Being Me conference kuala lumpur

SALAM

For those of you ladies who missed the BEING ME Conference held at MATRADE Exhibition Centre on the 30th June 2012, here are my notes that I managed to jot down. Unfortunately, I don't have notes from all speakers though. Hopefully everyone can benefit from this post, insyaAllah. ;)



Session 1: Free from all other masters – Empowering women
Speaker: Yasmin Mogahed (USA)

·         Prevalent standard of a woman: man & beauty
·         In Islam, the rightful standard; the relationship with God
·         Scale of rightneous and pious
·         Men à only a companion, not a saviour
·         We are here not to please man, but to God alone!
·         What you seek is not a worldly material
·         Journey begins at marriage, where your spouse will become the greatest test
·         There are 2 types of love
o   Getting all that you wanted
o   Not about what you are getting but of what you are giving; selfless love
·         Love for men is inconsistent

Session 2: Achieving balance inside out
Speaker: Sheikh Yahya Ibrahim
·         In going through our lives, there are 2 extremes; either ADDITION or NEGATION. We must try to achieve balance between dunya and akhirah.
o   Addition
§  Too extreme in performing ibadah to Allah(e.g 24 hours always pray, no sleep, fast everyday), neglecting other dunya responsibilitiesà they will become misguided people.
§  Why is this? Because the ibadah they have done will not touch/soften their hearts as their ibadah is only of the outer experience. Instead of Ya Allah (Please guide me through this … etc …), will become Why Allah (Why me Allah? I have performed ibadah day and night, but why do you give me this … etc …)
o   Negation
§  Only living for dunya, neglecting akhirah à Obviously sinful
·         Iman tends/can fade away, therefore we must always ask for iman to revitalize in your heart. Ask from Allah!
·         Sometimes, the heart can also break. It is a shame if it breaks for other than Allah. Moreover if it is broken by someone who doesn’t love Allah, it is far way terrible/horrible.
·         At times, we may love something else more than Allah. Then need to sit back and reflect on yourself.
·         Always trust Allah is there to guide us through.
·         Take lessons from what you see around you. Never will Allah let you get away unchallenged!
·         Tip: Read 3 times surah Al-Ikhlas, get pahala of reading whole Quran. Read 10 times, a palace is built for you in Jannah.



Session 4: The power of change
Speaker: Dr Fadilah Grine

·         Most important thing about change: IDEA/PERCEPTION
·         Feel the fear of changing because that is your enemy!
·         Remember that
o   If we only fear Allah: we tend to become extremist
o   If we only love Allah: we tend to disobey Him
o   If we fear & love Allah: a good balance!
·         People are able to twist religion. Eg; cultural aspects etc.
·         Allah will never change somebody unless they change what is in themselves.
·         Change is a process that comes from within
·         The Rasul always istighfar 100 times/day
·         In order to change, we must have plans and goals that you need to achieve.
·         Change step by step, not all at one go.
·         No delay, no negotiation, must change to a better person!

Session 5: Do we really love Allah the most?
Speaker: Yasmin Mogahed

·         Love is like a lawsuit à you need evidence
·         The heart is only for God, and for Him alone. If it is not, the need to shift/change.
·         If the heart is only for man, remember that marriage is only half of deen.
·         Whatever lives in the heart describe you. Askthese questions to yourself
o   What are you most afraid of losing?
o   What do you think of when you wake up?
o   What do you think of when you go to sleep?
o   What do you think during solah?
·         Love speaks for itself!