بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
🌃 Alhamdulillah it's a different feeling when you pause while shopping to pray Salat Al-Maghreb in a timely manner compared to if you deliberately delay the obligatory Salah prayer and go home only to hear the Adhaan of Salat Al-'Ishaa being called upon arrival. Three essential items which we can carry with us as Muslims Alhamdulillah are a prayer mat (May Allah the Almighty immensely reward one of my dear cousins Settie Ayna for giving this prayer carpet as a souvenir from Saudi Arabia when her husband went for Umrah some time ago if I'm not mistaken and increase the barakah blessings in their lives always. Ameen.), an umbrella which is useful not only during sunny and rainy weather but also as a barrier or sutrah when praying so other individuals can walk in front of you without guilt if necessary, and a Qiblah compass or locator or have a Qiblah locator application installed in one's gadget if there's internet data. If you have access to internet, you can also search on Google and type in "Google Qiblah locator" and check out a website that can assist you in locating the direction of the Qiblah which is what I did several days ago when we went to Gaisano Mall and one of the staff was considerate and open-minded enough to let me pray inside a storage room with a number of CCTV monitors and she declined my offer of 100 pesos to pray for 5 or 10 minutes.
Just sharing some examples of doing sadaqah charity now and then even towards non-Muslims as an indirect way of doing Da'wah (kindly calling them or inviting them to the truth Islam):-
1. Have some coins with you which you can easily pick up from your bag to give to some beggars or homeless persons whom we occasionally see or who approach us. Rather than arrogantly ignoring those who go out of their way to beg for some financial assistance, try to give them even a small amount of money or something edible to eat or drink. Your kindness can
Inn-sha-Allah be the reason why somebody out there may be curious about Islam and research further about our beautiful religion which advocates mercy, generosity and good conduct towards fellow human beings.
2. Give some drivers, cashiers, security guards and friendly salespeople some halal chewing gum, candies or sweets if you have some surplus with you. Only Allah the Almighty knows if some of them didn't even have their breakfast or lunch yet and that small gesture can somehow make them feel more energized, motivated and positive or less hungry. Also reminding myself to continue being merciful to those on planet earth so
Inn-sha-Allah our Creator Allah Subhaanahu wa Ta'aala Who is Above all of us and everything can similarly grant us more mercy including guidance to do more good deeds which make us deserving of a peaceful entry to Jannah Paradise.
3. If you request a motorcab driver to drop by a fruit stall and you purchase a significant number of fruits, you can give him one or some of the fruits which you've recently bought as a sadaqa charity for Allah's sake. Like one time Alhamdulillah when I bought for myself and my family a box of assorted pie, I purchased one separate slice of pie in a separate bag for the driver who patiently waited for us as I was ordering.
Those who are truly wealthy aren't those who consistently flaunt their expensive trips and photos of their vacation abroad nor of themselves dining at fancy buffet restaurants but the actually rich individuals are those of us believers who feel contented with what Allah the Most Merciful chose to bestow upon us, and we are unable to feel even the slightest ounce of envy towards anybody Muslim or non-Muslim because constantly comparing oneself to other creations is characteristic of our archenemy shaytan, and despite occasional financial struggles or some debts which we seriously intend to pay as early as we can with Allah's Will Alhamdulillah we still manage to be generous enough to tell someone "it's okay, keep the change", "here, this is for you" and "you can take this, it's for free, walang bayad" now and then. You're not a wealthy individual if giving even 100 Philippine pesos is too challenging for you to do.
🌼 May Allah the Most Merciful reward sister Sa'idah Bint Sa'id for kindly reminding me that it's better to have a sutrah whose height is taller than just a flattish object or to ensure that the item which one uses as a barrier or divider is taller than an umbrella. Ameen. I really love it when another Muslim responsibly corrects my errors and points out my mistakes, Alhamdulillah, especially my younger brothers when they advise me on a regular basis regarding the importance of behaving as uprightly as I can in accordance with the beautiful Sunnah of the beloved Messenger Muhammad SallAllahu 'alaihi wa sallam. You know you're blessed Alhamdulillah when you have at least one person in your network or circle who frequently doesn't hesitate to call you out to rectify you because they're eager to witness you succeed and improve for Allah's sake in both worlds.
Alhamdulillah while we prayed at a more secluded corner because a lot of stalls at Victoria Plaza yesterday evening were closed, not even one shopper or salesperson arrogantly walked in front of us when praying. We took turns - while one would pray, the other would watch the belongings and surroundings and then when they were done the one who didn't pray yet would pray as the other would watch the belongings whilst saying the Adhkaar which we're encouraged to say after each obligatory Salah ("SubhanAllah", "Alhamdulillah" then "Allahu Akbar" 33 times and then reciting Ayatul Kursi etc.). While I fully understand that it's better for us females to pray at home, even more so than praying in a crowded mall, it was Maghreb time and we still had other tasks to complete and we didn't want to wait until Salat Al-'Ishaa (and Sunnah Salat Al-Witr).
