Nationalism and Islam

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. So this question started floating around in my head a bit today. What does it mean to be American? How do we define that? Does it mean our blood flows red, white and blue? Does it mean we strive to uphold the ideals of "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness"?

I don't think it means any of that. To be American means, simply, that you were born in this country. There are millions of Americans incarcerated; untold numbers who are pedophiles, child abusers, drunkards, and wife-beaters. There are red-blooded Americans who still believe in apartheid on the most basic level and would see the majority of our population ruled by the very distinct minority. (Oh wait, it already is, my bad. LOL).

Please, before my detractors get all riled up, I believe there are many more good, kindhearted, open-minded people in America than there are from the above groups. I am just making a point. :-)

So if by definition, being American simpy means you were born into this society/culture or accepted as a citizen (after testing and payments and hardships, btw) what is there to be so proud about?

Mahatma Ghandi (among others) said, "A nation's greatness is measured by how it treats it's weakest members". If we look at the track record of almost any nation that was ever in existence and judge them by this standard, it would be disheartening to say the least. None should be "proud" to be called from any nation.

This is why in Islam we are taught to turn from nationality and turn to Allah. To turn to the teachings of our prophets and messengers, may the peace and blessings of Allah be upon them all! We are encouraged to love and want for our brother or sister what we want for ourselves. To love what Allah loves and hate what He hates.

Even in the last sermon of our beautiful Prohet Muhammad (saws) he said:

"All mankind is from Adam and Huwa, an Arab has no superiority over a non-Arab nor a non-Arab has any superiority over an Arab; also a white has no superiority over black nor a black has any superiority over white except by piety and good action. Learn that every Muslim is a brother to every Muslim and that the Muslims constitute one brotherhood.

How beautiful, how clear are these words, these commands. We are to feel NO superiority over another unless it is in our good deeds and piety. Which, btw, a Mu'min never feels he is pious enough nor good enough in his deeds. As Cap'n recently related to me:

"He (Imam Malik) was the man about whom Ash-Shafi’ee said, 'When scholars are mentioned, Malik is like the star among them.' Malik said that he did not sit to give Fatwa, before 70 of the Madina scholars first witnessed to his competence in doing so."

Subhanallah, Imam Malik, who had more knowledge than you or I can comprehend, refused to consider himself knowledgeable, a scholar, a shaykh, until 70 of his peers felt him to be so. Just a little dose of reality for you all, my friends. :-)

It is narrated by Abu Da’wud that the Messenger of Allah (saaw) said:

“He is not one us who calls for ..Asabiyyah, (nationalism/tribalism) or who fights for ..Asabiyyah or who dies for ..Asabiyyah.”

This does not mean we cannot be proud of the good actions of our country. If you live in a place where Muslims are accepted and allowed to practice freely, be proud of that. If you happen to be of a certain ancestry and you like to learn about your history or past customs, there is no problem. What this hadith means is that we do not place our nationalism ahead of our religion. (Even the sahaba had names which indicated their country of ancestry such as Salman Al-Farsi for example.)

"My prayers and sacrifice, my life and death are all for Allah, Lord of all the Worlds" (Qur'an 6:162). There is no clearer injunction that our lives, in totality, are to be lived for the glory of Allah swt.

So we can see as Muslims we are to turn away from nationalism, to be proud only of the good deeds we do FI SABILILLAH. I wish more people in this world, non-Muslims and Muslim alike, would strive to be good people, not good nationalists.

Ma salaama ya'll.

Wudhu: the forgotten element of ibadah

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Sometimes I "stumble" across a gem from our deen that I feel I just have to share. For some of you, this is probably old hat :-) but for others it might be as illuminating as it was for me. For all of us, may it inspire and motivate us to improve ourselves. Amin!

A and I were discussing wudhu the other day. I had a question about a hadith I had heard that wudhu washes your sins away. A related the following hadith from RasoolAllah:

Abu Hurairah (radi Allahu anhu) reported that the Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “When a Muslim servant (of Allah) or a believer (Mumin) washes his face (in the course of Wudhu), every sin he has committed with his eyes is washed away from his face along with the water, or with the last drop of water; when he washes his hands, every sin they wrought is erased from his hands with the water, or with the last drop of water; and when he washes his feet, every sin towards which his feet walked is washed away with water, or with the last drop of water, with the result that he comes out cleansed of all sins.” [Sahih Muslim]

Subhanallah, how Allah forgives us! Even in our preparation for prayer there are untold blessings. So I was curious if this holds true even if you have wudhu.

For example, you make wudhu for dhuhr and asr comes around but you still have your wudhu. If you decide to make ablution again are you ridding yourself of these sins?

The way A explained it made so much sense masha'Allah. He reminded me that ridding ourselves of physical najasa (dirt) is only a small portion of why we make wudhu. We are also cleansing ourselves spiritually of the filth that has accumulated.

Imagine your ruh (soul) as if it were a sole. The sole of a shoe, not a fish. :-D Think of  how it looks after you've been slogging through the mud and muck outside. It dries on, sticks there, and slowly, slowly, crumbles off, bit by bit. Usually on someone's white carpet or freshly mopped floor. LOL But I digress.

Anyway I can very easily envision our soul becoming soiled in that same manner. Maybe you spoke rudely about someone or lost your temper with your children. Perhaps it's something a little deeper; maybe you took that second look or had anger in your heart. All of these things build up in our ruh and need to be cleansed.

Of course, making wudhu does not absolve you from major sins such as shirk (authubillah!), murder, or zina but you get the idea. It removes all those small, daily sins that sneak up on us.

There are a few things you must do to get this blessing:

1. Have the correct niyyah (intention) to make wudhu to cleanse your ruh and please Allah.

2. Perform your ablution in the name of Allah by pronouncing "Bismillah" before you begin.

3. Correctly make wudhu with the proscribed motions in the correct order: hands, mouth, nose, face, lower arms, hair, ears, and feet.

4. Only make 3 of each motion. For example, sometimes my nose might still feel stopped up but we are only to do 3 times. Doing it more is makruh (disliked).  After we finish wudhu we can then do more if we feel it is necessary.

5. Do not stop your wudhu to speak, dry your face, etc. This is makruh to do so.

6. You can make make dua; I've found a few different examples (look here) of this so I think it depends on what madhab you follow. This step is optional but it is used to increase the hasanat (blessings for good actions) you receive.

So insha'Allah this might have helped you view wudhu in a different light. For myself, I always felt if I had wudhu I was all set and didn't bother to make it again. Insha'allah now I will be more careful to always make wudhu before salaat unless time is truly of the essence.

And with Allah lies ALL success. :-)

It's ok, I'm a convert

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. This is a post that's been a long time in the making. It's been in my mind, consciously and subconsciously, something I've grappled with off and on. This might step on some people's toes but you have to know, I don't judge you. That's for Allah. I judge myself and my actions against what I believe are Allah's rules for my life. We are all responsible for our own introspection. :-)

I'm a convert to Islam. (Yah, surprise huh? I thought I'd start out with a hook. :-D) I've been through a lot of changes and I've given up some things. (That isn't really the point of this post but I'm trying to set the stage.)

I think sometimes, as converts, we feel like it's a "get outta jail free" card. Not ready to wear hijab? That's ok, I'm a convert; I'm not ready for that step yet.

Only memorized a few surat? Oh that's ok, I'm a convert; I don't know Arabic.

