Aiman Azlan's Blog

Bismillah. Alhamdulillah, I'm blessed by Allah to attend this year's RIS conference. A conference that I looked forward to attend every year and so far I've attended all 3 conferences in my 3 years (almost) of being in Canada. This year is particularly special because it's the 10th anniversary and for the first time in 10 years, the tickets were sold out! I witnessed a massive gathering of 20,000 Muslims who came primarily from North America. Subhanallah, Islam is growing strong in the west. Anyway, I just want to write this post to record the gems that I've gathered from the wonderful speakers. Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury Where is Allah in your plan? If you live a life where Allah is not a part of it, remember what Allah says in Surah at-Taubah, Ayah 24. If we give Zakat, poverty will not exist. They run away from the slavery for Allah and become slaves of themselves and Shaytan. Sheikh Tawfique Chowdhury Imam Yassir Fazaga It is not enou...

Alia is staring at the message she got from her brother. Ahmad: He accepted. Alhamdulillah! Ahmad: Whatchu doin’?! Alia: AH! You startled me you moron! Ahmad: Ops, sorry. Counting your Eid money? Alia: Eid has passed bro. I’m looking at the message you sent me when you went to Ali’s house not too long ago. Ahmad: I see what’s goin’ on. You loooove him, do you? Alia: Dude I'm gonna yank that beard off yo face! I’m thinking about marriage, not him. Ahmad: Whoa, somebody’s in a bad mood. I’m just teasing kiddo. Alia: Are they in the room? Ahmad: Yup. Wanna meet them now? Alia: I guess. Wanna come with? Ahmad: Don’t tell me that you’re scared. C’mon, they won’t bite. I think. Alia: Of course they won’t. But, I don’t know. I kinda feel awkward I guess. Come with me! Ahmad: Alright, alright. Ahmad knocks on his parents’ bedroom door. Ahmad: Assalamualaikum. Ummi: Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah. Come in. Alia: Are you guys free now? A...

Ali’s phone rings. One message received… Ahmad: On my way. 15 minutes later, the door is knocked.  Ahmad: Assalamualaikum! Ali: Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah! Come in. Ahmad: Are your parents home? Ali: Nope, they went out to buy food for iftar. Ahmad: And you didn’t go with them? Ali: Nah, I don’t feel like it. This year I wanna cut back on my trips to Ramadhan bazaars ‘cause I always step out of one with more than I need. Ahmad: Nice. Ali: Hey, take a seat bro. Ahmad: Thanks. So…what's happenin' bro? It's been three weeks. When are you going to make your move? Ali:  Yeah, bout that. Recently I’ve been preoccupied with my parents, talking to them about this marriage thingy. My parents, Alhamdulillah they do have Islam, but sometimes culture can take over you know. Ahmad: Oh, what seems to be the problem? Ali: Well, the usual stuff I guess. My mom wants me to do a bersanding session, a big ol’ walimah, an engagement party, and the ...

3 months passed by. Alia: Assalamualaikum! Ahmad: Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah! You’re home late. Alia: I stayed after class because I wanted to ask the Sheikh a few questions. You wouldn’t believe how many people wanted to ask questions. There was a long queue! Ahmad: Wow, you guys really dig the course I see. Alia: Well, it’s a course about marriage after all. No wonder people are all excited. Alhamdulillah, the Sheikh made a Q&A session after class just for sisters. Brothers were dominating with their questions during class. Ahmad: You learned a lot? Alia: Subhanallah, I was blown away! I was like, “Why didn’t I learn about this before?!” Marriage is beautiful, even more beautiful if we do it Sunna-style. If I knew it before, I wouldn’t have considered even the idea of having a boyfriend. Ahmad: So it’s safe to say that you’re ready to get married? Alia: Well, I talked with Ummi and Abi last night. They were like okay with the idea, as long as my stu...

Ahmad: Lia, c’mon! We’re leaving. Alia: I’m not in the mood. Couldn't I just stay home? Ahmad: Alone? I don’t think so. Besides, Abi wants everyone to go. It’s family time. What’s with the long face? Alia didn’t respond. She keeps rubbing her phone, as if it was a magic lamp. Ahmad senses something is deeply wrong. He sits beside her. Ahmad: Lia, what's wrong? Alia: Remember the time when you said something about sins being cheaper? I can’t get that out of my mind ever since. So I decided to have a talk with my boyfriend. Ahmad wasn’t pleased to hear the word “boyfriend”, but he keeps his cool and listens to his sister intently. Alia: I told him that what we’re doing is not right. It’s not like we didn't know what is halal and what is haram. But, I don’t know. Maybe our hearts were making excuses, trying to justify this relationship and make it “halal” somehow. Ahmad: What kind of excuses? Alia:  Well, it’s not like we were holding hands or went out...

Ahmad: Assalamualaikum, is Ummi here? Alia: Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah. Nope, she went to work. Where were you? Ahmad: I bought nasi lemak for breakfast. Here, take one. Alia: Put it on the table. I’ll eat it later. Alia (Ahmad’s sister) is busy on her phone, texting someone. Ahmad: Wow, look at you go! You’re killing that keypad sis! Who are you texting, the Prime Minister? Alia: Nah! I’m texting a friend. Ahmad: Friend, or boyfriend? Come on Lia, I’ve known you like the back of my hand…and the front! I can tell if you’re texting a friend or “someone else”. Ahmad quietly takes a peep at Alia’s phone and he saw her lovey-dovey messages.  Alia: Hey, mind your own business! Ahmad: Yeah right. The thing is, whenever you want to top up your prepaid credit you’ll come crawling to me. If this is how my money is being spent, say goodbye to future top ups kiddo. Alia: Whoa, chill out bro! Did your PMS kick in this morning? Don’t worry, I have a good pla...