My First Blog Entry! Exciting, eh!

Assalamua Alaikom,

So...I decided to venture out into the blogworld on my own. (I'm apart of a joint blog: Muslimah Crew [ch ch check it out funkshow brotha]). I like it so far; I only wish I knew what the heck html was haha! Ah well, I'll figure it out on my own, Insha'Allah.

Anyhoo, you may be wondering what it means to "die before you Die". I have yet to find out for myself for sure what it entails. When I first read it, I automatically thought, "die physically before you Die spiritually." That made sense to me. But then one of my buddies reassured me that it actually had more of a ascetic approach. This is what I found online about the hadith (yeah, it's a hadith, but I can't seem to find it within contexts or with references, etc.):

"From the lips of the Prophet Muhammad (sallallahu alaihe wa salam) came the saying: Mutu qabla an tamutu - die before you Die: leave this world with your own will before you are faced with the necessity of leaving it at the end of your life."

Asceticism is something to admire. And some ask if I think it's too extreme, sure it may seem like it in this day and age, but it's not impossible and not extreme. Besides: "The Zuhd (ascetic self-restraint or abstemiousness) in this world is not to abstain from the permissible or to waste away your wealth, but that you rely on what is in Allah's hands more than what is in yours, and that you are more desirous of the reward of a calamity if it strikes you than if it did not. " - Dunno. But that just sums up everything! Asceticism is not abandoning this world and the obligations that come with it, but to realize to the full extent that this world is temporary and for worshipping Allah (swt) and that we will someday soon return to our Creator. That's our purpose. But of course, it may seem simple written out, but it's not. We get caught up in the "beauty" of this world and the fitnah that follows and whatnot. That's what makes it hard. I think we all know that...I mean, you don't need me to school you on that. Besides, I can go on forever :P. I'll leave that for some other time.

Maybe one day if I want it enough (I'm pre-occupied at the moment. God help me.) to work towards it and Allah (swt) wills it for me, then I'll be able to reach that level (gosh, that *does* seem impossible; but never be discouraged, with Allah (swt) near, anything's possible). At the moment, I'm doing what I can; it's a struggle! God knows. I know I can do much much more. I'm being awfully lazy, Astaghfirullah :(. For now, it's nice having a goal, one goal that you never lose sight of, one that never gets complete, which just makes it all the more exciting, and makes your heart beat faster and float inside you without strings (arteries?) attached and aaah you know! :) Goal: striving to please Allah (swt) in every way possible and getting closer to Him and obtaining His love...May Allah (swt) grant us the divine taufeeq to do all that pleases Him and to worship Him in the most perfect manner and may He fill our hearts with endless love for Him, Ameen.

Alright, I'll end it on that note... submitting my first blog entry...why does this seem so sentimental? :raises eyebrow:. I need my breakfast haha....:).