Still celebrating non-Muslim holidays? Don't worry, I'm a convert; my family celebrates and it's not religious for us we just get together as a family to show our love.

Don't dress modestly? Oh I'm sorry, you see, I'm a CONVERT, I don't have any cultural baggage. Abayaat are for Arabs and besides I would stand out more dressed like that.

(Yes, there are other modest options but the Qur'an tells us we should wear an over garment so unless your cute 'n trendy Shukr outfit is covered by a trench coat, it's not really doing the job. Yes you might attract attention but it's not gonna be because you look so fly. lol)

Got male friends? Oh no, it's not like THAT. You see, I'm a convert. I grew up with mixed sex gatherings, ALL of my best friends were boys growing up/ these are my husband's friends/ insert whatever excuse you like here.

Non-nasheed music/haram instruments still making your play list? Ohhh that. Yeah, well you know, seeing as how Ima convert and all and I grew up listening to music, it's just such a part of my life. My life is a soundtrack and these songs take me back to such beautiful times. :-)

Still wearing perfume/make-up out of the house? Hello! Didn't you hear me? I am a convert. C O N V E R T.  I live in a non-Muslim majority country. Everyone wears it/I have bad skin/I have self-confidence issues blah blah blah.

OK I guess you get the point by now. Oh and before you type an angry comment sisters please remember: We are here to enjoin the GOOD and forbid the BAD. I have never ever ever said I didn't do any of the above things. I am fully able to see the wrong I do.

You know, many of those points are valid. Yes, wearing hijab and abayaat do cause you to stand out more. My family has never celebrated Christmas as a religious holiday. Allah never said some men and women weren't CAPABLE of just being friends. But still, it's not permissible.

I've had the same conversation with myself. I've done the wrong thing, made the wrong choice many times. I will also be judged for that so I have to really weigh what is important.

I think sometimes, we as Muslims, get so caught up in the haram/halal debate. We are so eager to find that loophole, to be able to say, "Ah-ha! So you CAN'T prove I'm wrong." Yes Islam is meant to be easy, it's meant to be beautiful and peaceful and loving.

However, as Muslims we need to look at our actions in a different light. Yes, Allah swt told us that the world He created, this beautiful, crazy, messed-up world, all in it is halal unless He tells us it's haram. This is a simple and beautiful way to view our existence.

But for the true Muslim, the one who strives to submit to Allah, we don't look simply to the black and white of halal and haram. We ask ourselves, before we think of anything else, we ask if this is something that will bring us closer to Allah.

There are many examples I could share here, but this is something (as it's not haram/halal) that I am not comfortable to list here. It's a more personal thing and deals directly with our commitment to living a life that is pleasing to our Rabb.

The few things in the "but Ima convert" list at the top aren't always clearly haram/halal. I've heard some sheikhs who have said it's ok to attend a family function as long as you satisfy requirements A, B, C, etc... Others say, absolutely not!

So how does this tie into my original rant introduction? Subhanallah, my sisters, I will tell you this, when this thought struck me, it immediately humbled me.

The sahaba, every last one of them, were converts. They all made that conscious choice, they chose Islam, they chose to follow the Prophet Muhammad saws, they chose to do the thing that was pleasing to Allah.

The sacrifices they made make ours pale in comparison. So we get a little teary-eyed when we think of not being there to cut the turkey on Thanksgiving? Many of the sahaba lost every family member; they were shunned, they were outcasts, they were pariahs.

Suddenly that phrase, "But Ima convert" rings kinda hollow, doesn't it? If we view the above list in that light none of them seem to be so hard to give up/to do. The sahaba, subhanallah, gave up EVERYTHING they had to be Muslim. They lost their homes, their families, their wealth, often, even, their life.

Imagine, if we could pose some of these "dilemmas" to Sumayyah, the first martyr fi sabilillah. I would be ashamed to do so, my sisters. She was a wife, a mother; don't you think she had so many things she wanted to live for? Can we for even a moment so blithely assume she was happy to be a shahid? That she wanted to be tortured and murdered, her life gone from her body?

No of course not. She wanted what most women want: to be a wife, a mother, to be alive. She wanted to worship Allah. Instead, she gave her life in defiance of those who would try to stop the message of Islam.

Would it have been haram for her to remain a hidden follower? No. But she chose to do what was most pleasing to Allah; she chose the sirat-al-mustaqeem, that straight path that insha'Allah can lead us to Jannah.

My sisters, when I think of the sacrifices made by our beloved Prophet saws, by his beautiful wives, the mothers of all believers, by the sahaba... I know that my "reasons" are nothing more than flimsy excuses dressed up in self-congratulation and victimization.

May Allah swt bless us and our families and give us the strength to hold ourselves up to the example of RasoolAllah and the sahaba. Amin.

Excellent article on racism and Islam

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I copied this article from Sound Vision an Islamic multimedia company. It was so moving I wanted to post it here for ya'll to read. Insha'Allah you will gain some benefit of it. I just ask you to open your eyes and hearts and see if you are guilty of any of this.

As a convert, I've definitely been on the receiving end (Arabs thinking I shouldn't wear abayaat, Indians/Pakistanis wondering why I have a shalwar kameez, all my sunni peeps thinking I must be shia because I wear some Iranian styled clothes, blah blah blah!) and to be honest, I've been guilty of it myself. Not in an ugly, demeaning way, but where I've had a preconceived idea of someone based on their culture.

33 Tips to launch your personal Jihad against Racism and Nationalism

By Abdul Malik Mujahid

Alhamdu lillah, all Masjids in the world are open to all people. Muslims pray shoulder to shoulder with no regard to any national, ethnic, class or color differences. Islamic egalitarianism still gains converts from the untouchables of India to Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali in America. However, this dominant reality is sometimes marred by individual behavior, which is contrary to the ideals of Islam.

Some Muslims fall for the age-old trick of Satan and start playing the silly inferiority/superiority game. Some stereotype others and tolerate prejudice against other human beings, despite the fact that all human beings are equal, from the same man and woman. (Quran 49:13)

How should we save ourselves from falling into this trap? How should we help others stay above the killing fields of racism and nationalism? What can we do now to become a better human being? Here are some tips on how we can launch our personal Jihad against this disease.

The Prophet said: If one of you sees something evil he should change it with his hand. If he cannot, he should speak out against it, and if he cannot do even that he should at least detest it in his heart, this being the weakest form of faith (Sahih of Muslim).

1. Knowledge is power

Do we know what the Quran and Sunnah say about racism? The Quran established individual character as the criteria of success, not color, tribal or economic status of a person. The Prophet preached and established these ideals in the peace sanctuary of Madinah and Islamic society which he developed.

Let our parents, children, Islamic schools, and Imams learn and teach the ideals of Islam.

2. Ask the only One who can really help

We can get rid of racial and prejudicial attitudes within ourselves with the help of God.

Make sincere and focused Dua for those people and groups who remain oppressed, subject to humiliation, subject to difficult behavior. After all, Dua increases love between people (Hadith).

Also make Dua for yourself and others to gain an appreciation of others. Pray together with your family for those friends in the Masjid or at your job who are from other groups. And remember that dua without actions is nothing.

3. Hate the hatred

The Prophet never hated anyone. He neither hated Makkah nor the Makkans who tortured him, starved him and his people and killed his companions, may Allah be pleased with them. He continued to pray even for his worst enemies like Abu Jahl.

