Lessons from a pimple

I rarely get pimples. I am blessed in that sense Alhamdolillah. So a recent eruption left me cringing and depressed. I was conscious of it the whole time and trying various remedies, kept looking at it and willing it to reduce in size if not altogether disappear.

And as I looked at it for about the gazillionth (it seemed like!) time today I realized quite a lot of things. Sometimes realization just strikes you and leaves you with a deeper understanding of yourself.

The lessons:
1) It struck me how temporary things of this duniya (like clear skin!) are. If my entire happiness, my reason for existence was based on these temporary things then I would almost never be happy! If clear skin is what keeps me running then every time a pimple erupts-and well who can help it? I gotta have chocolate!- I shall go into a decline. However if my happiness, my serenity, my purpose in life came from something more ever lasting, some eternal, like hope of Jannah, then no matter what happens to my worldly possessions, nothing would make me sink into depression. So our fuel should not be worldly things but our connection with Allah, our willingness to submit to him, our satisfaction in doing good deeds, our Salah and fasts.

2) I also realized that this blemish on my skin was not as important or worrying as the blemishes on my soul. This pimple shall (inshaAllah!) disappear but the blemishes on my soul-what of those? Am I working to erase them as hard as I worked to get rid of this? This is temporary-what about those?
Every sin I commit, every wrong I do puts a blemish on my heart and soul. Repentance and prayer are the way to rid myself of them therefore I must be constantly engaged in either of the two to even hope of having a clean hear and a clear soul. The skin I can look at and see if the pimple is there or not, but what about the blemishes that are invisible? How much harder I have to work to eliminate the risk!

3) While I realized I need to cut down on oily food, chocolates etc., it also struck me that I need to list down all the things in my life currently that are probably causing an acne problem for my soul and heart!
An anti acne formulation is a list all of us must make for ourselves and note down everything we want to work on. Start working on it and cross out any item that you manage to kick. In fact what better time that Ramadan when Shaytan is in chains and the only thing to deal with is your Nafs-do not underestimate it though. It is a very powerful opponent!
So you may have something like this:
Distractions in Salah-KICK!
Music-Kicked faaaaaaarrrr awayyyyy!

And so on and so forth inshaAllah

4) I was conscious of my pimple the entire time! Whether I was hanging out with friends and family(who BTW were no help with their 'Oh look! You got a pimple!' Like hello.I own a mirror thank you very much), attending lectures, praying, sitting, eating, talking...you get the picture?
Now imagine this-if I were THIS conscious of Allah my entire life, if I felt him whether alone or with people, how much more easier would resisting temptations be?! SubhanAllah!

5) I am thankful that it was just one tiny pimple instead of an acne breakout, I am thankful I have rarely had to deal with this stuff compared with the many sisters who have had much worse issues with it, especially during teenage, I am thankful it was a pimple-can you even imagine the worse possibilities that could have occurred? I am thankful I have a nose that made it possible for me to even get a pimple there! Alhamdulillah!

Now this is not the first time I have had such thoughts but imagine how a little thing like a pimple can help you put your life in perspective again and make you realize!
So sisters start imagining that pimple on your face and realize the blessings of Allah and reflect :D

Peace!

Starting a Journey-Bismillah :)

Assalam-o-alaykum Wa Rahmatullah!
Another Ramadan in my life Alhamdolillah.Thought I would make it a month of new beginnings-aside from all the  improvements I bring about in myself as a Muslim inshaAllah.
Therefore ta-daaaa! A blog =D

I guess like every other young person on this planet I have lots to say.Everything that I read and see and hear triggers off many thoughts in my head but sadly since I cannot air my views to a book/article/YT video etc etc, all these thoughts remain crammed in my head (well at least till the time I relieve all that pressure by having imaginary debates and conversations and writing up a few articles in my mind-you know the drill, right??)

So now here I am.22 and with little or almost no knowledge of my Deen. Sure I know the Salah, can recite the Quran, have memorized a few Surahs, know how to fast, perform Umrah and your other basics but really is that enough? Our Deen is easy and simple but there are so many things that we can learn every day, every minute of our lives.
And you know what the worst part about it is?I was born in a Muslim family and have been Muslim my whole life Alhamdolillah. There are revert brothers and sisters out there who probably know much more than me mashaAllah!

So what exactly does being a Muslim mean?Does it mean that I cannot be called a Muslim unless I know some rules and regulations, have AT LEAST a certain amount of knowledge and so on and so forth?
Well technically I shall be a Muslim as long as I have said the Shahaada (i.e. testified to the fact that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammad (S.A.W) is His Last Messenger) and believe in One God alone, in His Books and Prophets, in the day of Judgement, offer the 5 daily prayers and fast in the month of Ramadan.
But is it enough? If I were appearing for an entrance exam for a university that was my last hope for a degree,  would I make sure that I know just the basics?Or would I go the extra mile? Wouldn't I fear competition? Wouldn't I keep worrying about 'What if?' What if I fall a teeny tiny bit short?What if I am not good enough?What if my best isn't best enough?What if there are thousands other better than me and there are only limited seats?
The what ifs would surely torture me and push me to do more, learn more, study more, know more. Knowledge, my friends is the key and this Ramadan if I were to make only one resolution for the rest of the year it would be to gain more knowledge about my Deen inshaAllah and then implement it.After all knowledge without action is just that. A bunch of facts stuffed in your head. Once you use it, apply it, allow it to help you make yourself a better person, that's when it counts.

Umm I just realized the above post is not really what my blog is all about. My blog is all about the random musings of my mind. Of what I think as a Muslimah when I read and see certain things. Of my struggles to become a better Muslim. Of trying to find the middle path between the Deen and Duniya ( And that doesn't really mean partying hard in between the Salahs! -_- )
Any views aired here shall be my own, any mistakes my own, but may Allah guide me to speak only the truth and be guided in all I say and think.  Please don't think whatever I say is right-research it!
Peace!