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[In the name of God, the most gracious, the most merciful] Some people may object to my embrace of Islam. "Oh, Islam is such a difficult and demanding religion" they will say "It's too difficult to be a Muslim, especially in the West". I wholeheartedly disagree. Islam is not difficult at all, unless you allow it to be. Submission to Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) is the natural state that humans were created for, so I have not found it terribly difficult at all thus far and even if it was, that doesn't mean that it's not worth pursuing (actually, challenges are good for us because they force us to persevere and grow in the process of overcoming). Religion and faith are not toys to be played with and put away on a shelf until the next time that you have a job interview, wind up in jail, or face an illness- Religion and faith are aspects of the human experience that should fundamentally change us as people, and always for the better. This is the difference between a fulfilling life and a life of constant desire for the cheap thrills of this world (which never satisfy), religion is the difference between heaven & hell; as Allah (سُبْحَانَهُ وَ تَعَالَى) sees all we do + his judgment of us will ultimately come down to how perfectly we submitted, how closely we followed his commands, and the weight of our sins of both commission & omission in this life (sins of omission would be neglecting salah, charity, or treatment of his creation, etc). I honestly never thought I was going to be able to embrace Islam. There are enough posts on SC where I sound apprehensive and lean in that direction. What I have noticed is that within the past week, I have thrown myself into developing my practice of Islam with a much greater sense of mindfulness than I ever did with my Christianity. I believe that this is because in Christianity, we expect God/Jesus/Holy Spirit to "work within us" and change us without having to put in much effort ourselves besides reading the bible and praying daily. If we expect someone else, even our concept of God, to do this work for us it will likely not be done. We have to put forth the effort to change ourselves and develop our religion and Insha'Allah, we will become better, more complete human beings. In just a week, I have gone from near-total ignorance of the Quran, inability to pray without reading off a sheet, and praying "when I remembered" to keeping salah, memorizing the process of offering my five daily prayers, and setting five alarms on my phone (complete with an adhan for added immersion). I've even been able to commit short surahs to memory (in Arabic nonetheless!) so that I can offer my prayers properly as they were modeled by the Prophet Muhammad (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم). I never in my wildest dreams even two weeks ago, imagined that I would be capable of doing this, so I am both excited and at the same time, feeling a sense of serenity- that this really is "it" and that I have found the path that I belong on in order to develop as a person. Today, I received my misbaha (dhikr beads) and have begun to offer dhikr, starting with the tasbih of Fatima (صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم) this afternoon. I have also ordered a modest prayer rug. Now I find myself wondering what my next steps are to improve my practice of Islam; namely what other parts of my religion can I begin to practice and what parts of myself I can work on improving. Although I am just a "baby Muslim", I truly feel as if I am changing for the better and that perhaps I should give myself just a bit more credit than I do for how far I have personally come in such a short period of time. However, as easy as practicing Islam has been for me + as natural as it feels, I realize that my experience is just that- my experience. Brothers and sisters all across the planet, many in this nation of mine (America), may not have such an easy time adhering to their faith. For some (Uyghurs in China, Bosnians), the practice of Islam comes with the very real risk of persecution & death from the unjust & tyrannical, but nonetheless they keep the faith without probably ever making blog posts like this one. I believe that all of us, including the People of the Book (Christians and Jews) can learn something about fidelity, devotion, perseverance and not least of all courage, from these brave brothers and sisters in these countries that are much more hostile to Islam. How do you think I can improve my religious practice from here on out? How can you improve yours?

***** Al-’Abbas in Arabic Referring to the linguistic meaning of the Arabic al-’Abbas, Ibn-Manzhour5 in his al-Ayn, writes down: Al-’Abbas - the lion that other lions fear and escape6 https://www.al-islam.org/al-abbas-badr-shahin/birth-and-early-life#al-’abbas-arabic Epithets Epithet is a word or phrase that expresses a quality or attribute which is considered to be a characteristic of the person or thing mentioned.1 Epithets then reflect one’s characteristics, whether good or bad. To al-’Abbas a number of lofty epithets expressing his kind mentality and high moral standards have been ascribed: https://www.al-islam.org/al-abbas-badr-shahin/epithets#bab-ul-husayn Al-’Abbas in the Imams’ Sight https://www.al-islam.org/al-abbas-badr-shahin/al-abbas-imams-sight ***** Hamil ul-Liwaa The holding of standards in wars is the most significant position in armies. Standards are given exclusively to the soldiers who enjoy special military abilities. During the battle of at-Taff, the standard was in the hand of Abu’l-Fadhl al-’Abbas who preserved and held it from the beginning of the tragic journey from Medina to up until the last spark of his life. Al-’Abbas protected that standard so bravely and uniquely that he embraced it to his chest when his two hands were severed. In more than one situation, al-’Abbas asked his brother Imam al-Husayn for permission for fighting, but the Imam used to say to him, “You are the standard-bearer of my army. If you are martyred, my troops will separate”. It is also well known that standard-bearers are chosen according to special qualifications: The standard-bearer must be accepted by everybody and must bear qualities such as courage, chivalry, and honor. The standard-bearers must also exert all efforts to keep the standard high. For this reason, al-’Abbas exerted unique efforts for keeping the standard high. When his right hand was severed, he held the standard in the left. And when this one was also severed, he embraced the standard to his chest and held onto it until the last breath of his life. Historians have also recorded that when the Umayyad army raided at the camp of Imam al-Husayn after his martyrdom - they robbed everything including the standard borne by al-’Abbas. In Syria, when Yazid’s sight fell on that standard, he was amazed. He noticed that it was completely stabbed at all places except at the place of its handle, where it was held. He asked about the bearer of that standard and was told that it was al-’Abbas ibn ‘Ali. Astonished by the courage of al-’Abbas, Yazid turned his face to the attendants and said: “Look at this standard! It is stabbed in every place except its handle. This clearly means that its bearer was so courageous and chivalrous that he faced all stabs and strokes without letting that standard fall from his hand. This is the true loyalty to a brother!!” Hence, al-’Abbas was called ‘Hamil ul-Liwaa’, the standard- bearer. https://www.al-islam.org/al-abbas-badr-shahin/epithets#hamil-ul-liwaa In the special ziyara of al-’Abbas that Abu-Hamza ath-Themali narrated, Imam as-Sadiq (a) says: “Salaam be upon you, the righteous servant!”

Umm, Assalamu Alykum! I've been hiding the fact that am shia from my friends and now I posted something of ahlulbayt. It signifies that am shia.. I'm tired of hiding, but am scared of bullies. Anyway, please I need help for you people. Anything at all.. I just need support and maybe courage? I dunno am soo lost. Thanks and May Allah bless you!!

What do you think of this diagram?

Feel free to post anything about those who had courage in helping the oppressed, especially the Shia, against their enemies and their oppressors. I start with Sayed Naser Alawi. How was he courageous? He helped the oppressed Shia and Sunni who were persecuted by Takfeeris(those who declare Shia Kafir and their blood halal) by giving them new identities and helping them to get new homes and saving them from persecution. What was the price for his help? He was assassinated by Takfeeris. more on here: http://www.abna.ir/d...ang=3&Id=308518 Courage is to help the oppressed, even if you don't have weapons to defend yourself, not out of personal gain but out of sacrifice in the way of truth. Cowardice is to oppress someone who has noone else but Allah on his side.