diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index 9a8f0065..379a12e0 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -1,10 +1,11 @@
 CC = gcc
 WARNS = -Werror -Wall -Wextra -Wno-unused-parameter -Wno-unused-but-set-variable \
 	-Wno-unused-result
-LIBS = -lncurses -L ~/lib -lstrophe -lxml2 -lexpat -lssl -lresolv `pkg-config --libs glib-2.0`
+LIBS = -lncurses -L ~/lib -lstrophe -lxml2 -lexpat -lssl -lresolv \
+		`pkg-config --libs glib-2.0` `pkg-config --libs libnotify`
 TESTLIB = -L ~/lib -l headunit `pkg-config --libs glib-2.0`
 CPPLIB = -lstdc++
-CFLAGS = -I ~/include -O3 $(WARNS) $(LIBS) `pkg-config --cflags glib-2.0`
+CFLAGS = -I ~/include -O3 $(WARNS) $(LIBS) `pkg-config --cflags glib-2.0` `pkg-config --cflags libnotify`
 OBJS = log.o windows.o title_bar.o status_bar.o input_win.o jabber.o \
        profanity.o util.o command.o history.o contact_list.o prof_history.o \
 	   contact.o preferences.o prof_autocomplete.o common.o main.o
diff --git a/windows.c b/windows.c
index 11bd97e4..76cb2781 100644
--- a/windows.c
+++ b/windows.c
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@
 
 #include <ncurses.h>
 #include <glib.h>
+#include <libnotify/notify.h>
 
 #include "ui.h"
 #include "util.h"
@@ -67,6 +68,7 @@ static void _cons_show_incoming_message(const char * const short_from,
 static void _win_handle_switch(const int * const ch);
 static void _win_handle_page(const int * const ch);
 static void _win_resize_all(void);
+static void _win_notify(char * short_from);
 
 void gui_init(void)
 {
@@ -186,12 +188,36 @@ void win_show_incomming_msg(const char * const from, const char * const message)
         _cons_show_incoming_message(short_from, win_index);
         if (prefs_get_flash())
             flash();
+        
+        _win_notify(short_from);
     }
 
     if (prefs_get_beep())
         beep();
 }
 
+static void _win_notify(char * short_from)
+{
+    notify_init("Profanity");
+    
+    // create a new notification
+    NotifyNotification *incoming;
+    incoming = notify_notification_new("Profanity", short_from, NULL);
+
+    // set the timeout of the notification to 3 secs
+    notify_notification_set_timeout(incoming, 3000);
+
+    // set the category so as to tell what kind it is
+    char category[30] = "Incoming message";
+    notify_notification_set_category(incoming, category);
+
+    // set the urgency level of the notification
+    notify_notification_set_urgency (incoming, NOTIFY_URGENCY_CRITICAL);
+
+    GError *error = NULL;
+    notify_notification_show(incoming, &error);
+}
+
 void win_show_outgoing_msg(const char * const from, const char * const to, 
     const char * const message)
 {