Tools for our soul

Our body and all it's parts such as the hands, legs, ears, eyes, mouth etc, are tools.
As long as we can make use of most of our tools, we should make good use of them to attain what is best for our souls.
Our tools will be witnesses on the Day of Judgement, to what we strive for.

May Allah give us beneficial wisdom and strength to be His good servant.

And among His Signs - the barren land.

Death Valley, California is the lowest, hottest, driest location in North America. It is one of the hottest places on earth, nothing grows. However in 2004 6.9" rain fell on Death Valley and it comes to life.

From this barren land :

to this :

Read more on about Death Valley and this phenomenon, here (NBC News) and here (Educational Transformation).

And by the way, in Educational Transformation, the Ken Robinson talk that he was referring to is this inspirational talk.
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"And among His Signs in this: thou seest the earth barren and desolate; but when We send down rain to it, it is stirred to life and yields increase. Truly, He Who gives life to the (dead) earth can surely give life to (men) who are dead. For He has power over all things."
Al Quran, Fussilats 41:39 (translation of the Quran by Yusuf Ali)

Subliminal messaging vs Signs that are everywhere

The book I'm reading now is Vital Lies, Simple Truth by Daniel Goleman.

In it is speaks about how all information that we receive through our senses are actually stored somewhere, but only what is relevant to us, comes into the conscious state - or awareness.

"He would flash words for just a few thousandths of a second - so quickly that people did not even know they had seen a word. Then he would ask his subjects which word in a subsequent pair meant or looked the same as the one that had just flashed by. If for example, the unseen word was 'book,' the lookalike would be 'look' the related word 'read.'

Even though his subjects had not the slightest idea what the first word had been, they were right in their guessing about 90 percet of the time - an astounding rate of accuracy for people who did not even know they were reading." (Chapter : How much we can keep in mind - page 68)

This immediately reminded me of subliminal messaging. Used once, perhaps the effect is minimal, but constant exposure to the same subliminal message? What effect can that have, I wonder.

And then I though about how, perhaps we can put it to good use, perhaps in reminding people such things as 'God sees all that you do' or just'Allah'.

But then immediately I'm thinking.. of course, Allah knows better and Allah knows all. I'm thinking of 'sublime messages' in perhaps my videos, but Allah has made his Signs available everywhere. Look at the birds, the trees, look at the workings of ourselves! These are all Signs to remind us of God's existence and power. It will be of benefit for those who reflect, but will be ignored or dismissed by the arrogant.

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Ok, back to reading.

The biggest enemy

"The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he doesn't exist."

Oh yes, that line is from 'The Usual Suspects'. Thought provoking. Don't you think it is happening now?

People believe in make-believe more, than they believe in Reality, just because they've been exposed to make-believe day in day out, through TV shows and movies and advertisements. It's all about make-believe.

So much so, that if you talk about Satan to most people, it seems like something distant and almost unreal. Like how some people talk about Santa or toothfairy. They don't take it seriously.

Yes, this is our biggest enemy - bigger than even the bully who bullied you in school. But we don't realise that, or even if we do, we are putting him at the very back of our head, as if he is not around.

However, do know that he is not far. I find that, when you become conscious of his existence and his cause, you will notice the weird thoughts or feelings or urges or distractions, that comes out of nowhere. Just as :
"He said, 'Because You have put me in the wrong, I will lie in ambush for them on your straight path. Then I will surely come upon them from before them and from behind them, and from their right and from their left, and then You will find most of them ungrateful.'" Al-A'raf 7:16-17. (Translation by Wahiduddin Khan.)

Left uncheck, it may lead you to think further evil thoughts or even proceed with your own evil actions.

How do we counter it?

(taken from Hisnul Muslim)

On supplications for expelling the devil and his whisperings.

1) Seeking refuge from devil. (A'udzubillaahi minash-shaiTonirrajiim)

2) The Adzan (Call to prayer).

3) Recitation of the Quran and the authentic texts of remembrance and supplications *

E.g. " Do not make your homes like the graveyards, indeed the devils flee from the house in which suraah Al-Baqarah has been read - related by Muslim 1/539. Also supplications and remembrance for the morning and evening, before sleep, when getting up, entering and leaving the toilet, entering and leaving the mosque, the recitation of Ayaatul Kursiyy and the last two verses of Suraah Al-Baqarah before sleeping, the azan etc.


Need to be alert. Need to treat the devil as he should be treated, THE enemy. Be on our guard always, by remembering Allah always and seeking Allah's protection.

False advertising

False advertising, deceiving consumers who are ever ready to consume anything new and branded.

I know some of us have drank and liked 'Vitaminwater'.


Image from GreenAustinNurse

The product turned out to be a lie. When sued, (according to this Huffingpost.com report), the producer defended themselves saying "no consumer could reasonably be misled into thinking vitaminwater was a healthy beverage." In other words, we're the fools.

That's, big ruthless corporations for you.