Thought Dominion

The Quran frequently commands us to be patient. Al-Kahf (18:28) and al-Maarij (70:5) are just two examples. But the question may arise: isn't patience just being able to wait? Like when you're waiting for a bus or someone to arrive? Indeed, part of patience in Islam is waiting for Allah to reward you. But patience is not passivity. The prophet Yusuf ran away from his master's seducing wife. Hajar ran between Safa and Marwah looking for water. Both were patient, but they did what they needed. This is especially true for patience in ibadah. I recently heard a scholar talk about three types of patience, summarized as: maksiat, musibah, and ibadah. The first is about avoiding sin. The second is guarding your iman during difficult times. But the third- related to ibadah/worship- is the most important. For ibadah is done multiple times everyday, so patience in it is the most frequently tested. Patience in ibadah can be further divided into "do it" and ...

For the past year and a half, I've been playing World of Tanks Blitz. Battle 7 vs 7 online in a wide range of tanks, with a variety of skill levels too. There's a lot I've learnt from playing this. First and foremost is patience. It is absolutely essential in this game. In fact, there are three types of patience here: waiting instead of rushing, accepting what is past and focusing on what's next, and dealing with pressure from insolent people.  Often players often want to push forward as fast as possible or try to take risky shots which end up killing them instead. However, the best players play very conservatively, only plunging in after a ton of waiting and/or moving and maximizing their chances of winning. While I'm no master, I also learnt to wait for the right opportunity and do the boring yet necessary preparations. The second type of patience comes into play when the stupidity of my team or perhaps even luck costs the game. I had to learn ho...

*TL;DR* Does Salat feel like a chore? It shouldn't. You have to do it anyways, so better make it pleasant. Like it should be. *End TL;DR* (1 min reading) The beginning of surah mu'minun gives a list of attributes of, well, mu'minun. True believers. The first is khusyu' in prayer. And honestly, i don't consistently focus in prayer. But this morning I realized that the list is like a set of steps. You can't skip a step while going up. Guarding the prayer is the last in the list. It's also the easiest. Above it is guarding promises/trust, then guarding private parts, then zakat. I think Allah is implying that one who doesn't guard the prayer will struggle to keep promises. And one who doesn't guard their privates may be disinclined to pay zakat. The ayat after khusyu' is about avoiding laghw'- useless activities and speech. This means that if one doesn't avoid time wasters, khusyu' in prayer will be difficult. Now in ...

An old woman got on a train and all seats were full. An old man got up and asked her to sit down. She refused at first, but the man finally convinced her by saying "Bineceğim" -I'm going to get off. When the train reached the next stop, he didn't get off. It was then I thought, "This old man lied. A nice lie, but a lie nonetheless". He did get off at the stop after that. But it did make me consider: Are nice lies good? Nice lies aren't necessarily lies by their wording alone. To elaborate, this old man did get off, so he didn't exactly lie. However, in a context where everyone would leave the train at some point, he implied he would be getting off so soon such that a seat was unnecessary for him. Thus, nice lies can be implicit while the explicit wording is true. Furthermore, nice lies must aim to help or please someone else. For example, if a socially weak person is wrongly accused, a more respected individual may take the blame...