A muslim got to do what a muslim got to do

People Who Always Do Their Best

I am weak around -but very impressed with- people who always do their best. They are the people who never surrender even if they fail many times. As if they are trying to tell me that "come on, giving up is only for losers, and afraid to fail is only for cowards". Due to their strong motivation and spirit, the word "give up" seems to be absent from their life vocabulary.

A person who always does his best, and never give up if he fails, actually never lose. With this kind of attitude, he is always a winner. It is true that he doesn’t win or succeed in the true sense, but what is more important to realize is that he really beat out the loser part of himself, so he still wins, at least to himself.

If I see people behaving like this, I would be very glad to tell them "hey, you’ve won!" Alhamdulillah and congratulations. Strong people like them really deserve respect.

The point is, winners never give up. Many winners end up winning because they never stop trying. They will never stop climbing their way up until they reached their target -victory.

Of course, for muslims, we know a victory is a gift from Allah. Whether we deserve it or not, that is a sign of Allah’s mercy to those who want it. Allah loves His servants who always do their best, provided that they are true believers and good practicing muslims. As long as they keep on living their lives this way, their rewards keep on mounting and increasing, only Allah will decide when and how they will be delivered. For sure, these people are going to be very happy.

Realizing how amazing these people are, we should always respect them, although their social status might be lower than us. A diligent floor sweeper is better than a lazy doctor.

I even dream of having a future wife, then children, that have this kind of spirit. "Always do our best!", would be what they always say, and that phrase would be one of our life slogan. Doing our best will be what we always do, to never surrender, to always do our best with smiles, happiness and joy. Oops, haha, I think I dream to much.

Do your best!

So do not afraid of failing. If you fail, you must never surrender, never complain and never grudge. Always try to figure out how to settle every difficulty that befalls on you.

Do not forget that "doing your best" does not only concern with your rational efforts, but it also involve the aspect of maintaining good ties with Allah (hablu minallah). So the act of doing your best also include seeking the help from Allah, as often and as sincere as you can. Allah has already told us that His infinite Mercy And Bounty are greater than His wrath.

While doing your best, you should enjoy yourself. Smile a lot. Be happy. Face every life challenges with your spirits being as hard as a steel, but at the same time you are being very cheerful like the colours of the rainbow. This can be done if you believe that you have already win if you have tried your best.

Only with such a positive mindset, you can always be happy in life, no matter how difficult your conditions are.

This message reaches me before it reaches you. It is a reminder for me as well. I hope all of us would always do our best in any circumstances. Insya Allah.

Let’s do our best!

Wallahu a’lam.

The Japanese word

I believe in Japanese culture, the word "ganbate!",  with the meaning "do your best"  (I hope I am correct) seems to be a common word to be expressed in daily conversation. I think this kind of wish is very enlightening and motivating.

Doing your best - A definition

Different people have different levels of strength, willpower and lifestyle. Different people have different limitations.

To do your best is basically to put an effort up to the highest level that you can do.

The wish "do your best" is different from "good luck". The latter is a wish to obtain a good result after an effort, and every result or outcome are always determined by God, not by us. But the former is a wish regarding your own effort, your own choices, things that you can be certain of because it is in in your control. It is your choice to study or not to study, to be hardworking or lazy, to be energetic or slow. So the wish "do your best" can simply mean to motivate one to choose doing the right thing as much as he could.   

I think the accurate principle of "doing your best" is to give an effort that is optimum in quantity, but maximum in quality. The value of quantity and the quality I am referring to is relative value, nobody knows it better than Allah and the person himself. Whenever the person has done an effort that is optimum in quantity, and maximum in quality, he has done his best.

A question might arise, why does an effort must be optimum in quantity? Isn’t it better to maximize the quantity as well? The answer is very simple and common sense. If one keeps on doing the same effort for too many times or for too long, he will miss out his other responsibilities, whether to himself, religion, family, friends or society.

Le me give an example to better illustrate my point.

A student is doing his best in his studies, so he maximize his quality (eg. study smart techniques) and quantity of studying (studying for long long hours, non-stop). To maximize his quality of studying is not a problem; it is good to study smart. But to maximize his quantity (i.e spending too much time for studying), he would left out many of his other important needs or responsibilities like prayers, seeing his parents, exercising, taking a proper meal, meeting friends, relaxing or having some entertainment (halal) to reduce stress and many more other beneficial activities. In the end, maximizing his study time will only cause more harm than good.

