Aiman Azlan's Blog

Photo by rabiem22 "Why did you quote that man? Don't you know he's an Atheist?" Someone asked me that question. Why is it a problem that I quoted something from an Atheist, or other non-Muslims for that matter? If what he said is true and in line with what I believe in, shouldn't I acknowledge it (even though fundamentally, we don't share the same belief)? When I hear something that is profound and/or true, I will acknowledge it as such, regardless of where that something came from. It would be unjust to disregard truth just because it came from someone whom I have disagreements with; someone who's not "from my own". It would also be unjust to acknowledge something to be true just because it came from someone whom I agree with; someone who's "from my own". Just because. Just because. Just because? No, our standards must be higher than that. We don't fixate on the apparent. We don't look at the package, we l...

Photo by Umar Mita We believe in a God that looks at our intention and not the magnitude of our actions. Do we have the ticket to Jannah? We have absolutely no clue as to which of our deeds will be our ticket to Jannah. It is very possible that the tiniest good deed that we did within our lifespan becomes the cause of us attaining everlasting bliss. So never underestimate any good deed. It may look small in your eyes, but maybe that deed will buy you a castle in Jannah. At the same time, never underestimate anyone. We don't know what good deeds they're committing outside of our knowledge. Some or one of them might be their ticket to Jannah. We don't know We don't know if Jannah is written for us, nor do we know that the Fire is written for us. Hence, we should be hopeful and remain hopeful. The fact that we don't know should push us to try and to try for as long as we can breathe. Because we don't know, despite all of our imperfections, mayb...

Photo by Umar Mita "Aiman, you talk about politics. You are not a true da'ie!" True story. Da'ie and Politics "Da'ie" means someone who invites to Islam. First of all, I don't call myself a "da'ie". I don't call myself "Da'ie Aiman", like it's some kind of prestigious title. I'm just "Aiman" and I do my best to invite people to Islam. Second of all, I don't talk about politics a whole lot. I don't have a lot of knowledge about it, so I focus more on other things. But that doesn't mean that I don't care about politics. Politics ain't just for old people in coffee shops. What? You think politics only affect them? Think again. Islam and Politics Now apparently, a lot of people (even Muslims!) think that politics is something that is separate from Islam i.e. there is no politics in Islam. That is absolute garbage. Not just any garbage, it's stinky garbage. It...

True religiousity is hijacked by shallow and apparent "religiousity". All you need is to know a few Arabic terms or subscribe to the "religious" fashion trend. Our Current Standard? I used to wear kufi (kopiah) and songkok (traditional Malay hat) regularly in school and people started calling me "ustaz". Some even started asking me Fiqh questions. That's it? I just need to "look religious" to be "religious"? I just need to "look knowledgeable" to be "knowledgeable"? Wearing a kufi or a thobe (jubah) doesn't automatically makes you a "sheikh". In fact, you don't have to wear those to be a true sheikh. There is no such thing as a sheikh clothing line. A sheikh can wear a thobe, a suit, Baju Melayu (traditional Malay dress - refer to picture, far left), or a pair of jeans and still be considered a qualified sheikh. Sometimes I wear a kufi, sometimes I don't. Sometimes I wear Baju M...

The Malaysian Students Association of South Korea invited me to share some knowledge via livestream. The title given to the livestream event was "Stand Out!" and with that, they gave me two topics to cover: 1. How to speak with confidence 2. Everyone can be a vlogger Poster designed by the organizer Of course, I am no expert. I did my best to share any amount of knowledge I have from the experiences I've gathered.  The plan was for me to broadcast live and record the session at the same time. But, silly me, towards the end of the session I realized that I forgot to click on the "Start Record" button so the livestream ended without any recording to refer back to.  I apologize for that.  Therefore, I would like to share the notes that I've prepared before the livestream as reference and hopefully,  my notes will benefit those who did not attend the livestream.  This is the actual notes that I used for the livestream. Of course,...

The following is one of the gems I learned from Meaningful Prayer course organized by Bayyinah . The Tashahhud is what one recites in the second and fourth raka’a (unit) after the second sujud (prostration) in salah (prayer). 5 Different Tashahhud The Prophet (pbuh) taught 5 different Tashahhud to 5 different companions - Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn Abbas, Abdullah Ibn Umar (the son of Umar al-Khattab), Abu Musa al-Asha'ri, and Umar al-Khattab. They weren't just any companions, but they were the leaders of the community. All of these 5 Tashahhud were authentically narrated from the Prophet (pbuh). Now this is the interesting part: All of those companions prayed in the same Masjid and they were all leaders of the same community. If we are talking about unity, why would the Prophet taught 5 different Tashahhud to 5 different leaders of the same community? Wouldn't that caused division within the community instead? No. All of the 5 companions never argued with each o...

I heard from Shaykh Zahir Bacchus this story of a man who came to Shaykh Sulaiman Moola. He told Shaykh Sulaiman that he has a daughter with such and such degree, with such and such job, and makes such and such amount of money. Then he said to the Shaykh, "I think my daughter is ready for marriage. Do you have somebody in mind for her and do you think she is ready for marriage?" The Shaykh replied, "No, she is not ready for marriage. She is ready for divorce." What is the intention of marriage? That is the question that we need to ask ourselves right now, whether we're married or not. If you are married, then you can renew your intention. If you're not married, then make the right intention now. It's not too late, not yet. Lets educate ourselves on the Sunna of marriage so that we may differentiate between what is cultural and what is Deen. In the story above, the criteria that the father put forth as priority were all materialistic one...

Made using memegenerator.net Someone emailed me and asked me a simple question that left me dumbfounded: "How do you change a person's mentality?" At first, I thought I have the answer to that question. But after pondering on the question for some time, I realized that there is no easy answer to it even though it looks like a simple question. But it's not. As of this moment, the best answer I can give to that question is "I am not sure". A person's mentality is not like a piece of clothing that you can simply change at the end of the day. So yeah, I am dumbfounded. Having said that, I appreciate questions that I don't have answers to. They make me realize how much I don't know and how much I need to learn. Thanks guys.

Photo by Umar Mita We All Have "Something" "I wish I could be like you." "I don't think I am any good." "I have no talent." A believer is always hopeful and optimistic, no matter how bleak the situation may appear to be. Who am I but a boy with ideas and thoughts to share? I am sure there are many, many, many more out there better than me, with greater ideas and deeper thoughts to share. Allah entrusted human beings, us, with the world. "And when your Lord said to the angels, 'Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.' They said, 'Will You place upon it one who causes corruption therein and sheds blood, while we declare Your praise and sanctify You?' Allah said, 'Indeed, I know that which you do not know.'" (Surah al-Baqarah, Ayah 30) "Indeed, I know that which you do not know." Allah would not have given us the position of authority over the earth if we ...