How to Attain Happiness: #1 Ponder and Give Thanks

This means, pondering about Allah's favors; you will find that it covers you from above and from below:

وَإِن تَعُدُّواْ نِعْمَةَ اللّهِ لاَ تُحْصُوهَا إِنَّ اللّهَ لَغَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ

"And if you would count the graces of Allâh, never could you be able to count them. Truly! Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful." (An-Nahl 16:18)

Good health, security in the country, food and clothing, breeze and water; you have the entire world and you do not take cognizance, you have life and you are unaware!

وَأَسْبَغَ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعَمَهُ ظَاهِرَةً وَبَاطِنَةً
"...and has completed and perfected His Graces upon you, (both) apparent (i.e Islâmic Monotheism, and the lawful pleasures of this world, including health, good looks, etc.) and hidden [i.e. One's Faith in Allâh (of Islâmic Monotheism) knowledge, wisdom, guidance for doing righteous deeds, and also the pleasures and delights of the Hereafter in Paradise, etc.]?" (Luqman 31:20)

You have two eyes, the tongue, the two lips, two hands and two feet;

فَبِأَيِّ آلَاء رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

Then which of the Blessings of your Lord will you both (jinns and men) deny?
(Ar-Rahman 55:13)

Is it an easy thing that you walk on your two feet and feet have been amputated? You lean on your two shanks and shanks have been cut-off? Is it insignificant that you sleep soundly while pain has disrupted the sleep of many; and that you fill your stomach with delicious food and sip cold water and there is one whose food brought him trouble and the drink brought him illness and ailment?

Consider your hearing, you have been protected from deafness; and think about your sight, you have been guarded against blindness. Think about your skin, you have been delivered from leprosy, and about your intellect, you have been bestowed the favor of its soundness and have not been afflicted with madness and absent-mindedness.

Would you desire one of your eyes to be as the mountain of Uhud in gold? Would you like to sell your hearing for the weight of Thahlaan in silver? Would you purchase the brilliant castles with your tongue so that you become dumb? Would you give your two hands in exchange for beautiful pearls and gemstones so that you are one-armed? You enjoy abundant favors and great bounties but you know not!

You live in worry and sorrow, sad and depressed while you have hot bread, cold water, smooth sleep, exceptional good health. You are thinking about the lost and not giving thanks for that which is available. You are disturbed about wealth-related lost while you have the key to success with you - tremendous quintals of good, gifts, favors and many things! Ponder and give thanks:

وَفِي أَنفُسِكُمْ أَفَلَا تُبْصِرُونَ
"And also in your ownselves. Will you not then see?" (Adh-Dhariyat 51:21)

Ponder about yourself, your household, your home, work, wellness, close associates and the world around you;

يَعْرِفُونَ نِعْمَتَ اللّهِ ثُمَّ يُنكِرُونَهَا وَأَكْثَرُهُمُ الْكَافِرُونَ

"They recognise the Grace of Allâh, yet they deny it (by worshipping others besides Allâh) and most of them are disbelievers (deny the Prophethood of Muhammad SAW)."
(An-Nahl 16:83)

[Extracted with slight adaptations from "30 Ways to Attain Happiness" by Muhammad bin Abdillaah Ash-Shaayi', translated by Abu Naasir Ibrahim Abdur-Rauf, published by Dakwah Corner Bookstore.]

"Renewed" Title

Al-Hamdu lillah, upon the advice of our brother Ahmad (http://fikrahibnshamsuddeen.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-there-in-name.html), I've decided to remove the nisbah (attribution) of "as-Salafee" from the title of my blog as well.

Wa lillaahi al-Waliyy at-Tawfeeq.

What's there in a name?

Well, this is gonna be a random posting, so I'll just be saying off my mind.

So.. as the title goes, what's there in a name? "NOTHING!", some people would say. "A name is just a name by which you identify a person with."

"Oh really?" I asked. Well, Vishal from my BMT recourse shared, "Well, there was an article to prove this point. A father named his elder son "Winner" and his younger son "Loser". Turns out Winner doesn't fare very well in life while "Loser" is a high-flyer." (or so the story goes to that effect as I don't remember exactly)

Oh ok. So a name is just a name? Really?

So why did our Prophet Muhammad sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam place importance in choosing good names for our children? Hmm..