That is why I always believe in every effort that we have to put on, we should optimize the quantity and maximize the quality. This will be the best thing to do, and is how the statement "doing your best" fits in the best. This clarified the definition that was given at the early part of this writing.

To conclude, doing your best is not really about the results, but is about what you do. If you have done your very best up to your rational limits, then you have already win.

            When
someone insults you, what will you do? Do you seek for revenge, ask him or her
to apologize or face the consequences, or you would simply forgive them?

 Choosing the third choice, which is
to forgive, should be dearer to our hearts. It is the right thing to do:

“Nor
can goodness and Evil be equal. Repel (Evil) with what is better: Then between
you and him was hatred become as though it were your friend and intimate” (Fussilat: 34) 

 This verse concerns with the virtue
of forgiving others. Whether you have been oppressed, insulted or despised, but
if you insist to just forgive these actions, the people who hated you will
finally appreciate you as a very good friend. Besides, forgiving others is also
a character of the muhsineen (people who do good), as mentioned in
another verse:

“Those
who spend (freely), whether in prosperity, or in adversity; who restrain anger,
and pardon (all) men;- for Allah loves those who do good (muhsineen)” (Ali-Imran: 134)

 Even the non-muslims admit that
forgiveness is better than revenge. The concept “revenge is sweet, forgiveness
is sweeter”, was stated in John Stossel’s book “Myths, Lies And Downright
Stupidity”. He further concluded, “letting go of hatred is better for our
health and happiness”. Some researches have shown that hostility increases the
risk of heart diseases and other stress-related disorders.

 Always forgive others and you’ll be
blessed by Allah and be happy too. Insya Allah.

            Ramadan
is viewed in various ways by different groups of people.

 The first group sees Ramadan as the
perfect time to do as many good deeds as possible and to improve themselves. These
people have strong spirits to always do their best to live productively, carving
their way for success in this world and the next. I’ve witnessed a muslim
brother who successfully quit smoking after going through Ramadan. A great
success indeed.

 Another group sees Ramadan as just
yet another Ramadan, where there would be evening bazaars, taraweeh prayers at
night, the joy of playing fire-crackers, to buy new stuffs for ‘eid celebration
and other activities. After Ramadan ends, they feel nothing, not a change in
themselves nor feeling sad for the passing of the blessed month. Maybe they do
not realize it themselves, that they are seeing Ramadan as no more than a
cultural phenomenon.

 The third group sees Ramadan as a
“period of torture” (we seek Allah’s protection from having this thought). To
them, Ramadhan is viewed as a burden, and they really hope that Ramadhan will
end as soon as possible . Some of them do not even observe the obligatory
fasting. They are the worst.

 Now ask yourself, “how do I see
Ramadan”? Recall how you’ve been doing in the past Ramadans, were you able to
upgrade yourself? 

It is good to realize that the coming of Ramadan is like the arrival
of a very big “battery-charger”, which is ready to recharge the “battery of
faith and piety” of those who seek to benefit from this month. The rewards and
opportunities for self-improvement in Ramadan are so great, that there is no
way for us to just let them pass by. We’ll never know whether we’ll live long
enough to experience another Ramadhan. So let’s do our best, go for it!

Sempena bulan Ramadhan yang mulia ini, ada baiknya untuk kita melihat beberapa pelajaran penting daripada hadith-hadith Rasulullah berkenaan dengan ibadah puasa. Kita bincangkan.

1) Puasa Ramadhan mendatangkan keampunan Allah

"Barangsiapa berpuasa di bulan Ramadhan atas landasan iman dan kerinduan akan redha Allah, nescaya diampuni dosa-dosanya yang lalu" (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad dan lain-lain)

Ini merupakan satu rahmat Allah yang tiada ternilai. Jadi perlulah kita betul-betul meluruskan niat kita semasa berpuasa. Jangan hadirkan rungutan atau keluhan semasa berpuasa. Berpuasalah seikhlas hati demi mengharapkan redha Allah, agar dosa-dosa kita yang lalu akan diampunkan, insha Allah.