4. Make sincere Tawbah (repentance to God)

If we have hurt someone through our tongue or attitude, we need to seek God's forgiveness. It is also important to seek the personal forgiveness of that persons as well if s/he is within reach as an Islamic pre-requisite to seek God's forgiveness. There has to be a personal acknowledgment of wrongdoing and a commitment to change. This is done by turning to God and seeking His Forgiveness for looking down on other beings due to a false belief in someone's inferiority.

5. Watching Our Tongue

The Prophet said: Whoever can give me a guarantee for what is between his two jaws and between his two legs, I can assure him Paradise (Sahih of Bukhari).

Keeping this in mind, effort should be made to curb useless talk, which can lead to worse things like backbiting and slander of individuals and groups of people.

Defining backbiting, the Prophet said that backbiting is anything that you say about someone in his absence that may displease him. When he was asked by one of the Companions, ‘even if he is as I describe him?' he responded by saying, If he is as you describe him then you are guilty of backbiting, otherwise you are guilty of slander (which is worse than backbiting) (Sahih of Muslim).

To add emphasis to how awful slander is, consider that the Prophet said it is worse than adultery because if a person commits adultery, Allah can forgive him if he repents. But a slanderer will not be forgiven until the person he had been speaking about forgives him (Baihaqi).

6. No ethnic jokes please

Ethnic jokes are not innocent humor. They carry the virus of bigotry most of the time. Think about how hurt we feel when some comedians depict Muslims as terrorist.

Consider this verse of the Quran: "O you who believe! Let not a group scoff at another group, it may be that the latter are better than the former; nor let (some) women scoff at other women, it may be that the latter are better than the former, nor defame one another, nor insult one another by nicknames. How bad is it, to insult one's brother after having Faith. And whosoever does not repent, then such are indeed wrong doers" (Quran 49:11).

Such silly and hurtful jest clearly goes against the type of manners Allah and His Prophet expect from us. It's a sin in Islam to ridicule or laugh at any beings, and if they are a group, the sin is stronger.

7. Don't call people, Kalla, Gora, Desi, Chapta, Abd or Rafeeq

Muslims disliked being called Moslems, Moor, or Mohammaden. We insist that since we write our name Muslims that's how everyone should spell our name. So let's call other people with the names they like for themselves. Fair enough?

Alhamdu lillah most Muslims don't do this. But once in a while we hear names, which we need to challenge. The Urdu term "Kalla" is used by some for African-Americans. While it literally means "black", the way it is used most of the time is demeaning. The same is true for the Urdu term Chapta or Peela, which refers to the color, and features of South East Asian people. Gora in Urdu for Caucasians falls in the same category although it also just means a white person, but is used to convey historical distrust and betrayl of the white colonial lords. Desi on the other hand is mostly used to describe stereiotypical images of South Asians "curry smelling" Indians and "pakis." It is often used as a term of self hate in the second generation.

Similarly some Arabs use the term Abd to describe black people, despite the fact the Prophet catogarically prohibited use of this term. Another term Zingy is used for the same people in the demeaning way. Some Arabs use the term Rafeeq (literally comrade) for Pakistanis in demeaning way similar to how the "N word" is used in the west. Ibn al Khinzeeer (son of a pig), a reference to whoever you are angry with amongst some Arabs and specially towards Jews is not only unworthy of the followers of Prophet Muhammad, it is a direct violation of his command not to insult one another's parents (Sahih of Bukhari and Muslim).

Even the Islamic term Kafir has to be use with care. Not every non-believer is a Kafir. This Quranic term, regarding those who rejected Allah's guidance after recognizing it to be the truth, should not become a term of hate.

8. Challenge the offensive, names, jokes and comments

If someone uses a hurtful name in our presence, we might simply say, "Don't call him/her that. Call him/her by his/her name." If you are the victim, simply say "That kind of joke offends me," or say "You don't like to be called bad names and neither do I".

We should feel comfortable in pointing out unfairness. It is very rewarding in the eyes of Allah, since by challenging this we are following three of Allah's commands:

Stand up against injustice

Discourage the evil

Don't call people with bad nicknames

It's part of a Muslim's duty to enjoin the good and forbid the evil. Let's do it with wisdom and patience. Be polite but firm.

9. Do not generalize

If you observe something wrong in some persons' behavior, don't generalize it to their ethnic group. Attribute it to those persons not their group. For example, I have heard several times that Arabs in Chicago run liquor stores. While it is true that there may be 100 or so Arabs who have this type of Haram business, they are a small minority among hundreds and thousands of Arabs living in Chicago. Without condoning what they are doing, we must see that there are Muslims of other nationalities who are also involved in Haram businesses.

10. Defend the abused group

Note unique and special qualities in other people. Show the positive points of an ethnic group that is being made fun of. Whether it's the hospitality of the Arabs, the respect for elders in Indo-Pakistani culture, the resilience of African-Americans, for instance, point out the positive to those who don't want to see the other side of the coin.

If you're still tongue-tied, consider this Hadith: the Prophet said: If a man's Muslim brother is slandered in his presence, and he is capable of defending him, and does so, Allah will defend him in this world and in the next. But if he fails to defend him, Allah will destroy him in this world and in the next.

11. Speak everyone's language

What do you do when there are say, three people, one of whom speaks your native language and the other doesn't?

Too often, many of us do the wrong thing.

It creates suspicion and discomfort if you speak a language in front of others who may not understand it. Use a common language understandable to all. So if Br. Muneer and you both understand Arabic, but Sr. Yasmeen doesn't, speak in English instead, so she doesn't feel left out. If you observe this behavior tell them it's unfair. If you are the one who is doing the wrong thing, then don't defend it by saying, "you should learn our language".

The Prophet said: When three people are together, two should not talk secretly, leaving the third alone since this may grieve him. (Sahiah of Bukhari & Muslim).

12. Read about others

Read about people to gain positive insights into other cultures. Read what they have written about themselves. Read about, for instance, what African-Americans have contributed to America. Even better, read an autobiography like that of Malcolm X, which recounts the personal experience and struggles of one Muslim African-American. Much of what he has to say is also a reflection of the experience of other African-Americans.

13. Share your joy

Have you invited people other than your cultural group at an occasion of happiness in your family?

Whether it's Eid, a wedding or the Aqiqa of a newborn baby, expand your next guest list to include those of different backgrounds. Sharing joy is a great way for people of all ethno-cultural groups to bond.

14. Share your sorrow

Have you visited a sick colleague, class fellow or a neighbor of another ethnic group? Have you been to the funeral of other people?

Relationships are not only built on the good times, but on the hard ones as well. Visit the sick, attend funerals, and console those who need it, and don't reserve your sympathy to those of the same skin color or country.

15. The way to a man's heart is through his stomach

Have you learned to cook the food of other cultures? Have you shared your food with them?

I know people who have become Muslim because of the hospitality of Muslims. Food is a great way to bring people together, and to get to know others. Share food with neighbors. Food is power. Use it!

16. Smiling is a charity

Who do you smile at? Do you limit your grins to groups you know, especially your ethno-cultural group?

Smiling is charity (Sahiah of Abu Dawud and Tirmidhi), not just for your people. Expand your smile "directory" to include all. Smile opens close hearts.

17. Salam is for everyone

Quran demands that we greet others better than the way they have greeted us. (Quran 4:86).

