The Arrival of Abdullah

It is with pleasure that I announce that the almighty has blessed us with a baby boy. Abdullah Ehsan ibn Shijaz was born on June 4, 2009 at 12:40 AM in Muscat, Oman.

‘Abdullāh (عبد الله), in Arabic, means servant of God. Humility before God is an essential value in Islam, hence Abdullah is a preferred male name among Muslims.

Ehsān (Arabic: احسان), is an Arabic term meaning perfection or excellence, which is related to the word "goodness" (الحسن‎). It is a matter of taking one’s inner faith (eeman) and showing it in both deed and action, a sense of social responsibility borne from religious convictions.

In Islam, Ehsan is the Muslim responsibility to obtain perfection, or excellence, in worship, such that Muslims try to worship God as if they see Him, and although they cannot see Him (due to the belief that Allah is not made of materials), they undoubtedly believe that He is constantly watching over them. That definition comes from the hadith (known as the Hadith of Gabriel) in which Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) states, "[Ehsan is] to worship God as though you see Him, and if you cannot see Him, then indeed He sees you." (Al-Bukhari and Al-Muslim).

Shijaz Abdulla is a Partner Technology Advisor at Microsoft, helping their top tier partners build on their Microsoft practice. He is also a trusted advisor to medium enterprise customers in Qatar. He is a blogger, tech enthusiast, and a Microsoft evangelist.

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