2) Diwajibkan berniat puasa pada malam hari sebelum berpuasa fardhu esok harinya

"Barangsiapa tidak berniat sebelum fajar maka tidak ada puasa baginya" (Abu Daud, At-Tirmidzi, An-Nasa’i)

Pastikan kita telah berniat sebelum berpuasa. Namun di sini perlulah jelas bahawa niat puasa juga sah walaupun terlupa/tanpa lafaz. Sebabnya ialah tiada dalam mana-mana hadith Rasullullah yang menunjukkan Rasulullah atau para sahabat pernah melakukan lafaz niat puasa, sedangkan Rasulullah s.a.w adalah sebaik-baik contoh tauladan, dan bagindalah orang yang paling tahu tentang cara yang betul untuk beribadah. Jadi, jika kita sudah berazam pada malam hari untuk berpuasa pada keesokan harinya, maka itu sudahpun dikira berniat.

3) Jangan abaikan sahur

"Makan sahurlah, kerana sesungguhnya sahur itu mengandungi barakah" (Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad dan lain-lain)

Di sini terdapat satu dorongan dan motivasi yang kuat agar kita bangun bersahur. Rugilah jika kita meninggalkan sahur.

4) Mengakhirkan sahur

Anas berkata tentang waktu sahur Rasulullah: "Jarak antara keduanya (Sahur dan waktu fajar) adalah cukup untuk membaca 50 ke 60 ayat Al-Quran" (Bukhari)

Sahabat Sahl bin Sa’d r.a berkata: "Saya pernah mengambil sahur bersama keluarga saya dan bersegera agar dapat sempat solat fajar (subuh) bersama Rasulullah s.a.w" (Bukhari)

Dua hadith di atas jelas menunjukkan bagaimana lewatnya Rasulullah s.a.w dan sahabat makan sahur. Tentang hadith yang pertama, sebenarnya dalam hadith tersebut Anas r.a sedang menceritakan kepada Qatadah r.a tentang satu peristiwa di mana Zaid bin Thabit  r.a dan Rasulullah s.a.w makan sahur bersama. Jadi Anas r.a menyatakan bahawa tempoh antara sahur Nabi s.a.w dan waktu azan subuh adalah kira-kira 50 ke 60 ayat Al-Quran. Jadi adalah satu sunnah untuk melewatkan sahur. Sekadar ingin mengingatkan, sebenarnya waktu sahur tamat (sepertimana amalan Rasulullah dan para sahabat) adalah menjelang azan subuh bukannya bila masuk waktu imsak.

5) Doa berbuka puasa

"DzaHabazh zhuma-u wabtallatil ‘uruqu wa tsabatal ajru insya Allah”

Maksudnya: "Telah hilang rasa haus, dan basah kerongkongan, dan pasti ganjarannya dengan izin Allah" (Abu Dawud (2357), Ad Daraquthni III/1401  (2247) dan Al Hakim (1/422). Hadith ini dihasankan oleh Al Albani) 

Doa di atas adalah hadith hasan tentang doa berbuka puasa dan lebih sesuai untuk diamalkan kerana lebih mendekati sunnah Rasulullah.

Tentang doa yang biasa dibacakan oleh masyarakat kita seperti:

“Allahumma laka sumtu wa bika amantu …” (Abu Dawud no. 2358, Baihaqi 4/239 dan lainnya)

telah diklasifikasikan sebagai hadith dhaif. Ini kerana hadith tersebut adalah terputus (mursal), sebab periwayat asalnya, iaitu Mu’adz bin Zuhrah adalah seorang tabi’in bukannya seorang sahabat. Dalam erti kata lain, Muadz bin Zuhrah tidak pernah berjumpa dengan Rasulullah dalam kehidupannya, jadi adalah tidak logik untuk beliau mendapat hadith terus daripada Rasulullah. Maka, hadith ini didarjatkan sebagai dhaif (lemah).

Walau apapun, niat saya di sini bukanlah untuk menghukum mana salah mana betul. Saya hanya ingin menganjurkan bahawa adalah lebih baik jika kita mengamalkan doa berbuka puasa yang bertaraf hasan ini daripada doa yang dhaif. Bukankah begitu?

