The closest we can get to Allah in this Dunya is in Salah, particularly in prostration. We lower our knees and forehead to the earth, to the dirt the lowest of all elements. Not only does it instill humility in the depths of our souls but it also reminds us where we are from.
We have been created from the earth, born in the wombs of our mothers, taking the journey of life and soon to taste death, returning us to the depths of the earth. Whereupon reality will become crystal clear…
Mississauga Grandfather Held For Ransom For Three Days By Kidnappers
Thursday September 11, 2008
CityNews.ca Staff
When Kuldip Bhullar walked out of his Mississauga home around 8pm Monday night to go for a walk, it was part of his normal routine.
What happened next was anything but normal.
The 58-year-old grandfather found himself in the middle of a terrifying kidnapping, lured by several suspects and spirited away to a hiding place that may have been in Brampton...
The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said,
"Every good deed of the son of Adam will be multiplied. He will receive ten-fold to seven-hundred-fold reward for a good deed. Allah the Glorious and Majestic has said 'but fasting is exceptional, for it is done for Me and I will give reward for it, since one abandons his passion and food for My sake. There are two occasions of joy for one who fasts, joy when he breaks it and joy when he meets his Lord; and the breath (of an observer of fast) is sweeter to Allah than the fragrance of musk."
[Related by AI-Bukhari and Muslim].
A Muslim girl prays in a madrasa or school during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan on the outskirts of Jammu September 9, 2008. REUTERS/Amit Gupta (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)
Just a little note regarding the previous post, Tasawwuf.org has the whole book, "Love for Allah" online. Personally I'm not too into reading books online, but if anyone wants too, click here.
A Saudi man reads the Koran during the Muslim month of Ramadan in downtown Riyadh September 7, 2008. REUTERS/Fahad Shadeed (SAUDI ARABIA)
‘Love For Allah” By Shaykh Zulfiqar Ahmad (translated by Brigadier Ashfaq Ashraf)
is an
amazing book that I recommend everyone read. This book is one of the best
books I’ve read. SubhanAllah, the effects of it can be felt deep inside where it starts (or adds to what was) a flame of great love for Allah (swt). Sadly, for many of us, this flame is on the edge of burning out. I can say for sure that this book can fuel that spark and make it burn inside with great passion. I seriously can’t think of the right words that could do justice to it. You need to read it to experience it. It makes your heart yearn to be closer to Allah (swt), it wakes you from the darkness and leaves your heart filled with awe and love for Him (swt).
I was thinking of sharing something from it, but I just can’t make up mind! I want to share everything but then I’d have to type out the whole book! So inshaAllah, every once in a while I’ll type us a little
something from it. So for now, I thought since it’s Ramadhan and we all read Tarawih, many of us read
a few du’as or praises in between the rakats, and here’s a story behind one of them that was in this book.
A Story About Prophet Ibrahim (a.s)
Once, when Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) was grazing his flock of sheep, a man passed by loudly reciting the following words in praise of Allah (swt):
Glorified is the Master of the earthly and heavenly kingdoms. Glorified is the Honored One, the Exalted One, the Venerated One, the Powerful One, the Magnificent One, and the Omnipotent One.
When Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) heard his Beloved (swt) praised with such beautiful words, his heart leaped in exultation. He requested the man to kindly recite the words one more time. The man asked what he would give him in return. Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) replied that he would give half of his flock of sheep. The man complied and repeated the words. Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) was so captivated by these beautiful words that he asked him to repeat the words again. The man asked what he would be given in exchange this time. Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) replied that he would give the remaining half of the flock. The man complied and repeated the words for a third time. Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) was so overcome with ecstasy by these words the he once again implored the man to repeat his words. The man responded, “You have nothing left. Now what will you give me?” Prophet Ibrahim (a.s) replied, “O brother, I will tend your sheep forever if you recite these praises of my Beloved (swt) one more time.” The man then said, “Ibrahim Khalilullah [friend of Allah]. I bring you glad tidings. I am an angel sent by Allah (swt), who told me, “Go and take My name before My Khalil and see how much he values it.”
SubhanAllah.
Page 34
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Visually impaired Palestinian students read verses of the Quran, Islam's holiest book, written in Braille, during the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Al-Qabas Islamic school in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Sunday, Sept. 7, 2008. The Islamic school is funded by local donations, that usually increase during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan.
Ibn Khuzaima reported on the authority of Salman al-Farisi that the Prophet (saaw) delivered a Khutbah on the last day ofSh'aban saying:
"O people: You are about to enter the shadow of a great blessed month. A night therein is better than a thousand months. Allah (swt) made fasting during this month an obligation and encouraged people to perform extra prayers during its nights.
