Assalamu Alaikum Wa Rahmatullahi Ta’Alah Wa Barakatuhu.
So there’s this thing. It’s something completely
phenomenal and amazing. Once you get it
there’s no turning back. Most people try to use this
thing for good, but others don’t quite see it that
way. Then there are the people in the middle. The people
like me. See, I love doing anything that’s
good. I want to perform actions that only benefit this
world. I want to be someone with a pure heart,
someone who always knows right from wrong. This is why I
am Muslim. Because there is no other way
for me to live my life when I want these things. There is
no other way for me to live my life that is right.
Islam is so pure and honest. It is the only thing that
keeps me sane. It is the only thing that keeps me
complete. It makes me feel like I am someone.
Sometimes it’s very hard to feel that way. When you’re
out and about it’s easier to act like
someone that you’re not. At home you’re one person. With
your friends you’re another. In classes
you’re another. Do you call this a multi-personality
disorder? I call it being human. We let ourselves
get stretched in tons of directions because...why? We all
have bits and pieces in us that come from
different places but what is the outcome? In my case it
is someone who is cut in half, someone who
wants to be one person but is another. I want to be so
good, but I’m stuck on average. I don’t do as
much as I should, yet I do too much of what I shouldn’t.
I’ll let you in on something. This isn’t just how I feel.
Don’t be surprised if you find yourself
agreeing with what you’re reading. I hope no one agrees,
but let’s be serious. This is what’s wrong with
today’s youth. Heck, this is what’s wrong with today’s
human population. We have the bodies and the
minds to do incredible things ad we just don’t. What some
people would give to have what we have. It
brings tears to my eyes. And it has to stop.
My friends, it shouldn’t be this difficult. My brothers
and sisters, we shouldn’t be so confused.
There’s good and bad in us all. It’s the one we act on
that sets us apart from everyone and everything
bad and evil. If you can recognize those words from
Sirius Black then you are a marvelous person.
Yes, I am a nerd. But it is completely true. It’s
perfectly said here. “There is nothing heavier in the
scales than good character.” I won’t tell you who said
that one. You need to figure it out for yourself
and then maybe you will find yourself going in the right
direction. Now Ramadhan has passed but that
shouldn’t stop us from continuing the good patterns that
we started. How many of you have begun
listening to music again, hmm?
Well…that thing that I was talking about before…that
thing that is what makes us do all these
things. It’s something that can be so hard and
frustrating to understand, and it is the very thing that we
are all so grateful for. We hate it sometimes, but we
love it always. Will you use it for bad or for good?
Well it begins with which you want. You say you want to
be good but lack motivation? Well what are
the good things you want to do? Now how do we actually
make ourselves physically do these things,
especially if they’re on a daily basis? Here’s how. The secret
formula. Tear your eyes away from those
hilarious but useless memes and take off your earphones
for a second. Yeah we get it. The lazy
college senior is lazy and the college freshman is naïve
about college life. Okay already.
Well look at that. You’ve just realized that without
doing useless stuff, you’ve opened up the
next three hours of your day! Didn’t you notice it’s time
to pray Asr? Whether you’re at school, at work,
or at home, remember the world is your masjid. You look
on the calendar and what do you know.
Project downtown is tomorrow! Whaaat?! Yeah. It’s that
easy. We just make it hard. You don’t have to
be one of those in-between people. We can all be 100%
good because we actually try and don’t sit
around and let life pass us by. Then we’ve all graduated
from UIC and keep saying how quickly the
time has passed and regret not doing more. Don’t let this
happen to you! It doesn’t have to be this way
at all. By the way that “thing”? It’s called life.
So if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to submit this piece to
AlBayyan and if you’re reading this in
the newsletter then that means that they agree with me
too. Now I will make wudu and I will pray.
Before I go though, I want to welcome all new students to
the UIC MSA. This won’t be the last that you
hear from me, inshAllah. I’ll be here, in the AlBayyan
newsletter, during MSA Assassins (aww yeahh),
during midterms, during Fast-A-Thon, during finals, and
next semester. I’ll be watching over all of you
like a hawk. Okay, that’s creepy. But seriously, I will
challenge myself to be a better Muslim, and KEEP
it that way. I hope you join me. Let’s call this “The
Great Quest”. We’re in for a wonderful year.
Ma’assalama.
-Anonymous
“Be content with what Allah has given you, and
you will be among the richest of people.”