6) Tidak apa untuk menggosok gigi, berkumur-kumur dan memasukkan air ke dalam hidung ketika berpuasa (tapi makruh jika berlebih-lebihan)

Amir bin Rabi’ah r.a berkata: "Aku melihat Rasulullah s.a.w bersiwak di mana aku tidak dapat menghitungnya, sedangkan beliau berpuasa" (Ahmad, Abu Daud, At-Tirmidzi)

Rasulullah s.a.w pernah mencium isterinya ketika berpuasa, lalu Umar bertanya tentangnya. Rasulullah menjawab, "bagaimana pendapatmu apabila kamu berkumur?" (Ahmad, Abu Daud, Ad-Darimi)

"Kuatkanlah dalam memasukkan air ke dalam hidung kecuali apabila engkau sedang berpuasa" (Abu Daud, Tirmidzi, An-Nasa’i)

Mungkin hadith-hadith di atas kelihatan baru bagi sesetengah orang. Saya sendiri dahulu pernah tidak menggosok gigi di siang hari bulan Ramadhan kerana takut terbatal puasa. Namun setelah menghadiri satu kuliah fiqh seorang ustaz pakar fiqh (bertaraf M.A), beliau menjelaskan bahawa tidak ada apa-apa untuk menggosok gigi semasa berpuasa, dan hadith-hadith seperti di atas ternyata menyokong kenyataan tersebut. Namun begitu, janganlah berlebih-lebihan dalam berkumur-kumur dan menggosok gigi. Lakukan sekadarnya sahaja, itupun jika perlu untuk gosok gigi.

Itulah sahaja. Jika saya ada masa dan kemampuan, saya akan sambung lagi. Sesungguhnya sebaik-baik tauladan dan ikutan adalah Rasulullah s.a.w sendiri:

"Katakanlah, jika kamu (benar-benar) mencintai Allah, maka ikutilah aku (Rasulullah), nescaya Allah mengasihi dan mengampuni dosa-dosa kamu, Allah Maha Pengampun lagi Maha Penyayang" (Ali Imran: 31)

Oleh itu, dalam menjalankan ibadah puasa ini, sebaiknya perlulah kita sedaya upaya mencontohi Rasulullah s.a.w. Semoga dengan itu ibadah puasa kita ini bakal diberi ganjaran yang besar oleh Allah s.w.t.

Wallahu a’lam.
________________________________________________________

Referensi: Fiqh Ad-Daleel (Edisi terjemahan: Ensiklopedi Dalil Hukum) oleh Dr. A’idh Al-Qarni

Waktu Subuh tadi, keadaan di masjid menjadi lebih hidup dan meriah kerana lebih ramai orang turun bersolat fardhu berjemaah.

Benar, mungkin kaum muslimin lebih mudah datang subuh-subuh ke masjid kerana mereka telahpun bangun lebih awal untuk bersahur, jadi kesannya mudahlah mereka untuk terus turun solat berjemaah setelahnya. Walau apapun, hakikatnya fenomena unggul ini tetap berlaku di bulan Ramadhan dan kurang dapat diperhatikan di bulan lain.

Inilah antara bukti corak kehidupan harian muslim yang diubah hanya untuk tempoh sebulan ini mampu memberikan nafas baru bagi menguatkan semangat kaum muslimin agar lebih prihatin terhadap agamanya.

LIhatlah antara amal-amal dan kelebihan di bulan Ramadhan, siangnya diwajibkan berpuasa, dan malamnya disunatkan bersolat tarawih. Kemudian dalam bulan inilah tibanya Lailatul Qadr. Segala amal soleh dalam bulan ini akan diberi ganjaran yang lebih, maka ini tentu memotivasikan kaum muslimin untuk lebih aktif dan giat untuk melakukannya.

Tidak hairanlah bulan Ramadhan ini layak diberi julukan "madarasah jiwa". Boleh juga dipanggil "pengecas bateri hati", kerana hati yang hitam dan lalai seakan telah "dicas" kembali setelah mengharungi Ramadhan dengan ikhlas dan sabar. Di bulan inilah segala perubahan yang diinginkan seseorang untuk menjadi lebih serius dalam beragama, atau ingin bertaubat daripada dosa-dosa yang lazim dilakukan; akan menjadi lebih mudah. Contohnya, ada orang yang berjaya berhenti merokok setelah mengharungi Ramadhan, alhamdulillah.