Seeking nearness to Allah (swt) through a good deed would be considered like performing an obligatory act of worship. In turn, performance of an obligatory act of worship during this month would be rewarded seventy times more than during any other month. It is the month of patience, and the reward for patience is Jannah. It is the month of comforting others, and the month during which believers would enjoy plentifulness.
The Prophet (s.a.w) went on to say:" Make sure you frequently do four things, two of which would please your Lord and the other two are indispensable for your salvation in the Hereafter. As for the two things that would please your Lord, they are: testifying to the oneness of Allah (swt) and seeking repentance. And the other two are: asking Allah the favour of entering Jannah and seeking refuge in Him from the Hell Fire."
"Whosoever fasts in Ramadan with faith and seeking Allah's reward, all his past sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari)
Ramadhan Mubarak/Kareem!
Alhamdulillah, Allah (swt) has bestowed upon us yet another year in which we can take advantage of this Blessed month and even for that we must do shukr. Many die before Ramadhan approaches yet many of us are still here, given another opportunity to cleanse, purify, and illuminate our hearts and souls with the mercy and light of Allah (swt) and to be closer to Him (swt). It is the month wherein the Holy Qur’an was revealed to Sayyidinah Rasulullah (s.a.w) on the Night of Power (Laylatul Qadr), the night that is better then a thousand months of worship. SubhanAllah, how great is Allah (swt)’s mercy for the Ummah of His beloved Nabi (s.a.w).
May Allah (swt) make it easy for us during this blessed month to gain guidance, taqwa, ilm, piety, subr, His mercy, His forgiveness and His pleasure. May Allah (swt) save us from the punishments of the grave and hellfire and raise us amongst those that He loves and favours and make our home Jannatul Firdaws. Ameen
Remember me in your du’as (by NAME!) and I ask for forgiveness from anyone who I might have wronged knowingly/unknowingly.
Narrated by Abu Huraira (ra):
The Prophet (s.a.w) said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting.)" [Bukhari Vol. 3: No. 127]
An officer of Brunei's Islamic authority leads a call for prayer or Athaan during the sighting of the new moon for Ramadan over the sky of Bukit Agok outside Bandar Seri Begawan August 31, 2008. Muslims scan the sky at dusk at the end of their lunar calendar's eighth month in search of the new moon to proclaim the beginning of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month during which observant believers fast from dawn to dusk. REUTERS/Ahim Rani (BRUNEI)
People buy food before the breaking of fast on the first day of Ramadan in Lahore September 2, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Mohsin Raza (PAKISTAN)
Pakistani Muslims youngsters recite the holy book of Quran at a seminary in Rawalpindi, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008. Muslims across the world usually increase their religious activities during the holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to officially begin Tuesday or Wednesday in Pakistan, though the timing depends on the alignment of the moon. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
A man shops in the downtown market area in Amman, ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, August 31, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN)
A boy prays before a session marking the start of Ramadan at the Golden Mosque in Manila September 1, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Cheryl Ravelo (PHILIPPINES)
A boy sleeps in a mosque while waiting to break his fast on the first day of Ramadan in Makassar September 1, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking, and sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Yusuf Ahmad (INDONESIA)
A child prepares food for Iftar (evening meal) before the breaking of fast on the first day of Ramadan at Memon Mosque in Karachi September 2, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Athar Hussain (PAKISTAN)
Kashmiri Muslim men, who were under a curfew for the past nine days, perform prayers on a road outside a mosque during Ramadan in Srinagar September 2, 2008. REUTERS/Fayaz Kabli (INDIAN-ADMINISTERED KASHMIR)
Egyptians shop at a vegetable market in Cairo during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan September 1, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Nasser Nuri (EGYPT)
A Pakistani Muslim prepares food stuff for 'Iftar', a time to break the fast, at a mosque during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. During Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, Muslims refrain from eating, drinking, smoking and sex from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/Anjum Naveed)
An elderly man reads the Koran on the second day of Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar, at the Grand Mosque in Sanaa September 2, 2008. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN
Students of a religious school recite the Koran during Ramadan at a seminary in Islamabad September 2, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood (PAKISTAN)
Foreign workers gather to break fast at the end of the first day of Ramadan in Jeddah September 1, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Stringer (SAUDI ARABIA)