After Juma do you say Salam and meet only those people you know or do you initiate a Salam to those from another ethnic group?

Consider this Hadith: The Prophet said: Those who are nearest to Allah are those who are the first to give a greeting (Sahiah of Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi).

Saying Salam is also a great way to increase your love for a fellow Muslim, no matter where they are from.

Consider this Hadith: the Prophet said: You will not enter Heaven until you believe, and you will not believe until you love each other. Let me guide you to something which will cause you to love each other: spreading the greetings of peace (Assalamu alaikum) (Sahiah of Muslim).

18. Hug someone today

Have you ever experienced a hug by a Muslim you never knew? What a feeling. This one just for the sake of Allah. Try it on a Muslim in your masjid and then introduce yourself to him. He is your brother. Isn't he?

19. Beyond Salam

Alhamdu lillah, we see a lot of faces of different ethnic groups in masjids, but have we gone beyond Salam with them?

Have we invited this brother or sister to our home this year? Let's take the initiative to go beyond the Salam and invite a fellow human being of a different background over to our place. Don't wait for a specific occasion. Just invite them over for dinner, lunch, or a game of basketball.

20. A Masjid tour of other neighborhoods

While in a number of cities in America and South Africa, Masjids tend to become ethnically homogeneous due to the population patterns of the city; we can try to overcome this isolation.

Let's visit other neighborhoods and pray in a Masjid there. So if you're an Urdu speaking person, visit the predominantly Arab mosque. If you're an Arab visit the mostly African-American mosque. If you're Turkish, visit the mostly Bengali mosque.

Let's defy the neighborhood divisions which we did not create. Let's take our Sunday school children on field trips to different neighborhoods and Masjids. Providing opportunities for interaction with people of diverse groups instills understanding.

Studies show that children playing and working together toward common goals develop positive attitudes about one another.

21. Do your duty, but a little differently

Who do you usually give your Zakat to?

Is it just to your ethnic group or do you use it as one of the categories-to win over hearts? Plan to give your next Zakat to a community or individuals who are not of your ethno-cultural background. This will be a practical way to give of yourself to those who are your brothers and sisters, and those who are in need.

22. Strangers should find an open Masjid door

How are you at welcoming strangers in your Masjid?

Do you move forward in welcoming, guiding and introducing them to others or do you allow a stranger to remain a stranger while you busily chat with your own cultural group? Open your heart and arms to the new brother or sister who may have come to the Masjid with great difficulty. Welcome their choice and don't let them regret visiting your mosque.

The security staff at Masjids need to have sensitivity training as well.

23. Watch those expressions and attitudes

Did you see that twist of the mouth, or the raise of that eyebrow?

Sometimes, it's not just words, but facial expressions that also indicate ethno-racial degradation and intolerance. It's not enough for us to just avoid verbal jabs. Language is not just about words; it's about body language too.

24. Defend yourself

If you are the target of ethno-racial humor, slurs or attacks defend yourself.

First seek refuge in Allah from Satan Following the Prophet's advice, if you are angry, remain silent, sit down, move away or make wudu.

If you feel your security is being threatened seek any help available.

If you are attacked defend yourself if you are capable of it.

Document and pursue the case with local police, the department of human resources and anti-hate groups.

God tolerates a person who is being wronged to respond in the same coin but He prefers us to be better: "The recompense for an evil is an evil like thereof, but whoever forgives and makes reconciliation, his reward is due from Allah. Verily, He likes not the Zalimun (oppressors)" (Quran 42:40).

An ex-Marine member of the white supremacist movement the Ku Klux Klan became Muslim due partly to the polite and confident response of a Muslim doctor to his racist remarks calling him a "dog eater".

This is an example of following Allah's instructions that ask us to respond to evil with something which is better.

25. Stand up for justice

Take an active stand against injustices like profiling and discrimination in the workplace or at schools. Speak out against someone or a group being paid less because of their national background.

"O you who believe! Stand out firmly for justice, as witnesses to Allah, even though it is against yourselves, or your parents, or your kin, be he rich or poor, Allah is a better Protector to both (than you) are. So follow not the lusts (of your hearts), lest you may avoid justice, and if you distort your witness or refuse to give it, verily, Allah is Ever Well-Acquainted with what you do" (Quran 4:135).

26. Work with other anti-racism groups

Volunteer time to organizations and groups which are working for an anti-racism agenda or for social justice. All the prophets were sent to help people take a stand for establishing justice (Quran 57:25). Working for a common cause brings people closer. Islam encourages cooperation with non Muslims for the common good of humanity (Quran 5:2).

27. Multi-ethnic Marriages

Some Fiqh books that dislike and discourage multi-ethnic marriages amongst Muslims are wrong because they conflict with the Sunnah of the Prophet and with the Quranic principle of all people being one.

For instance, the Fiqh manual Reliance of the Traveler, in a chapter on Kafa'a (compatibility), while recognizing that there should be no consideration of skin color in marriage, does mention that a match between a non-Arab man and an Arab woman is unsuitable (page 523).

I am not advising anyone to offer him or herself for a social experiment. But we must accept our children's choice with an open heart instead of resistance based on the false interpretation of compatibility (Kafa'a) offered by some Fiqh books.

28. Jihad with your taxes

Your personal jihad against racism must also include a collective effort against racism and nationalism. Your taxes are used to institute policies, some of which you may agree with and others that you may completely oppose. You can use your tax money to fight against racism by supporting policies or institutions that encourage respect for differences. We should support subsidies to human rights organizations dedicated to fighting racism, specifically.

29. Vote against racism

Support candidates who oppose racism and nationalism both within America and without. For example, former US president Bill Clinton strongly campaigned against the use of tobacco in America but ironically he also helped the US tobacco companies to achieve record profits by helping them sell and promote tobacco in the Third World. If tobacco is wrong for America, it is wrong for every other human being as well. Let's not tolerate "Cancer for other people."

30. Vote for multi-ethnicity in your Masjid

Make sure your Masjid in North America has a multi ethnic board and leadership. Follow the Prophet in engineering social change. He paired each Ansar and Muhajir as brothers as he started building the Islamic society of Madina.

31. Put money where your mouth is

There are a number of organizations dedicated to fighting racism in America at various levels. Support them by your donation. If you don't want to donate, establish your own organization against bigotry.

32. Raising race free children

Islam does not recognize race, but the society we live in does. Bridging this gap is the challenge of Muslim parenting.

Choose to live in a multi-ethnic community. Children with multi-ethnic interaction grow up to be better human beings.

Participate in your PTA with an antiracist agenda.

Help your children feel good about themselves. Children who feel good about themselves are less likely to be prejudiced.

Welcome children of all background in your home.

Debrief them if they come home with a racial slur from the school.

33. Let's have a straight niyyah to please Allah

Let's make our intentions (niyyah) that we will strive to build human society based on the equality of all human beings as Allah has asked us to do. Insha Allah, He will reward us for each step we take to get ourselves, our community, and our society rid of racism and nationalism.

Conclusion

As Muslims who are dehumanized day and night by the media and opinion leaders, it is our duty to emerge as a better human being through this ordeal instead of engaging in the satanic game of counter dehumanization.

Whoever starts to look at others as lower beings first kills his own humanity. Prejudice, racism and nationalism are equal opportunity diseases. Muslims, Christians, Hindus and Jews, all have a choice of either using their teachings to rise up for the ideals of humanity or sink in the killing fields of nationalism.