Setelah Ramadhan berakhir, mudah-mudahan ramai yang akan meningkat kualiti dan kuantiti solatnya, makin lancar bacaan Quran nya, makin rajin dia bersedekah, makin bagus akhlaknya dan dapat mencapai berbagai-bagai lagi peningkatan dalam usaha mengamalkan dan menghayati ajaran Islam. Semoga semua amal tersebut terasa mudah dan ringan sahaja untuk dilakukan.

Ketika itu barulah boleh wujud rasa terima kasih kepada Ramadhan, dan paling utama ialah bersyukur kepada Allah kerana Dialah yang mensyariatkan keadaan di bulan Ramadhan supaya sedemikian.

Rugilah kalau kita sia-siakan peluang ini. Entah apakah kita akan bertemu Ramadhan yang berikutnya atau tidak.

Selamat beramal !!

Science
and Islam

I am amazed how the religion of Islam views science. Islamic principles have
been constant since the time of the Prophet, but yet Islamic teachings never
have any difficulties in adjusting people to changes social life demands.

The religion of Islam does not resist scientific studies and development. In fact even some of the
modern day scientific findings are already mentioned in the Quran long before they
were discovered. For example, there are Quranic verses that describe planetary movement,
shape of the earth, development of fetus in the womb and many others. These verses are very brief but
conceptual, yet so far remained undoubted by any scientific findings. Nevertheless, the Quran itself not a science textbook, for the scientific verses only form a minority of all the verses. The wisdom behind having these scientific verses is to provide evidence that Quran indeed is a revelation from
Allah Almighty.

Islam views science differently from many other religions. Unlike the Orthodox Christianity that regard science as a great threat to the bible’s integrity, Islam’s Holy Book Al-Quran encourages the study of science. The wisdom
behind this encouragement is simple: learning science will strengthen a
person’s belief in the Supreme Power and Wisdom of Allah. A person who knows a
lot about science, pondering about it, and attributing it to Allah’s power,
should become increasingly aware of Allah’s presence at all times. Indeed, Allah
is the Creator of all things.

Another reason why Islam encourages the learning of science is to fulfill one of
the reasons why humans are created (hence answering the question "why we
live?"). So the reason is: humans are created as vicegerents on earth. We
are trusted by Allah to take care of this world. We will be accounted in bearing this responsibility, so let us do it well. Learning science will help us in being a good vicegerent, as science if applied in a positive way can greatly improve the
quality of life on earth, with Allah’s help and permission. For example,
learning agricultural science helps farmers to grow their crops better, thus
making a proper use of fertile soil for the benefit of others.

Science is in fact just another of God’s creation. All scientific laws are
actually Allah’s laws (sunnatullah). He is the one who created these laws and
makes them constant for us, so that they can be studied and manipulated properly using our gifted minds (aql). For example, if Allah not willing the law of physics to
be constant at all times, driving a car or flying an aircraft would be seemingly unpredictable and life-threatning. In fact, almost every technology depends on the laws of physics that work as the backbone for its operation.

The Quran contains true verses from Allah, every muslim should have 100% trust in
this. So in Quran Allah has mentioned some truths that science cannot explain. We
believe in the hereafter, the punishment in the grave, the day of justice,
angels and shaitans, and many other unseen matters. These truths are revealed
by Allah, the creator of all things (including science), for us to be aware of, because becoming
aware of these matters will make us to better realize the purpose of life. We will then be motivated to live our lives according to Islamic teachings in
order to seek the path to enter paradise after we die.

Things that we cannot see do not mean that they do not exist. Scientific
methods are only limited to the use of our five senses and humans’ limited mind for data analysis, thus
science cannot prove the unseen facts. That is why in Islam, to know and to
understand (which forms the concept of scientific understanding) only is not enough,
but to achieve complete belief in what has been revealed by Allah is actually the key component. We do not need to prove the unseen matters because we are not able to do so.

In short, Islam maintained the fact that the truth is derived from the
revelations, authentic prophetic sayings, and other evidence-based knowledge
including science.  None can contradict with one another except there
should be a solution to it. Learning
science makes one appreciate more of Allah’s Power, and thus increasing his of
her faith. Although science is very capable of gaining
evidence to obtain highly accurate information, its methods are only valid for application in this physical
world only, not in the matters of the unseen. So science is better suited in terms
of applying it, not to confirm the existence of the unseen matters that has been revealed by God.

From the way I see it, that is how Islam views science. It is used in the sense of recognizing God’s power and to assist mankind. No wonder muslims in
the earlier times can discover great scientific findings yet their iman were
amazingly strong.

