*Fruit for Thought* Make gratitude an action

Assalamu aleikum/'ala man ittaba'al huda,

I recently watched a documentary on Yao Defen (7"7), the tallest woman in the world. She has a life-threatening tumour in her pituatary gland that produces excess growth hormone affecting her heart and other organs, which is proving a challenge to treat. It was remarkable seeing ailing Defen manage in a world built for those two-thirds her size; she hangs on to the hope that the tumour will soon be treatable and that somehow, she will be able to afford the treatment. Like most people, my heart went out to her, and I felt a surge of shame about my own complaining, and an overwhelming sense of gratitude for all I had been blessed with. Yet after a while, I paused to think about it- what did it mean, to say I was grateful? Sure, I thanked and praised Allah verbally at this instance, but what would happen two, three days later? Likely as not, I would once again take everything for granted, and move through life as though everything was assured - nay, I would also probably pout and whine about the little insignificant blips in life that I had to face. I realised then that gratitude must come through action. If I was truly grateful for my health, I needed to do more with the ability God gave me, and I needed to take care of myself so I could take care of others. If I was truly grateful for the time I had free of major worry - because when you have something truly worth worrying about, it saps the enjoyment from your time - then I needed to spend it more in ways of benefit, things I would not regret when I no longer had the opportunity. Most of all, I was obliged to do this, because what I had wasn't a free and constant prize, it was a loaned responsibility. How many people jump on the bandwagon of supporting a cause only because they have now been afflicted? Things change and things happen, so be grateful, and show it by following what Allah has asked of you and by helping those you can, while you still can.

Here's to trying hard, inshaAllah to make gratitude an action.

Prophet Muhammad - Sal Allahu Alayhi wa Sallam (peace and blessings of Allah upon him) - advised someone saying, 'Take benefit of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free time before you are preoccupied and your life before your death.'
Sahih - Narrated by Ibn Abbas & collected in al-Haakim & others.

Neither beetles nor flies

Assalamu aleikum,

Here's a point I thought I'd share from a lecture by Dr. Umar Abdelkafy
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The Sheikh mentioned that we are often hasty to point out the faults of others. If we keep doing so, we will end up being like the beetles and flies that forage in garbage. If you put such beetles in excrement, they are perfectly happy. But if you put them in a clean, fragrant environment, they are uncomfortable and hastily scurry away. Similarly, if we keep searching out the faults of others, we will become accustomed to digging out filth and dirt, and will gradually move away from goodness, until we get to the point where we can't even recognise it, and hate to be around it. He gave the example of a person who is apt and attentive whenever scandal and lewdness is discussed, yet squirms in discomfort and irritation at the mention of prayer or Qur'an. So let us not be like flies who nourish themselves with refuse: let us turn our concentration inwards to our own faults and misgivings, rather than being hasty to uncover those of our brothers and sisters.

The "No TV" Sign!

Assalamu aleikum,

I have created the No TV sign, whose purpose is to motivate us to abandon or avoid TVil:



Although the reasons for avoiding TV nowadays are obvious, here are my own hypotheses (to *ahem* remind myself!)

1) Don't just dream; do.
For some reason, TV makes us think it's great to watch people doing stuff. But if we don't agree with what they're doing, then why are we watching? And if we do, then why aren't we doing it ourselves? Why am I watching Barefoot Contessa or Anna Olsen make cookies (and eat them!), instead of making and eating cookies myself?

2) O gaze, where art thou?

Tell the believing men to lower their gaze and to be mindful of their chastity: this will be most con­ducive to their purity – [and,] verily, God is aware of all that they do.[Al-Nour, 30]

The most obvious point of all, but perhaps as a reminder: is it physically possible to be watching TV and lowering your gaze at the same time? Needless to say, there are cases where people watch mediocre shows simply in order to ogle at the beautiful male/female star...

3)The Hour-burner
Simply put, TV wastes time. A whole lot of it. Hours which, it's alarming to admit, we'll be weeping over when the real Hour comes :(

4)Fitnah: 10,000, Benefit: 0
Really, I keep telling myself, "What have I gained from TV?" Not much. What have I lost? A whole lot. It's frightening, but how often can we say, "I have gained good deeds from watching TV," - and how often can we say the opposite? TV teaches you little if anything at all; if I wanted to make cookies I can look up the recipe.

5)Waxing the dark; waning the light
I used to watch a whole lot of crime-related shows. One day, I was shocked to realise that the reason my interest was continually engaged was that I always expected the next crime to be more heinous and disturbing than before. It doesn't matter that the scenes are not graphic and nonviolent - the very fact that only gruesome acts can engage us or provoke our deepest sympathy should send up a red flag.

6)The eyes are the doorways to the soul
You think watching a harmless show has no effect on you? Pay close attention to your manner of speech after that, and your attitude towards and perception of such broad terms as romance, friendship, elders, amusement, parents, achievement, self-image. Most of the stuff we watch we would blatantly disagree with (even be shocked at) if someone we knew said/did/dressed/acted the same. Yet we watch and revel in watching it; meanwhile we are subtly being influenced through all we watch.

7)TV Rules!...you
TV dictates what and when you are going to watch. Seriously. Broadcasters out there try to snag your attention with shows, selling you to advertisers. Specific programming is set, and at specific times. Who's at the mercy of whom?

8)Proper Propaganda
Watch the news, by all means. It shouldn't take you long to discover what went on during the day. The rest, you'll come to realise, is repetition or propaganda.

9)So as I was saying...what was I saying?
Attention. Defecit. Enough said. Your brain is more numb watching TV than asleep. The number of scene changes (the number of times the image changes on the screen) is unlike any stimulus in nature; after it, you'll find it hard to be engaged by anything else.

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Ah, Ye Olde Woman, heed your own warnings: happy will be the day when you scorn TV completely! Reminders to myself and those who wish to be reminded.