Salaam Alaikum my dear sisters and brothers in ISLAM,

Unless we're from an isolated island where there's been no civilization and people are simple-minded....we've all fallen prey to this disastrous deed. At some point we've all given that "second glance" - that EVIL second glance. Be it someone on the television or someone in the papers or someone walking down the road - we all have at some point (intentionally or not) taken a second look at someone. And by that I don't mean looking at someone because you like their shoes or the colour of their hair.....i mean the forbidden look - the look of lust. So i guess it's obvious by now it means gazing at the opposite gender.

We live in a time where Muslim women are ashamed to put on their headscarves and Muslim men think it's better to have the "smooth" look than to let their beards grow. The world is so full of temptations and desires that it has become difficult for us to follow the right path. In other words, life as a PRACTISING Muslim can be pretty hard. But the question that remains is - "Are we REALLY striving for the cause of Allah??" Agreed that the name of islam has been tarnished by the media and the like, but that gives us no reason not to stand up for our Islam and defend our beautiful religion. " I wont' fit in " or " What if no one wants to be friends with me? " are thoughts that probably cross our minds when we think about following Islam.