Dehumanization of Native Americans contributed to their almost complete annihilation. Dehumanization of Africans as nations and individuals resulted in generational loss of life and heritage. Dehumanization of Jews and Gypsies is associated with the mass murder by Nazis. Dehumanization of Japanese Americans contributed to their being sent to internment camps in America. The dehumanization of Muslims in America after the 9/11 tragedy is responsible for the virtual internment camp Muslims in America live today and the tortures in Abu Gharib and abuse at Guantanamo Bay.

Unfortunately there is a demonization of America taking place in the world, which by and large does not know how a majority of Americans today feel about the historical wrongs done on their names. Even the strong American reaction to the Abu Gharib images did not slow down the harm neo-con policies are causing to American standing in the world.

Racism and nationalism are twin evils which have killed more people in last one hundred years than probably all the wars in last one thousand years including crusades and massacres of the infamous Genghis Khan.

Let's launch our personal Jihad against racism. May God be with you. Allahu Akbar.

Marriage is hard...

Following Allah's laws are the key to marital success :-)

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. You know I've been thinking alot about marriage lately. Why you may ask? Well because I am married and it takes up alot of my time, energy and thoughts. :-) To make a marriage work, any marriage, takes effort but to build a beautiful, solid Islamic marriage... well, it's less work and it's more work. Confused? Let me explain.

There are many reasons why a marriage between Muslims is easy:

1. Allah is the center. If we truly trust and obey Him, what can bother us?

2. We have at our disposal a fool-proof guide to marriage. It's called the Qur'an and the sunnah of our beloved Prophet, saws.

I think that about does it. We don't have to guess, we know how we should act, how we should respond, even how we should approach an argument. How many people set off an any venture with such clear-cut instructions??? Subhanallah.

Now there are some reasons it's hard. Here they are:

1. Shaitaan. He loves nothing more than to come between a husband and a wife. He delights in causing discord and he will stop at nothing to make problems where there should be tranquility.

2. We are human. Yes we are Muslims, we strive for the pleasure of Allah, but we fail. We often fail in our marriages, fail with our spouse before others. How many times have we been in a bad mood and taken it out on the person closest to us? Yeah, you've got the idea.

3. Even though we know what to do, we sometimes ignore it. This is different from making an honest error. There are times when we simply chose to do the wrong thing and in a marriage, this can lead to serious problems.

Is there a solution? Yes. Truly strive to please Allah in all matters, and you will see improvements. Make sincere du'a (often) and Allah swt will relieve you of your burdens. This may sound trite to some of you but if you read the Qur'an and hadith, you will see so many beautiful examples of how Allah's mercies are abundant.

A Bukhari hadith describes how a woman was running about in the hot sun, searching for her child. She found him, and clutched him to her breast, saying, "My son, my son!" The Prophet's Companions saw this, and wept. The Prophet was delighted to see their mercy, and said, "Do you wonder at this woman's mercy (rahmah) for her child? By Him in Whose hand is my soul, on the Day of Judgment, Allah shall show more rahmah toward His believing servant than this woman has shown to her son."

And your Lord said: "Invoke Me (believe in My Oneness and ask me for anything) I will respond to your (invocation).........." Qur'an 40:60

There are so many more examples but these are just two of the multitude. Sisters, I tell myself this before anyone else. A marriage between Muslims isn't some fairy tale: your husband isn't going to come home every day after work and bring you an armfull of flowers he stopped to pick from the road side and he probably won't live up to a hundred other western ideals of romance we've all picked up from the movies. :-) We, my dear sisters, also will probably not have a beautiful, peaceful home for him to come to everyday, we might snap or be grouchy at times, and I'm pretty sure we've all woken up and looked like a sea monster instead of the beauty mouthwash commercial girl who wakes up fresh and clean with minty breath!

My point is, real life isn't a romance. It can be romantic and beautiful and loving but day to day life isn't a storybook love affair. It's the day-in and day-out of raising a family, paying bills, and being constant for one another in our affection and giving of our time.

It means not voicing every complaint that comes to our mind and it sometimes means gracefully acknowledging when we are wrong. It means putting our Creator first and seeing marriage as a means to an end; as a way to protect us in this dunya and help us win our jannah, as a way to encourage each other on this journey called life.

My sisters, we can love our husbands and they can love us, but our worship, our life is for Allah and Allah alone. "I only created the jinn and mankind to worship Me." Qur'an 51:56. If we keep this close to heart, we can find it easier to accept the small disappointments in life, easier to bear our burdens. If our husbands, too, keep these words in their minds, they will be naturally more loving and caring, and will do all for their family to please their Rabb.

Let us all strive for the pleasure of Allah and pray for Him to erase our insecurities, to make us stronger and more constant, and insha'Allah these little annoyance of life will cease to bother us as much.

P.S. I love my husband, he loves me, we have a fine marriage alhamdulillah. This is just a post that has weighed on me lately for many different reasons. :-)

Ma salaama ya'll!

A thought on RasoolAllah's (saws) last words

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Sorry I've been neglecting; I had a bit to do to get my new health and fitness blog up and running. So back to our regular chats!

I was speaking with my husband tonight about how our ummah has gone from being at the forefront of health, mathematics, natural sciences, and human rights to the state so many of our brothers and sisters are in right now. (Please, if this is suprising to you, do some research! There is a fun little film produced in the UK with has Sr. Ben Kingsley (if I'm not mistaken) and it highlights just a few of the wondrous advances made by Muslims. However this is the subject for another post; tonight I want to speak about another issue.)

Afghanistan comes to mind when we discuss human rights because of the rule of the Taliban in that country which has historically been very harsh with women. Wallah it breaks my heart to see so many of our brothers and sisters who never understand the beauty of our deen! To never know Allah as Ar-Rahman-ir-Raheem, the merciful, the compassionate. Those who only take what has been placed before them and either don't care to find the truth or simply cannot, given their circumstances (illiteracy being the main one).

I brought up a few cases of mistreatment of our sisters and my husband related to me a hadith I had NEVER heard before now. We've all heard of the last sermon of the Prophet Muhammad saws. 1400 years before Dr. King called for equality, our beloved Prophet told us an Arab isn't better than a non-Arab, that a white isn't better than a black. We are all EQUAL in the sight of Allah. Subhanallah.

No he told me about his actual last words before he died. Any person, upon feeling death imminent, will strive to tell what is most important to them. They will call out for a loved one or ask forgiveness. Of course RasoolAllah (saws) wanted to give advice to us, the future generations, to call attention to those things that are just too important to mess up. So what did he say?

He (saws) said, "Treat your wives JUSTLY and do not neglect your salaat (prayer)."  Subhanallah. We, my sisters, we were one of the last thoughts on his mind. He extorted the brothers to treat us justly. What is just? Everything the Qur'an has told us about the treatment of women and girls, every word from the mouth of our beloved Prophet (saws) explains how justice for women is to be found. We are to be cherished and upheld, we are to be sought after and prized, we are to be protected and cared for, and we are to be equal in our religous duties and in the eyes of man.

Our fate, our treatment at the hands of those who all too often have the power to oppress us, was ranked with not forgoing our prayers to the Creator. What can this say to us now? It says (to me) that Allah swt, in His most infinite wisdom, knows the heart of man and his inclination to rule by force. He, subhana wa ta'ala, knows that some of what the beautiful Prophet said would be lost and He wanted this last thing to be fresh on their minds.

