Chill Yo Islam Yo

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Salam,

Have you ever thought about buying a chain with an Allah pendant? When I’m working in the mall, I see people coming in wearing chains so heavy it seems as if they can’t keep their head up, they sort of look like the hunchback of notre dame.

From the bling bling to the bling bloaw, everyone is trying to be the center of attention. White gold, platinum, diamonds, you name it.

Anyways that’s not what I wanted to talk about, I actually wanted to write about how people wear thousand dollar chains with Prophet Jesus on it ( peace and blessings be upon him). Have you ever seen them? I’m sure you have seen a bunch of rappers wear them and it almost seems like a fashion statement.

What strikes me is that these people wear these chains that have a Prophet of God Almighty, but their lifestyle totally contradicts the teachings of God. I mean why wear it? just take it off.

See their are people who straight up say, ” hey I’m not practicing the deen right now” and they acknowledge their shortcomings. On the other hand, you got people who put on a front and decorate their beliefs like a carvel cake. Alot of the non Muslims I come across, they actually stop and listen if you give them dawah in a professional way, of course your character impacts your surrounding the most.

What about Muslims who rock pendants that say Allah in Arabic, take for example DJ Khaled, one of the most popular Dj’s in hip hop right now. His Allah pendant costs over 60,000 thousand dollars. The most popular jeweler in New York, whose name is Jacob the Jeweler, who is a jew himself. Haha that’s a little funny. Anyways he sells to the richest rappers and celebrities, here is one chain he has on his website, An 18K Rose Gold 3.32ct Pave Diamond “Allah” Pendant
(Item #90712675) The picture is shown on the top right of the post.

So why rock it? I guess its just a trend. To alot of people it may be disrespect and hypocrisy, but others look at it as ” hey at least they have some remembrance of faith, whether it be in the heart or on the neck. Well maybe they are right, I mean who is anyone to really judge. In the end it seems like the focus may be on materialism and trying to shine like the sun, but I would really want to talk to people like Dj Khaled and ask them what their lifestyle means to them as a Muslim.

Alot of times, I also believe that everyone wants to represent something and while their is no problem with reppin your beliefs, the question is as a Muslim, can you wear expensive gold chains that say Allah or for that matter can a man wear a diamond chain that says Allah in Arabic. We know that it is impermissible for a man to wear gold as it is. White gold I’m not sure about.

It’s all about keeping it real with yourself. Whatever you do, just remember Allah swt is watching you and your actions are based on intentions. As a Muslim you gotta stick within in your limits and remain modest, although their is nothing wrong with riches. In Brooklyn, you meet so many different people with different perspectives and upbringings. While alot of them may have a lifestyle that is not Islamic, alot of them haven’t gotten dawah in a pleasant manner. We should realize the problems of the Ummah and rather than going crazy about the small things, its always about the bigger picture.

The reason I wrote about this is because I wanted to just open the window to what we claim we are, and if our actions really embody the prophetic teachings of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s). For those of us who wear hijabs and have beards, Even those who wear religious chains, we just have remember when a non Muslim sees that chain, hijab or beard they will recognize who we are and what we are ultimately contributing to the image of Islam.

Well that’s what I wanted to talk about since I observed it recently, Inshallah I will write another article soon. Sorry I’m real busy. May Allah swt keep us on the deen, protect us from dunya distractions and help us keep eman in our hearts as well as contribute to Islam and make us all rich..in the hearts and in wealth. So we can contribute to positive causes within our communities and especially Muslim communities. Ameen! peace out.

If I stated anything wrong it is from myself and if I said anything beneficial it is from Allah swt alone.

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Salam,

The other day I was at work and one of my co workers who works at the store with me spotted this girl which he found attractive and he told me ” Saad that’s all you”( meaning go and holla at her) I was like oh no shatan alert. He’s trying to set me up. So I responded and told him ” I can’t do anything, it goes against my beliefs”. Then he said, what do you mean? I told him it’s forbidden for a Muslim like myself to have a relationship with the opposite gender before marriage especially fornication and it goes against the law’s which God has told mankind to live by.

Then he said “Wow, that’s crazy, I can’t go three days without it”. I told him, it’s a major sin, and if one does it then he is obligated to repent with the condition that he or she won’t go back to that sin. He understood and was silent and all of a sudden he gave me a slick shatan anwser and said ” so do it once and repent”. Astugfurillah.

Yea so those are the type of people I come across with at work. I just try to remind myself by saying “haraam yo” and keep it moving.

Also the other day what happened was an african american lady came into my store. She was dressed with loose jeans, a fleece, a Yankee fitted and some gold jewelry. At first when I started assisting her, I had no idea what I was about to find out. So she starts looking at some clothes and she sees a shirt with a skull, and she tells me ” I don’t do those”. In other words, she wouldn’t wear a shirt that has a skull on it. I told her ” I wouldn’t either” and asked why wouldn’t you wear it? She said ” Because I’m Muslim”. My jaw drop and I was real surprised, because by looking at her I would never think she was a Muslim. We started talking about Islam and she got into ayah’s in the Quran, and I was amazed by how much she knew about the deen.

She start telling me ” that we have to stick to the sunnah, and follow the tradition of our beloved Prophet Muhammad (s), I told her that I totally agree, she said ” the reason why their are so many misconceptions is because we aren’t keeping it real”. What I learned from this is never in your life judge a person by how they look, or as they say judge a book by its cover. Judge a book by it’s author. Although she might not be wearing hijab and what not, at least she recognized the problems of the ummah and accepted it unlike some people who make mistakes and try to act like it’s all good.

You gotta develop tawhid in your heart at the end of the day. Being in an environment like that, requires strong willpower and full awareness. You gotta be intellectually strong and constantly do remembrance of Allah swt all day. The key to that is five prayers, I’m not going to front, it gets hard for me at work, But Alhumduillah prayer is so nourishing to the soul. It let’s you escape from all the distractions in the dunya and you sort of protect yourself like a turtle in the shell.

I try to just remind myself that Islam has spread consistently throughout the world through honest business of Muslims, good character, etc. So how can I practically go about developing an approach to give dawah at the workplace. One thing is for sure, you need patience and forbearance. Understanding people is the key to helping them. Especially their culture.

This is just one day at work, Inshallah I’ll update more stories as they happen. May Allah (swt) keep us strong on the deen, keep our hearts clean, and help us stay real with our Islamic Principles.

My bad for being inconsistent, forgive me, Inshallah I’m trying to write more with different topics every time.

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