Well, let's look at our fellow Muslims.. Malay Muslims especially.. (oh, by the way, this isn't a racist comment or remark.. I'm a Malay-Muslim too.. thus, the focus.. this is an open and self-criticism.. take it or leave it..)

Malay boys are named "Muhammad so-and-so".. Muhammad Farhan, Muhammad Idris, Muhammad Asyraf, etc. Muhammad is a praiseworthy name.. in fact, Muhammad itself means the Praiseworthy one.

But.. many of our sons named Muhammad, subhanallah, their manners are way below praiseworthy.. along with Muhammad who smokes, Muhammad who flirts, and oops.. Muhammad who drinks and Muhammad who snatches a girl's virginity.. (Subhanallah, can't believe I'm writing this..)

[So I'm thinking, parents.. you really should consider before naming your son Muhammad.. can he live up to that name rather than tarnish it?]

Thus we find that along with the not-praiseworthy Muhammads, Hamid who swears and curses, Lutfi who is rough and definitely not soft-mannered.. Abdul Hakim who isn't really wise, what more qualified to be a judge.. Zaki isn't really bright, he's failing his subjects.. Huda isn't really guided, she smokes and wears tank tops and tight jeans.. Hafizah doesn't really "cover up", what more memorize the Quran.. And Aishah not even a little like the Prophet's wife..

Just to add 2 more.. Umar isn't like Umar ibn al-Khattab radiyAllahu 'anhu or Umar bin Abdul Aziz rahimahullah and Ali is definitely not like Ali bin Abi Talib radiyAllahu 'anhu.

(Oh boy.. i'm gonna get lots of comments, especially on Facebook..)

And so I realize I'm failing my case.. How do i prove that a name is more than just a name by which we identify a person with?

The only argument I have is I'm Farhan and I'm joyful and always in smiles.. =)

Then there's the story of Said al-Musayyib in which because his grandfather refused to change his name (which means sadness), thus the family has always been in sadness and grief.

Not forgetting the several instances whereby the Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam change some of the Companions' names for better ones upon their reversion to Islam.. Well, their former names carry bad meaning.. What i can remember, the Companion 'Abdur-Rahman bin 'Auf used to have a name that has a bad meaning..

And so in the Hadith, the Prophet sallAllahu 'alayhi wa sallam tells us to name our children Abdullah or Abdur-Rahman, Harith or (i forgot the other name mentioned).. names with good meanings.. and to avoid names like Harb (war), the one who commits sin, etc.. (Ok, perhaps someone can help me in quoting this hadith.)

I believe that at the end of the day, it's not just about naming our children with good names (or those long names but end up calling them "Mad", "Mid", "Din"..)

It's about raising our children to live up to their names, reflect well of their names.. And more importantly, for each and every one of us Muslims to do so ourselves.


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Actually, my main intention of writing this was to "debate" whether to keep or remove the name/title "as-Salafee" from my blogs on Multiply and Blogspot. [But my post really went off right? Although touching a "bigger" issue worth reflecting on.]

Readers who follow me on Blogspot would realize that I've just changed my Signature as "Ibn Shamsud-Deen as-Sanqafooree".

[Well, it used to be "Ibn Shamsud-Deen as-Salafee" as with the name of my blog; there was once it was "Aboo 'Ammaar Ibn Shamsud-Deen as-Salafee" or "Aboo 'Ammaar Ibn Shamsud-Deen as-Sanqafooree", and yes, it was long...]

The reason for this consideration was that I was reminded by Ustaz Abu Hawariy last night that Shaykh Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani himself didn't put the title "as-Salafee" behind his name on his books, although he allows and encourages it (with certain conditions).

The same goes to other scholars like Shaykh Bin Baz, Shaykh Uthaymeen, Shaykh Abdul Muhsin al-Abbad, and others. Occasionally, we'd find the book of Shaykh Ali Hasan al-Halabi with the title "Al-Athaaree" at the back of his name.

So for quite some time, I've been considering that it's not important to have the title "as-Salafee", thus, removing it from my signature.

Especially the fact that a few brothers from UK (one is from SPubs) have visited my blog and commented on certain posts that the author I quoted from is not known to be Salafee or upon the Salafee manhaj, although I disagree.

But considering the fact that readers have long known my blog as bearing that name "Ibn Shamsud-Deen as-Salafee", I shall keep it as that for now.. only my signature changes..