It says to me that we are worthy, a thing of love and respect, and to be treated thusly. It speaks to me of the worry the Prophet Muhammad saws had about what he viewed as 2 of the weaknesses of men.

I can only pray that these words will not be lost to time and that our brothers and sisters who struggle now to get out of the darkness of jahiliyya (ignorance) will seek our their deen, will study and find for themselves exactly what it means to be Muslim. Amin.

Wonderful article, masha'Allah!!!!!!

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I came across this article which was reposted on Bint-ul-mumin's blog. It was originally written by Sr. Yasmin Mogahed and discusses women's roles in Islam and society. It is beautifully written subhanallah and serves as yet another reminder to me about how to view our deen. Not through society's distorted, God-less lens but through the vision given to us by our Creator. Please read and enjoy and don't forget to say "Masha'Allah!".




Yes you can; you can work 40 hours a week PLUS do all the cooking, cleaning, laundry, shopping and still better find time to work out to keep your hot body so your husband doesn't take a mistress behind your back because you are always too busy and tired for him. LOL


*SIDE NOTE* Ummm please imagine my surprise when I was googling "no women lead jumah" for a good picture to put with this post when what do I see? MY little Aaminah, 2 photos of her, in her Indian finery. I have to be honest, it was a little off-putting to me. I mean, I know I post pictures of my family on here. I don't have them protected (tried to figure it out but couldn't). It's just kinda weird to me to see my baby's pic pop up like that. Hmmmmm....ok back to our regularly scheduled program.


On March 18, 2005, Amina Wadud led the first female-led jum`ah (Friday) prayer. On that day, women took a huge step towards being more like men. But did we come closer to actualizing our God-given liberation?


I don’t think so.


What we so often forget is that God has honored the woman by giving her value in relation to God—not in relation to men. But as Western feminism erases God from the scene, there is no standard left—except men. As a result, the Western feminist is forced to find her value in relation to a man. And in so doing, she has accepted a faulty assumption. She has accepted that man is the standard, and thus a woman can never be a full human being until she becomes just like a man.


When a man cut his hair short, she wanted to cut her hair short. When a man joined the army, she wanted to join the army. She wanted these things for no other reason than because the “standard” had it.


What she didn’t recognize was that God dignifies both men and women in their distinctiveness – not their sameness. And on March 18, Muslim women made the very same mistake.


For 1400 years there has been a consensus of the scholars that men are to lead prayer. As a Muslim woman, why does this matter? The one who leads prayer is not spiritually superior in any way. Something is not better just because a man does it. And leading prayer is not better, just because it’s leading. Had it been the role of women or had it been more divine, why wouldn’t the Prophet ﷺ have asked Ayesha or Khadija, or Fatima—the greatest women of all time—to lead? These women were promised heaven—and yet they never led prayer.


But now, for the first time in 1400 years, we look at a man leading prayer and we think, “That’s not fair.” We think so although God has given no special privilege to the one who leads. The imam is no higher in the eyes of God than the one who prays behind.


On the other hand, only a woman can be a mother. And God has given special privilege to a mother. The Prophet ﷺ taught us that heaven lies at the feet of mothers. But no matter what a man does he can never be a mother. So why is that not unfair?


When asked, “Who is most deserving of our kind treatment?” the Prophet ﷺ replied, “Your mother” three times before saying “your father” only once. Is that sexist? No matter what a man does he will never be able to have the status of a mother.

And yet, even when God honors us with something uniquely feminine, we are too busy trying to find our worth in reference to men to value it—or even notice. We, too, have accepted men as the standard; so anything uniquely feminine is, by definition, inferior. Being sensitive is an insult, becoming a mother—a degradation. In the battle between stoic rationality (considered masculine) and selfless compassion (considered feminine), rationality reigns supreme.


As soon as we accept that everything a man has and does is better, all that follows is a knee-jerk reaction: if men have it, we want it too. If men pray in the front rows, we assume this is better, so we want to pray in the front rows too. If men lead prayer, we assume the imam is closer to God, so we want to lead prayer too. Somewhere along the line we’ve accepted the notion that having a position of worldly leadership is some indication of one’s position with God.


A Muslim woman does not need to degrade herself in this way. She has God as a standard. She has God to give her value; she doesn’t need a man.


In fact, in our crusade to follow men, we as women never even stopped to examine the possibility that what we have is better for us. In some cases we even gave up what was higher only to be like men.


Fifty years ago, society told us that men were superior because they left the home to work in factories. We were mothers. And yet, we were told that it was women’s liberation to abandon the raising of another human being in order to work on a machine. We accepted that working in a factory was superior to raising the foundation of society—just because a man did it.


Then, after working, we were expected to be superhuman—the perfect mother, the perfect wife, the perfect homemaker—and have the perfect career. And while there is nothing wrong, by definition, with a woman having a career, we soon came to realize what we had sacrificed by blindly mimicking men. We watched as our children became strangers and soon recognized the privilege we’d given up.


And so only now—given the choice—women in the West are choosing to stay home to raise their children. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, only 31 percent of mothers with babies, and 18 percent of mothers with two or more children, are working full-time. And of those working mothers, a survey conducted by Parenting Magazine in 2000, found that 93% of them say they would rather be at home with their kids, but are compelled to work due to ‘financial obligations.’ These ‘obligations’ are imposed on women by the gender sameness of the modern West, and removed from women by the gender distinctiveness of Islam.


It took women in the West almost a century of experimentation to realize a privilege given to Muslim women 1400 years ago.


Given my privilege as a woman, I only degrade myself by trying to be something I’m not – and in all honesty – don’t want to be: a man. As women, we will never reach true liberation until we stop trying to mimic men, and value the beauty in our own God-given distinctiveness.


If given a choice between stoic justice and compassion, I choose compassion. And if given a choice between worldly leadership and heaven at my feet- I chose heaven.

Post-fajr halaqas YES!!!

A'salaamu alaikum! My husband is going to be going through the Qur'an with me, surah by surah, and doing an early morning halaqa with the emphasis on tafsir and learning the meaning behind the verses in the Qur'an. I am so excited; it stemmed from a conversation we had this morning which turned into a "Grab the Qur'an with Arabiy and English". I read aloud the entire surah (surat-ul-Maryam) and he would stop me to interject definitions, meanings, clarify the English, give background and related hadith, etc.

Really I am so excited and happy about this. :-) It was so much fun this morning and I know I am learning LOADS more than when I just read Qur'an on my own. It is indeed a huge blessing from Allah swt that I have married A. Alhamdulillah there are many good things about our marriage (please say masha'Allah!) but this is really one of his selling-points for me. I intend to exploit his knowledge to the fullest!!! lol

One ayat which really spoke to me today (which I'm sure we've all read before) is ayah 67 of surat-ul-Maryam:

"Does not man remember that We created him, when he was nothing?"

Subhanallah. I love this; these exact words or very similar are sprinkled throughout the Qur'an, a CLEAR reminder to be grateful to Allah and be in awe of His majesty and omnipotence.

I just wanted to share this ayah with you all that you may be blessed with it too insha'Allah.

'Alam alaikum ya'll

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Aaminah says "'Alam alaikum" and I think its just too cute masha'allah. Wanted to share. Oh and when she says "quiet" it sounds a little like "carrot" so I've caught myself telling the older kids "be carrot!". Yeah, I get some strange looks on that one. :-) Well we pretty much all love that little curly-headed sweetie so her "aami-isms" tend to catch on.

