Faith Friday: Is the World an Evil Place?

{via Sufi Comics}

When you're at the brink of losing faith,

Use the ground as a place of prayer,

The air you breathe to say dhikr,

The earth to plant seeds of hope and charity,

The sky as a reminder of the vastness of His love & mercy.

www.shaelaiza.com

I've been contemplating this for a while but today I finally did it! This blog's address is now www.shaelaiza.com. Changing the domain meant I lost count of the shares my blog posts got previously via ShareThis but I like that it feels like a fresh new start. I will be making more changes gradually as I would love to commit to the revival of this blog, inshaAllah. Stay tuned :)

How to Be Better at Managing Your Finances

I've never really worried about money. Not because I have a lot of it but because it's always taken care of for me. I'm not saying that proudly. I'm admitting that when it comes to money I'm horrible at it. Well, that's the story I like to tell myself anyway. When I started working I realised how hard it is to earn and save money especially when you're quite irresponsible with it. Luckily, I have a family who knows me all too well but I know, if I were to do it all on my own I would crumble soon enough. I don't like that about myself. However, the great thing about growing up is learning to harness your strengths and weaknesses because your survival depends on it.

Sha Elaiza x Shea Rasol x Amenakin

I once wrote that my blog is like my vision board because for some reason I end up meeting the people I write about! Hmm, I'm getting ideas now ;) Anyway, I never thought I'd ever meet the lovely and inspiring Amena (YouTube / website) but I did. Yay! All the way from the UK, she visited Malaysia and Singapore and held meet-and-greet sessions. I went along to the KL event to be a mere attendee but Shea asked me to emcee and I was more than happy to. Hence the lack of variety in my photos from the event... but here they are anyway! 

Date: 8th January 2014

Venue: Found Foundry, PJ

Host: Aquila Style and Shea Rasol

Food & beverages: Food Foundry and Dear Azalea

Photography/video: Azrianna Photography / CST Productions

{VIDEO} Amenakin in Kuala Lumpur

Amena @ Amenakin of Pearl Daisy was in Kuala Lumpur recently and she's currently in Singapore but here's a vlog about her stay in Malaysia. Thanks to Shea Rasol and Aquila Style, a meet-and-greet event was organised and we got to meet Amena! I even had the pleasure of being the event's emcee. I still can't believe I met the woman who inspired me to wear hijab!  Amena is someone I can truly relate to and a true inspiration. She is beautiful inside out, mashaaAllah. I will blog about the event after my trip to Melaka this weekend, inshaaAllah.

If you're in Singapore, the Pearl Daisy x Aquila Style event will be at 2.30 pm today (Saturday, 11 January) @ Training Room 3 at the Drama Centre (100 Victoria Street, Level 3, National Library building). Don't miss out! :)

Much Ado About the Allah Issue

A few days ago, it was reported by Al Jazeera English that Muslim authorities in Malaysia seized 300 bibles written in the Malay language because it contained the name 'Allah' as a translation of the English word 'God'. I don't know if this was the best course of action but after months of observing the development of this conflict (if I may call it that) this is my conclusion: The problem is not that we disagree with each other but the way we choose to express our disagreement and how it is represented by others.

I've noticed the discourse surrounding the 'Allah' issue is based on two misconceptions and I'd like to clarify them. (Please click 'Read more' below the image)

What Would You Say to Prophet Muhammad (pbuh)? #MBRabiulawal

In conjunction with Rabiulawal 1435 and in effort to honour God's blessing which came to us in the form of a noble messenger, our beloved Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), the Seal of the Prophets (may God be pleased with them), MuzlimBuzz would like to know...

If you had the chance, what would you say to Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)? 

Dear 2014

Dear 2014, 

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here! I know we have 365 days to get acquainted with one another (God willing) but I'd like to tell you how relieved I am to have you here. 2013 was not easy on me, though I must admit it did bring me plenty of happiness, blessings and opportunities, alhamdulillah. In anticipation of your arrival, I wrote a list of fourteen things I learned in 2013 so I can refer to them from time to time.

I know it's too soon to tell but I have a feeling we'll make a good team. Let's do this!

xox, Sha