you are in the area, do drop them a visit and perform a prayer there. It would mean the world to those who are still hanging on to Hope.

And Hope is a beautiful thing.

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

A brand new year. A brand new week. A brand new day at the office. 

I know most of us are dreading going back to work today after a long break of relaxation and festivities. It doesn't have to be that bad, really.

As Muslims, we value the opportunity of having a job. It is a luxury, to be able to have a work to go to every morning. Not everyone can, even if they wanted to. Allah s.w.t. says in Surah an-Naba': "And We created you in pairs. And We made your sleep as a time of rest. And We made the night (covers you like) a garment. And We made the day a time for you to acquire a livelihood." [78:8-11] Every actions of the children of Adam is measured: a time to work, a time to rest and a time to play.

Having a job teaches us many things as processes of life: discipline, responsibility, accountability, ensuring that we obtain Halal provisions to feed ourselves and our families. Importantly, having a job is a beautiful opportunity for us to perform 'ibadah throughout the day. 

The ability to earn a living is one of the Blessings and Mercies that Allah s.w.t. has favored upon us. It is earning a decent living. The Prophet (s.a.w.) said in a Hadith: "No one ever ate any food superior to that which came from the labor of his hands. The Prophet of Allah Daud (a.s.) used to eat from the labor of his hands." [Bukhari]

Go forth with the beautiful attitude that your work will indeed occupy a large part of your life, and that it will benefit many people around you or those whom you will never meet. So you must perform great work, and you can do this only if you love what you do. Most of all, be passionate and enjoy your work even if this seems a remote possibility to some of you. 

People of Faith are a wondrous group of people. They will turn around even a flicker of life's anxiety into something meaningful and beautiful. 

So, enjoy the start of the new work year. Love what you do because Allah will never overlook any small efforts that you perform for His Sake, insyaAllah.

Be an inspirational source of blessings to all.

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

The festive season that has just passed posed many lessons for me to ponder. One is with regards to "celebrating" the occasion of Christmas by exchanging gifts, and second, in wishing someone else's a "Merry Christmas!" By extension, the issue also includes wishing someone else a "Happy New Year!"

As a preamble, I just wish to say that in my personal opinion, we are all sweating out on the small stuffs and missing out on the big picture/important things. Or, we are magnifying small issues into big ones as smokescreens for our failures on other real issues that matter, such as discerning quality of education, lack of internalizing our faith, lack of emotional maturity of the Ummah, and the list goes on.

But first, in this short musing, I must say how irritating it is to keep receiving constant queries, year after year, of the permissibility of wishing someone else's a "Merry Christmas." But, my irritation is not upon the common Muslims who are earnestly striving to be good Muslims, but on the commanding, divisive (and condemning) opinions of the "specialists" (note: I did not use the word 'scholars' on purpose). 

Such absolute opinions (being either just black or white on issues) on the exclusivity of a Muslims' place in this world reeks of ignorance, insensitive irrelevance and narrow-mindedness of a person living in this world community. I am fine if that is a personal choice of one's own character, but if that is his 'learned religious opinion,' it has devastating implications on Islam and the way Muslims and others view Islam. That is a real concern, because Islam is a vast and extensive way of life. It is not as narrow as sometimes we make Islam out to be.

If such opinions are allowed to prevail, Muslims will slowly and surely, become hollow individuals devoid of contextual realities of his world. Much to my chagrin, with the addition of this and other hollowed opinions, it will even drive Muslims away from their own religion as seemingly burdensome. 

I just want to close this chapter by inviting you to consider this logic: if by wishing others a "Merry Christmas" we automatically become a kafir or Christian, then it must lead to the logical conclusion that if a Christian were to wish us "Selamat Hari Raya," then equally and automatically he will become a Muslim. Its the only conclusion - this is Logic 101 learned by first year philosophy undergraduates. This should suffice to prove the absurdity of such arguments as seen circulating on the internet.

On the issue of exchanging gifts, this is not the exclusive culture of Christmas. In Islam, our Beloved Prophet Muhammad s.a.w. said in a hadith: “Exchange gifts. This will generate mutual feelings of love and eliminate feelings of animosity and estrangement from your hearts.” [Mishkat]

But why do we only associate this practice with Christmas? The logical answer is simple: instead of simply labeling this practice as "haram" or blaming St Nicholas - it is because Muslims are not practicing this Sunnah. This is the simple truth.

Therefore, let us start cultivating this habit of exchanging gifts (it is not the amount that matters, but your sincerity). Perhaps one day in the foreseeable future, insyaAllah, the world will attribute the practice of exchanging gifts as an Islamic culture instead. Then, as an Ummah, we will have arrived.

But for now, forget about the things that distracts us. Harness our intellects, our hearts and our minds into being a good Muslim and into being a beneficial human being. 

Islam is not a religion for simpletons. It demands that we think for our faith. Think, and your understanding will set you free.

This is the beauty of Faith.

Love,
The Alchemist.

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

Islam is a deeply introspective way of life. In welcoming 2014, let us hope to engage in more self-reflections (muhasabah) and consciousness by constantly engaging noble values within the choices we make in our lives.

With the passing of each year, we garner immense wealth of experiences, both good and bad, joys and sorrows - but being men of Faith, they all are invaluable life lessons in our individual journeys. They remind us of how we got here today.

But we need to keep the past in the past. Learn what they have to teach us so we can be wiser and have more courage in facing the coming days ahead. Then chin-up, and bravely face the future, in the comfort that we are in the best of handholds - that of The Almighty.

For everything that we leave behind, we pick up new things along the way. 
Keep moving, and make 2014 an even better year for you than 2013.

Love,
The Alchemist.