Here is a quick synopsis of what I've learned this Ramadhan:

1. Any missed fasting days must be atoned for. If you cannot make them up, you must pay to feed one poor person for every day missed.

2. You do not have to pay them before the next Ramadhan if you are unable but you must keep track. I had to go back and be very lenient when trying to recount.

3. You can pay it overseas especially if there isn't true hunger in your area or you cannot afford it. For example, here it's about $8 per day. I have many days to make up for (due to my illness and ongoing inability to fast). I had incorrectly thought I wasn't responsible because I was very poor during those years. Alhamdulillah I have now learned but cannot afford to pay $$$ so I am able to send money overseas at the rate it is required there and insha'Allah help someone truly hungry!

4. There are 7 different ways to recite Qur'an. All are the same language, Fus'ha (classical Arabic) but just different pronounciations. So it's like "tomatoe" and "tomahtoe"; same meaning slightly different sound. None is more correct than another.

5. I have learned about several different sahaba. I actually need to post a story on Saad ibn abi Waqas insha'Allah. :-)

6. Now I know this will get some people excited but please bear with me. And know I am not trying to change anyone else's interpretation, just showing mine. Human sperm is not najasa. Nowhere in the Qur'an nor hadith/sunnah does it say this. Humans would not be made from filth; to me it's very self-evident.

Ma salaama...

Interesting interfaith dialogue goin' on

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Just a heads up that there's a little interfaith sharing going on in the comments section on the "Moderate Muslim?" post and the "Really? I mean really?" post. Please feel free to check them out and comment if you like. For or against just remember to play by the rules: no insults, name-calling, denigrating the Prophet Muhammad (saws) or any of the other prophets and messengers of Allah, and remember, sticks and stone may break your bones but words can never hurt you! :-D

Ramadhan journal: Day 9/ Umayr ibn Saad al-Ansari

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. OK let's get down to the nuts and bolts of it. I overslept for suhoor; thus my whole family overslept. No one got to get so much as a sip of water, subhanallah. And they had to fast. Me? I coulnd't take my meds before Fajr so I wasn't able to fast. Really if you wanna feel like a great big ole meany, just be the cause of your family starving all day while you get to eat. :-)

Anyway suhoor was a bust, iftar was nice. I actually made something besides our soup, salad and bread. I thawed some beef cubes and fried them with garlic and cubanelle peppers. I knew they really needed the protein tonight. We ate the rest of the soup I had made a few days ago so it's to the kitchen tomorrow for me to cook. :-)

I bought a new cookbook the other day at TJMaxx. First off let me explain I'm not really a huge TJMaxx fan but my little town has one so I'll stop by ocassionally. And ocassionaly I'll get some great deals... or buy something totally frivolous. Such a purchase was my cookbook.

"Best Ever Indian Cookbook". It's really nice, despite the rather unimaginative and boastful name. Plus some of the recipes and photosgraphs were used in Mahur Jaffries Indian cookbook so...hmm. :-) Anyway my mouth is WATERING to try some of these recipes. Now problem is A isn't the world's greatest indo-cuisine lover. I am trying to pinpoint what it is he doesn't really like about it so I can indulge to my heart's content.

It's not the spice, per se. Tunisians love them some spice so it has to be some other combination he isn't too keen on. However, he eats the indo-pak food at the masjid so I think I'll be brave and try my hand at some. I already know I want to make samosas. Y U M. And I think I'll do one of the vegetable curries insha'allah. Anyway I'll take pics and post when I do. Hmm maybe next day I can't fast I'll head to a local Indian eatery... Oh my evil plans. lol

On to our sahabi story. Umayr ibn Saad al-Ansari. Subhanllah another inspirational story. Umayr became Muslim at the age of 9 along with his mother and step-father Jalas. He was known to be very pious and honest masha'Allah.

When he turned 16 the Muslimeen were going to war against the Romans, during the heat of the summer, with a 600 mile march to boot! Needless to say, the munafiq (hypocrits) were out in full-force, trying to avoid jihad for the pleasure of Allah swt and making rumors about the Prophet Muhammad (saws).

Young Umayr went to his stepfahter whom he adored and was very close to and asked for him to help in the cause of Allah and give him money to go on the campaign for the battle of Tabouk. His stepfather astounded him by saying, "You think Muhammad is a nabi?" and by saying this he committed kufar (serious disbelief). Umayr went to his room, crushed by what Jalas said. How should he handle this?

He loved his stepfather as his own father (who had died before his birth). He respected him and in return Jalas treated him as a son and denied him nothing. However Rasoolallah (saws) had been warned them about the dangers of kufar. Young Umayr knew if he kept this a secret it was endangering his own soul. He was also afraid his stepfather would continue to spread the lies about the Prophet (saws).

So he went to Jalas' room and requested entrance. He told him, Father I cannot keep silent. You have committed kufar, a grave sin. I love you as no other besides our Prophet (saws) so I could not go behind your back like a coward. I have come to tell you that in the morning, I will have to expose your secret.

The next morning he attended fajr salaat (prayer) with Rasoolallah (saws) and told him of the betrayal. Jalas was sent for and when questioned, denied by Allah that he had said those words. Umayr also denied lying and swore his stepfather said it.

The sahaba didn't know who to believe! On one hand, here is young Umayr, who was always at the masjid and was well-known for his piety and honestly. But Jalas was older, a respected man, and he said the boy was simply angry with him and seeking revenge. It seemed to be an impasse.

Suddenly Rasoolallah (saws) received a wahi (revelation) from Allah swt. His eyes became unseeing and he was bathed in noor (light). Suddenly Umayr's face became calm, his tears dried and Jalas looked confused and frightened. When the vision passed the Prophet (saws) went to Umayr and told him Allah sent a message that he was indeed honest. At that time Jalas admitted he had committed the kufar and on the advice of Rasoolallah (saws) begged forgiveness from Allah. After that he became a true Muslim not a munafiq.

Jalas thanked Umayr because he said that by revealing his sin to others, Umayr had saved Jalas from the hellfire. Subhanallah.

OK I'll have part 2 in the next few days insha'Allah. Ma salaama!!!

Ramadhan journal: Day 8

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. This is my journal post for yesterday; I was pooped last night!

Alhamdulillah I was able to fast yesterday. We broke fast at the masjid and prayed maghrib there. We intended to stay for Ishaa but A got called into work on an emergency. He is the maintenance manager at a large apartment complex and gets calls all day and night sometimes.

A funny thing happened last night. They ran out of food. I think a larger than expected number showed up and yeah you can guess it, there were some who complained. I was watching their over-excited gestures with an air of incredulity mixed with humor. Are they serious??

A related a story to us about a bag of dates Rasoolallah (saws) had given to one of Aisha's sisters. He told her, use from this bag as you will but do not look in it. This of course means we are to trust in our rizq (provision) from Allah. She said for months she took from this sack and it always had tammar (dates) inside. Finally one day, overcome by curiosity, she peeked in the bag. Yep you guessed it, no more dates!!!

Obviously these sisters never heard this hadith or they would have trusted in the bounty Allah provides. Anyone whose ever attended an iftar knows the amount of food in a boxed meal is waaay more than necessary. I shared one box with Aaminah, Zainab, and Hafsa masha'allah. We had some other food (Zainab got a partial box) but really we were satisfied. I just pray Allah swt accepts our fast and our good intentions.

