Aiman Azlan's Blog

There is a pile of unfolded clothes on my bed from last week's laundry. I look at it, sigh, and move on doing other things. I keep putting it off because there is too much clothes to deal with. Then the next laundry day comes and the pile keeps on getting bigger. I thought why do we even need a cupboard for clothes anyway, since we can just pile them up on the bed and rummage through them whenever we need something to wear. Thankfully, this dilemma doesn't happen all the time. I do fold the laundry and organize our clothes in the cupboard.  But it feels like the cycle keeps on repeating itself. Every time I do the laundry, I would skip the folding because I feel like it's too much work. Seeing the pile of clothes is demotivating. Procrastination is the easiest solution; just act like you don't see it and preoccupy yourself with something else.  The thing is, that pile of clothes is there and will remain there unless I do something about it. It is a big pile ...

In 2013, I graduated from University of Toronto, Canada with a degree in Biology and Psychology in my hand. Upon reflecting about who I am today, I found that my university years had shaped me quite a lot. There were a number of things that I can do to fill my time in between classes, tests, and exams. But, I chose to invest my time, energy, and money on a few specific things. The main reason why I chose these few things is because I want to spiritually grow to become a person of benefit to other people. That was what I chose to be my reason for choosing certain things. I believe it is our choice to choose a reason, and that reason will be reflected in our daily doings.  To spiritually grow as a person, I don't limit myself to the mosque and personal acts of worship only. I believe spiritual growth takes root inside, but it expands outside. Meaning, you can't be spiritually mature if you only benefit yourself.  Choosing friends was among the first things on my to...

*Assalamualaikum.  I want to get married but my parents won't let me, specifically because the person I want to marry lives far from us. My parents want me to marry someone closer. The person I want to marry is a good potential spouse for me.  What should I do? Waalaikumussalam warahmatullah. Thank you for your question. 1. I have to be honest with you: there is no black-and-white answer in this kind of a situation. When you deal with human beings, you have to consider the person, the context, and the potential effects of your actions. It requires wisdom to know what would be the best thing to do in a given situation, given the type of people, context, and potential effects that you are dealing with. So, off the bat, I have to say that I cannot give you a straightforward answer. 2. I can offer you a general guideline for you to use in your situation. The first guideline would be to know how important it is to be good to your parents. In whatever situation you are...

*I have a teenage daughter and I am worried about her. She is in the phase of having feelings towards the opposite sex. In our family, we have an understanding that we should not mingle freely with the opposite sex who is not our mahram. She likes this one boy and she tells me about him. She is about to go to university soon, so I am concerned that I can't be there for her as much as I can now. What should I do? I appreciate the honesty and I will try to assist you the best I can. First of all, I would like to congratulate you on your parenting because it seems like you have gained the trust of your teenage daughter. You must have done some things right in order to achieve that. I have seen and heard stories of children who can't connect with their parents on a deep enough level such that they are comfortable to talk about personal things. If your daughter can share personal things with you, that means that she trusts you. So don't lose that trust. To be frank, it w...