Palestinian Muslims youths read verses from the Quran, Islam's holy book, while waiting to break their daily fast during the first day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in a mosque in the West Bank city of Ramallah, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008. Muslims throughout the world are celebrating the holy fasting month of Ramadan, the holiest month in Islamic calendar, refraining from eating, drinking, and smoking from dawn to dusk. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen)A Palestinian man reads the Koran at in front of the Dome of the Rock mosque, at the al-Aqsa compound in Jerusalems old city on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Muslims around the world this week begin the fasting and feasting month of Ramadan amid hopes of violence easing in some of the Islamic world's conflict hotspots but hit hard by rising food prices. (AFP/Ahmad Gharabli)
A moon crescent appears in the background of the Prophet Mohammed Mosque in the holy city of Medina in Saudi Arabia. Muslims around the world this week begin the fasting and feasting month of Ramadan amid hopes of violence easing in some of the Islamic world's conflict hotspots but hit hard by rising food prices. (AFP/File/Roslan Rahman)
Saudis shop at a market in the Red Sea city of Jeddah one day before the start of the holy month of Ramadan. Saudi Arabia, cradle of Islam, and other oil-rich Arab monarchies in the Gulf has ushered in Ramadan, the Muslim holy month marked by an upsurge of charity and a slowdown in activity. (AFP/Omar Salem)
Fishermen offer prayers before the breaking of fast on the first day of Ramadan in Karachi September 2, 2008. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Athar Hussain (PAKISTAN)
"Most certainly We have revealed it in the Night of Power; And what will inform you what is the Night of Power? The Night of Power is greater than a thousand months; The angels and Jibraeel (alayhis salaam) descend in it with the permission of your Lord with all decrees; Peace prevails till the rising of dawn." (Surah Qadr)
Audio Slideshow: Inside Influential Indian Madrassa --BBC
An Islamic theological school in northern India is undergoing a major image makeover.
The teachings at the Darul-Uloom Deoband madrassa are said to have inspired tens of thousands of other seminaries across south Asia - but also groups such as the Taleban.
Now the school is trying to equip its students with 21st-Century skills.
The BBC's India Correspondent Sanjoy Majumder made a rare visit to the institute, which for years has been closed to the outside world.
click on the link below to see and hear the the audio slideshow.
This is the first time someone I know and met a few times before, has passed away. It came as a shock and as a great reminder from Allah the Almighty about death, and how we must all face it, no matter how old or young we are.
MashaAllah, he was a Talib-ul Ilm who had drowned, Allah (swt) has blessed him with 2 ways of dying as a martyr, SubhanAllah. May Allah (swt) raise him amongst the Ulema and the Shuhadah. I didn’t know him so well but I had heard loads about him through his cousin Aishah. Like about his great akhlaq and adhab (manners, morals, etiquettes, etc) and his great personality that everybody knew about. He always lowered his gaze and not only wore the Sunnah, but tried to emanate and practice it as much as he could. His family and his many friends are feeling his loss, but it indeed is from Allah (swt). Allah (swt) has called him back and saved him from the ugliness of this dunya.
May Allah (swt) open the gates and windows of Jannah tul Firdaws in his grave, illuminate his grave with His (swt) blessings and Noor, raise him amongst those that He loves and favours and grant sabr (patience, understanding, acceptance, etc) to his loving family and friends. Ameen
Death is not something to take lightly and forget. It is something that we must all prepare for. Do not fall for the love of this dunya and all that it holds. Stay away from the haraam and the doubts. Don’t hold grudges, malice, jealousy and hatred for one another in your hearts, just forget and forgive everyone, before it’s too late. There is no room or time for all of that when love, mercy, and the Noor of Allah (swt) should be illuminating it. We may never know when or where we or someone else close to us may die.
May Allah (swt) take us with the Kalimah on our lips, with imaan and when He (swt) is most pleased with us. May Allah (swt) forgive our sins and protect us (and all those who have already passed away) from the punishments of the grave and the hellfire. May He (swt) open the doors of Jannah tul Firdaws in our graves and fill it with His Noor. May we be raised amongst those that He (swt) loves and favours and be with Him and His Rasul (s.a.w) for eternity… Ameen.
Here is an excerpt from the book, Don’t Be Sad. It’s perfect for this loss…
Pre-ordainment
No calamity befalls on the earth or in yourselves but is inscribed in the Book of Decrees – before We bring it into existence.(57:22)
The pen has dried, the pages have been lifted: all events that shall come to pass have already been written.
Nothing shall ever happen to us except what Allah has ordained for us (9:51)
Whatever has befallen you was not meant to escape you, and whatever has escaped you was not meant to befall you: If this belief were to firmly ingrained in your heart than all hardship and difficulty would become ease and comfort. The Prophet (s.a.w) said, “Whoever Allah wishes good for, He inflicts him (with Hardship)”
For this reason, do not feel overly troubled if you are afflicted with sickness, the death of a son, or a loss in wealth. Allah has decrees these matters to occur and the decisions are His, and His alone. When we truly have this faith, we shall be rewarded well and our sins shall be atoned for.
