Never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn. - Miguel de Cervantes

— Jodi Lynn Anderson, Tiger Lily

Leigh Bardugo, Siege and Storm (via booksqouted)

So true.....

The Secret of Success

Why are some people so successful in life? What is the secret behind their success? Research indicates that there are ten common traits that appear to contribute to a person’s success:

1. Pay attention to your thoughts as they determine your future: Always be positive and develop a “can do” mind set. Steer clear of negative people who would seek to undermine your commitment to your goals. Focus on success, and not on failure.

2. Be concrete and specific when you dream and set goals: Write down the steps that will lead you there, then track your progress and make changes if needed.

3. Take action: Goals are just words until you actually do something. Every day take a step that moves you in the right direction.

4. Be a life-long learner: Get more training, take a class and acquire news skills. Keep reading widely to expand your knowledge base.

5. Be tenacious, persistent and don’t give up:Hard work is behind every winner’s success.

6. Process the facts and the details:Get information and feedback. Notice what works and what doesn’t.

7. Stay focused: Don’t be distracted by people or things. Prioritise your time and stay focused on your goals.

8. Be innovative and creative: Following the crowd doesn’t take you very far. Don’t be afraid to try something new and give yourself permission to think outside the box.

9. Develop and practise good people skills: To be effective, we need to learn what motivates and brings the best out of others. Also, we need to deal with people in a way that is respectful, open, firm and fair.

10. Be responsible, reliable and dependable: Your word must be your bond, you must do what you say,and follow through on your commitments to others. If this block is not in place, then nothing else will matter!

Basics of understanding Islam ♥

Have you been interested in Islam or just wanting to understand the basics of it, but you are not really sure where to start or who to ask? This is a quick little Q&A to help you out ♥

1. What is Islam?

Islam is a way of life.

The word ‘Islam’ means to be in ‘submission’ or to ‘surrender’ to God. Therefore the word Islam is not a noun, it is actually a verb! Anyone who ‘surrenders to God’ is seen as practicing Islam ♥

2. What is a Muslim?

The word ‘Muslim’ means ‘one who submits to God’ ♥ It is an adjective describing the person who practices Islam (ie. s/he surrenders to God) ♥

3. What do Muslims believe?

Muslims understand that there is only One God, and He is Omnipotent and the Creator of All ♥

We do not need a medium to pray to God (ie. We do not need to pray to anything else to get to God), we communicate straight to Him ♥ In Islam the more we pray to God and the more good we do, the closer we can become to Him ♥

In many religions the belief of humans being impure and unable to communicate with God directly, is rejected entirely in Islam ♥

Why would God Create you with His Own Hands, to then call you too dirty and impure to speak to Him?

In Islam, we know God is Merciful ♥

4. Who is ‘Allah’?

‘Allah’ is the Aramaic word for ‘God’ ♥ When a Muslim or anyone says the Name ‘Allah’, they are saying ‘God’ in another language ♥

Allah = God ♥

5. Why do most Muslim girls, especially, cover their hair? What is that called?

The covering of the hair and certain parts of the body is called ‘Hijab’ ♥ The word ‘Hijab’ means ‘veil’ or ‘curtain’ ♥

God Created girls in a certain way and means to protect them from the potential ‘badness’ of men and other outside elements by veiling them ♥ Girls do not need to wear Hijab fully infront of other girls and their close family members, it is only infront of strange men, as it is a ward to potentially being sexually/in other ways used and/or hurt/taken advantage of ♥

For more information about Hijab and the Elevation of Women in Islam, please read my following blog post: http://islam-for-girls.tumblr.com/post/123625392540/islam-brings-elevation-to-the-status-of-women

6. What is the defining characteristic of someone who is truly Muslim?

Peacefulness ♥

For more a little more information about Mercy in Islam, please read the following blog post: http://islam-for-girls.tumblr.com/post/145378234040/the-m-in-muslim-stands-for-mercy

7. Why does the media speak so badly about Islam at times?

People would do a lot of things to get ‘buzz’ about their article, their blog/media posts, and just plainly themselves ♥ Islam is a hot topic word these days, and people like to misquote Quranic verses and Hadith to make themselves more popular and/or to stir controversy for their own reasons.

People who understand that they should not believe everything that they hear on T.V. or simply just in the media, will research the topics of confusion themselves and realise that the information on the media is incorrect and created, not for educational purposes, but rather entertainment and popularity ♥

If you are not Muslim but you are reading this blog post for your own educational purposes, I commend you and thank you greatly for your open-mindedness, and May God Reward you ♥

If you wish to understand the so-called ‘Sword Verses’ of the Quran, please read the following blog post: http://islam-for-girls.tumblr.com/post/145999716790/sword-verses-explained-its-by-time-people

Thank you for reading this blog post ♥ I will be God Willing writing another blog posts about the basic practices in Islam next ♥ please keep tuned to find out more about Islam ♥

I hope this message reaches you all in good health, Emaan, and happiness ♥ Ameen ♥

Associating the entire religion of Islam with terrorism or oppression is narrow-minded and wrong. For centuries, Muslims around the world have been responsible for scientific discoveries, works of art, and major technological advancements. There is a great deal of diversity in the way Islam is practiced by the 1.6 billion Muslims around the world, it is a vastly complex and diverse religion. Read more

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You owe the coffee to the Muslims - www.lionofAllah.com

Who doesn’t love coffee? Coffee fuels the modern world and we have the Muslims to thank for it. Before becoming the name of a chocolate latte, “Mocha” was a city in Yemen where coffee beans were first brewed into the beverage we depend on today. From there, the drink spread throughout the world, but its introduction to the West was difficult. The fear of “creeping sharia” is nothing new; there were calls to ban the “Muslim drink” in Europe. It wasn’t until 1600 that Pope Clement VIII allowed it upon tasting the “the bitter invention of Satan” for himself.

But the story doesn’t end there. Before coffee, the drink of Europe was beer. In fact, they would start their day with “beer soup” and continue to drink beer throughout the day. Their primary hangout was the tavern where people got together, got drunk, and passed out. But with the introduction of coffee, the hangout became the coffeehouse where people got together, got hyper, and talked… a lot. Instead of drunken rambling, now people were holding intelligent conversations. It was in the coffeehouse where people like Voltaire and Rousseau would discuss ideas that led to the Enlightenment of Europe. It was in the coffeehouse that the modern encyclopedia was born. Later, it was in the coffeehouse where Paul Revere and John Adams planned the American Revolution. The coffeehouse pulled Europe out of the Dark Ages and into the Enlightenment. Today, we Muslims find ourselves coming out of our Dark Ages. We recently struggled out from under the heel of colonialism and are now trying to find our way through circumstances never experienced before, especially here in the West. We need venues like the coffeehouses of Europe where Muslims can get together, hold intelligent conversations, and come up with innovative ideas to help our communities overcome the unique challenges we face.

From: www.muslimmatters.org