How NOT to name an event.

I literally cringed at a couple of inappropriate names I saw for events intended to be soul-inspiring.
How to be inspired when the 1st image painted is of trash or out-of-the-world association?

The drama series (I don't even want to type out the name) is such a TRASH - all parents I meet agree that this is doing NOTHING but planting negative ideas into the minds of the youth. They ban their children from watching it. NO, the kids don't seem to learn anything positive from this series. Articles have been written in the newspapers suggesting that we just take this series as one for pure entertainment. My GOD! That is even worse for entertainment. Such a pollution to the mind and soul. Enough coming from the West already, we have to create our own TRASH??

AND THEN, somebody thinks that it would be a effective to associate this series name with a soulful talk. Of course it was with the good intention of trying to address wayward youth and bring them to something meaningful - hopefully God-consciousness. BUT, do we seriously believe the youths will be attracted to the event BECAUSE the errghh name, which everyone will relate to the trash series, was used? I'm totally turned off.

Another one quite recently which made me cringe is the association of the blessed name or 'Rasulullah SAW' with a thing that is not only known to cause much distraction to people and is used to spread negative things (besides the little good things). There are more negative than good, and you really need to sift through the contents in front of your eyes, to try and just read good ones. Yes, I'm trying to mention the thing as far away from the beloved name. They put the name beside ' & Facebook'. It's nothing you say, but I ask you, even if it's meant to create an interest - if you are a serious, God-conscious person, having much resistance to worldly distractions and calling people to Solah and Zakah and Good Deeds, would you like to see "YOUR NAME & GAMEBOY" "YOUR NAME & JUSTIN BEIBER" ?? Do you get the idea? You really think Rasulullah SAW would have been happy to be associated with the name that they associate him with? It's quite appalling.

It's sad, sad, SAD, that we think we have to accommodate THEIR WAYS to invite people to goodness. That we have to acknowledge a bit of trash to invite people to being God-conscious?

The other sad thing is, now there is more HYPE compared to actual work of bringing people to good, and the objectives always ALWAYS get blurred. People get excited in the planning and making things grand, to create hype until they forget what they are doing it for. The sincerity and simplicity of it is gone. Rasulullah didn't need to have a carnival or banners to spread the message of Islam. It is spread through good deeds and good advice and a clear example. Like I hear from a few reverts who have become scholars, the best way to invite people to Islam is by being a good Muslim yourself. Let's get back to basics.

Let us be proud of Islam. Let us be proud and stand firm on the beautiful, gentle, clean message of Islam and don't associate it to something useless. Where is our pride in our faith?

It's not just a name of an event - that name can reveal a LOT about how confident we are of our Deen.



Sometimes, after I get so disappointed and I wish I can do something about it - I'd wonder (realise?), as I do now, that, I guess, some of these crazy things were meant to happen because The Hour is approaching(?) We cannot make ALL things good. There will be good and bad. And there will be a lot more of bad, and only little good. I truly hope and pray that we will be among the little good left in the world. Aamiin.

Oh boy, I'm pms-ing.

Still.. :(