Wallahu a’lam.

Why we live?

Perhaps that is one of the most fundamental questions ever asked since humans appeared on earth.

To answer that question, some went into deep forests and endured painstaking adventures, in their quest of seeking the ultimate truth.  It is believed by Buddhists that Gautama Buddha, for example, did this, and so did many other founders of world religions. Basically religions establish the concept of belief in God (or gods) or any supernatural powers in which humans must be submit to. But different religions view this matter differently. Muslims believe in one God; Christians believe in the trinity concept; Hindus believe in many gods; Buddhist adhere to the teachings of Gautama Buddha, a man who they believe has obtained enlightenment, and so forth.

Some people who are not that religious did very serious thinking about seeking the purpose of life and then developed various philosophical conclusions, consequently giving rise to ideologies like Marxism, Communism, Calvinism, Atheism and many others.

There are also others who are free thinkers; not bound to any rule but just to their own understanding of morality and code of life. From the way I see it, these people just live the way they want to, not devoting themselves to any religion or ideologies. Sometimes they do get involved in religions, but they do it simply for fun or for cultural matters like marriage and death.

Science and Atheism

Some say the question of "why we live?" can be very well answered by science. These "scientifically-minded" people have so much trust -some become so obsessive- in science that they believe all truth can only be derived by science. Since the knowledge of science cannot describe God, most of these people turn into atheistic belief.

Atheistic scientists believe that the universe has its own natural tendency to always stabilize itself. In other words, the universe will always tend to be in an orderly manner and continuously adapting to any changes or demands that are imposed to it. This notion, for example, has been used extensively to describe the theory of evolution, that all living beings can adapt to changes in their environment by changing the biological aspects of themselves.

This kind of belief actually sets the pace for the introduction of other ideologies that are based on atheism. To say it differently, people who regard science in this sense may turn into atheists and later on may develop other ideologies that are based on atheism. Atheists live their lives in accordance to merely humanistic views, not believing in any revelations or religious scriptures. They also do not believe in the life after death, causing them to lead a life which is just to satisfy their own needs, as long as they still have their pleasure time in living in this world. Thinking this way can lead one to live a hedonistic life.

Contradiction between Science and Christianity: Rise of Secularism

When the famous Italian scientist Galileo Galilei first described how the planets travel around the sun, the Church disagreed greatly. The Church believed it is the sun that circulates around the earth rather than the earth goes around the sun, as claimed by Galileo and some other scientists.

Many scientists at that time, although how great their discovery might be, were afraid to reveal their findings to the public because of the Church’s rigidity towards any scientific development, which was viewed as a great threat to the establishment of christianity.

Galileo was eventually jailed for revealing his discoveries.

Even how great and how reliable science is in terms of its ability to describe the truth, but because of the severe resistance from the Church for its development, secularism was then introduced into the western civilization. Secularism fights for the complete separation between religious and worldly affairs. A secular person will insist that religion cannot interfere with worldly matters.

But in the end, most sects of Christianity themselves approved the practice of secularism for their followers. There goes.

We cannot deny the fact that, today, science shapes the way we live. So the fact that scientific knowledge keeps on advancing as time progresses also made many people to turn themselves into being more non-religiously minded. This is because, many religious teachings (not including Islam), in contrast to science, seem to always remained as the way it is, causing people great difficulty in maintaining their faith in these religions due to the great lifestyle demands of the more sophisticated lifestyle.

In short, again, it is science who seemed to be the culprit for casuing many people to leave their strong religious stand.

But from a religious standpoint, particularly Islam, is science worth to be blamed? Should we just ignore science or should we praise it?

I shall continue in part two. Insha Allah.

Smile is good. A smile can give happiness to others. People who had a bad day might become enlighten with your smile. Smile sincerely to your friend, to show that you really care and enjoy seeing them.

A smile to your family members can mean a lot to them. A wife might love his husband more after seeing his wonderful enlighting smile, while parents will definitely feel glad to have a always-smiling son or daughter, who are so cheerful and peaceful to look at. Toddlers or older children will feel happy to be with parents who like smiling to them. Indeed smiles bring happiness and peace to a family.

Somehow I found out this smiley looked very friendly: ^_^

…. Hmm, have been using it since I knew about it.

^_^  Smile!