Due to my extreme exhaustion I did not get up for tahajjud prayers. :-( Insha'allah tomorrow I will do better.

Okey dokey household chores are calling; I better get busy. Ma salaama ya'll!

Ramadhan journal: Day 7/ Abu Dharr al Ghafari

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Still didn't fast today but insha'allah I feel I can do it tomorrow. I am keeping track of my days not fasted but I hope to fast more than I cannot. I want to fast the whole month and Allah willing I can do the rest of it. I just have to push myself to drink more and more water. I read you can only absorb 8 oz every 20 min but I don't just need to absorb, I need to flush my kidney. So insha'allah drinking alot benefits me.

Iftar was the same, leftovers YAY! Even down to the homemade kheer (rice pudding with saffron, raisins, and cardamom) topped with toasted coconut. In Arabic it's called malaban. Just an FYI.

We had another nice halaqa tonight led by A. He talked about Abu Dharr al Ghifari, a sahabi who sought out Rasoolallah after hearing there was a new nabi in Makkah. He converted to Islam, and went back to his village (on the caravan route between Makkah and Madinah, heading towards Yemen) and by the end of 10 years, his ENTIRE village had become Muslim. Subhanallah. 3500 people, all led to Islam because one man had the courage to seek out the truth.

A very beautiful part of his story is how he converted. He went to Makkah during the very dark times when Muslims had to hide, in fear of their lives. After saying the shahada and speaking with the Prohet Muhammad (saws), Rasoolallah (saws) told Abu Dharr to return home to his tribe as Makkah was too usnafe. Abu Dharr asked his persmission to do one thing first.

Subhanallah, can you guess what he did? In the time of all Muslims having to hide, he marched RIGHT UP TO THE KABBAH, where all the kuffar were sitting and at the top of his voice said, "I testify here and now in front of you that I am a MUSLIM. LA ILAHA ILALLAH, MUHAMMAD-DUR-RASOOLALLAH". He didn't finish that sentence before he was knocked unconcious and beaten by the mob. Rasoolallah's uncle Abu Talib told the people, "Stop are you idiots? This man is the leader of the Ghifar and they control the route to Yemen and your livelihood! If you kill him his tribe will seek vengeance."

So alhamdulillah he was spared and he became the 40th sahaba and the first to ever declare publicly his faith. Subhanallah.

Insha'allah this was of some benefit to you. If I said anything wrong, it's from myself (not the shaitaan now, it's Ramadhan baby!) and anything good and right is from Allah swt.

Ma salaama.

Ramadhan journal: Day 4

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. OK here's a little recap of my day.

First off my stomach hurts. We had our normal salad and shorba but I thought, it can't hurt to make some baked potatoes, can it? It can and it did. Add to that, I made a small treat of orange rolls for us to break our fast with (in addition to dates of course!) and now I feel stuffed. I think I've ruined baked potatoes for me for a while! :-)

I did actually pray taraweeh last night so you'll have to forgive my earlier post. We woke up before fajr and I prayed 8 rakaat plus an extra for witr. I know it's not alot but it felt pretty good to at least be doing something.

We didn't attempt the masjid again tonight either. Aaminah was really tired and so were we all. Well not the kids, they were raring to go but A and I were tired. Insha'allah we have plans to go tomorrow night (Sunday). Really I love to break my fast with my family so I am not so interested in going to the masjid for iftar this year.

I guess my score for today is a B-. I know, I keep scoring myself better but I do think I am making progress daily so :-P I engaged in more ibadah and watched other things which could bring me down.

Tonight A told us all a story about a sahabi, Salman al Farisi (ra). Subhanallah the iman this brother had! He was born in Persia, about 20 yrs before Rasoolallah (saws). He was from a family of fire worshippers and one day happened to enter a church. He was awed by the concept of one God. He traveled all over, from Persia, to Shams (Syria) to Iraq to Turkey and finally to Madinah. He was a servant and a slave in the end, having left his wealthy family as a young man because he was so sure there was only one God.

In the end, after having studied with several Christian sheikhs, he met one who told him a new prophet was coming in Arabia. Salman left off and was enslaved en route. He finally, years after he first started his journal to learn more about the one God, met the Prophet Muhammad, saws. He was a slave and eventually was able to buy his freedom.

I was amazed at his perseverance. He traveled 1000s of miles, all for the sake of knowledge and to better himself. He left his family and home and went without the comfort of a wife or children in search of the truth. It was a very inspiring halaqa and I am so happy A shared that with us tonight.

Please look up his story; you will be moved.

Ma salaama!

Beautiful quote

"Truly in the heart there is a void that cannot be removed except with the company of Allah. And in it there is a sadness that cannot be removed except with the happiness of knowing Allah and being true to Him. And in it there is an emptiness that cannot be filled except with love for Him and by turning to Him and always remembering Him. And if a person were given all of the world and what is in it, it would not fill this emptiness." -Ibn Qayyim al Jawziyya

2nd post of the day: I is a college student agin

*View of campus where I'll be attending some classes*

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. Please note the grammatical error in my title as well as the obvious "suthern" accent. Go ahead, laugh. I'll wait.

OK so I registered for my classes alhamdulillah. I was THRILLED I didn't have to take my Anatomy and Physiology I and II over again. Yippee! I was also happy because of my steller grades in said subjects I was exempted from taking General Bio. Yippee again! THEN I was able to move out of one math class and just put into the college algebra. Hmmm just gets better huh?

However I do need to take some lower level courses I somehow managed to ignore first time 'round. I am doing Sociology 101 and Psychology 101. I wanted to take more interesting classes but these are required so alhamdulillah at least those are 2 easy peasy A's insha'Allah.

That leaves my history elective. They don't have really interesting classes here unfortunately (its a smallish community college) so I'll be doing US history from inception to 1855 or so. I know much more about World History than US so I thought I should remedy that.

Now the math and sociology are both online courses. Yes! The psych and history are on campus but I elected to take night classes (pending A's complete approval) so I'll be out on Mondays and Thursdays pretty late. I'll be double checking with him but I think its best with 4 kids and 2 adults who have various appointments and errands which can only be accomplished in daytime hours.

Sisters, make dua for me please. Not for the school work portion; I love to learn and study and I am a good student masha'Allah. Just pray that I can keep up with school and house work and children and husband and keep my deen first and foremost. I wish I could study Islam instead but my situation dictates something different right now.

If A and I go overseas at any point I want a career where my US passport and degree will ensure a western salary and I can also do more formal study there in Qur'anic Arabic and fiqh classes. Insha'Allah.

Alrighty that's that and I am excited and looking forward to being BUSY! Ma salaama

Please spread the word :-)

*I found this graphic on the blog "Chill Yo Islam Yo". Just giving the brutha some credit*

A'salaamu alaikum ya'll. I still get emails from my old community in Knoxville and this one came thru and I just wanted to inform you all.

There is a FREE SeekersGuidance course on Ramadhan that I wanted to share with you. It is lead by some very respected scholars; I think they are Hanafi but to the best of my knowledge, the fiqh of fasting isn't fraught with too many differences between madhabs. Insha'Allah this will definitely be of benefits to newer converts or those of us who just want to be sure we are doing our best to please Allah swt and get the most spiritual good from our Ramadhan.

Go here to check it out and sign up insha'Allah. :-)

Ma salaama!