on 180-degree turns, and im not talking about skateboarding

Before receiving the Revelation, our beloved Prophet SAW was a normal man. He had a family. He ran an international business (he traded in the Levant, otherwise known as Syam). He was a respected member of a respected tribe. In short, he enjoyed a good life.

But after he received the first Revelation from Allah, he trembled and shivered under the weight of the responsibility of that message. And his life was never the same again. A famous quote from Rasulullah SAW was:

"My time for resting has passed"

And everyone i know who has felt the weight of Revelation has reacted in the same way.

A lot of people, i believe, were surprised at my sudden turn in life. My mum used to get worried that i could be forgetting my priorities in life. You see, in malaysia there's a phobia of groups like JI, the Islamist group that claimed responsibility for the Bali bombings.

but that's understandable enough, i would be worried to if my son was going down the wrong path. i also regard bombings as counterproductive and the effects on the whole does more damage to the reputation of Islam. Better use nuclear weapons and wipe out whole countries. haha caught you there, just kidding. Its better to educate the masses and bring them back to realising who they are. Slaves of God, not slaves of men.

But the pity is, people also get allergies and rashes start forming on their arms whenever they hear words like 'da'wah' and 'tarbiyyah'. Some also get heart attacks from hearing the word 'Islam'. Ok i exaggerate but you get the idea.

Which is why, bringing you back to my point, people see it as strange why some would turn 180 degrees after being struck by words in the Quran. One of my friends had this whole Facebook Group created by others to discuss why he changed so drastically -.- others had people call them extremists (i second this), stupid and so on so forth.

Its okay people. Rasulullah was called a madman, a poet and a sorcerer.

do not be afraid of answering that call. the call of people who call to God, to enjoin good and forbid evil. yes, i admit, there are challenges, it is definitely not a basket of roses especially when everyone raises their eyebrows at you. but i like this quote from an LSE alumni:

"follow the logic of Allah, and he will create a new logic for you"

after seeing a lot of news about baby-dumping, free mixing and the generally pitiful state of young people in malaysia, my parents told me that they were glad i was going to circles. they even promoted some of my friends to my cousin, who is single. erk -.-

point is, don't worry. just follow the straight path, and everything else will be straightened out for you.

our resting time has passed.