For those that are afflicted with disaster, glad tidings await them: so remain patient and happy with our Lord.
He cannot be questioned as to what He does, while they will be questioned. (21:23)
You will never completely feel at ease until you firmly believe that Allah has already pre-ordained all matters. The pen has dried and with it has been written everything that will happen to you. Therefore do not fell remorse over that which is not in your hands. Do not thing that you could have prevented the fence from falling, the water from flowing, the wind from blowing, or the glass from breaking. You could no have prevented these things, whether you wanted to or not. All that has been preordained shall come to pass.
Then whosoever wills let him believe, and whosoever wills, let him disbelieve. (18:29)
Surrender yourself: believe in pre-ordainment, before pangs of anger and regret overwhelm you. If you have done all that was in your power, and afterwards what you had been striving against still takes place, have firm faith that it was meant to be. Do not say, ‘Had I done such-and-such, such-and-such would have happened’; rather say, ‘This is the decree of Allah, and what He wishes, He does.’
Page 40-41 from the book, Don’t Be Sad(La Tahzin) by ‘Aaidh ibn Abdullah al-Qarni
So it’s been 1 year since my nikkah. A year of my marriage has passed, and mashaAllah it has been one of the best years of my life so far. May Allah (swt) continue to bless my marriage (and all marriages) with love, happiness, patience, understanding, and all the other blessings that come in many great ways. Ameen
My husband isn't here so he told my sis-in-law to buy a rose and give it to me today(the one in the pic), along with presents that he bought for me! MashaAllah, he also left a sweet letter that I had to open today...it made me cry!
Those that are still single and do not want to get married, believe me it can be one of the most wonderful things that can ever happen to you. Not only do you fulfill half of your Iman, but you also get a best friend, a lover, a partner (inshaAllah in the Hereafter as well), and a person who becomes your other half. As Allah (swt) says in Suran al-Baqarah, “they are garments for you and you are garments for them…” your spouse becomes your garment in ways you might have never thought. They become a barrier between you and evil, a way to become closer to Allah (swt) and His Rasul (s.a.w), an adornment, a comfort, a warmth, the coolness of your eyes, your passion, your jannah in this world and without them you feel incomplete and empty. SubhanAllah, it’s truly amazing how Allah (swt) blesses us with such beautiful gifts, we just need to make sure we’re grateful to Him (swt) and thank Him as often as we can. May Allah (swt) give us the Tawfiq to do so.
Wow, it’s the summer and a time where your wallet just seems to have a hole in it! I just went shopping yesterday with the girls, got some good deals at Heartland Town Centre, and not to mention a really big migraine by the end of the day. From spending almost an hour in every store to some very hungry girls “accidentally” breaking a table at Popeye’s to going to the Tim Horton’s drive-thru 3 times in a row (some people just can’t make up their minds) can give anyone a headache but a lot of laughs too!
Oh and it’s Canada Day! I just love Canada, even though it can be so expensive sometimes (yeah, I’m thinking of yesterday). Still, you can never really hate Canada, eh?
Anyways, that’s all for now folks! I’ll try to update soon, inshaAllah.
The world's first moving building, an 80-storey tower with revolving floors giving a shifting shape, will be built in Dubai, its architect says.
The Dynamic Tower design is made up of 80 pre-fabricated apartments which will spin independently of one another.
"It's the first building that rotates, moves, and changes shape," said architect David Fisher, who is Italian, at a news conference in New York.
"This building never looks the same, not once in a lifetime," he added.
The 420-metre (1,378-foot) building's apartments would spin a full 360 degrees, at voice command, around a central column by means of 79 giant power-generating wind turbines located between each floor.
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Computer animation of David Fisher's 'Dynamic Tower'
The slender building would be energy self-sufficient as the turbines would produce enough electricity to power the entire building and even feed extra power back into the grid, said the Italian architect at the unveiling of the project in New York.
The apartments, which will take between one and three hours to make a complete rotation, will cost from $3.7m to $36m.
There are also plans to build a similar, 70-storey skyscraper in Moscow.
"I call these buildings designed by time, shaped by life," said the Florence-based architect, who has never built a sky-scraper before.
"These buildings will open our vision all around, to a new life."
The skyscraper will cost an estimated $700m to build and should be up and running in Dubai in 2010.
Leading oil exporters have acknowledged the need to boost supplies to curb soaring prices but stopped short of specific commitments on extra output.
Following their crisis summit in Saudi Arabia, officials noted price levels were "hostile" and more investment was needed to ensure "adequate" supplies.
Saudi Arabia blamed speculation, not lack of supply, for surging prices but said it was willing to raise output.
Earlier, Gordon Brown said more supply was needed to ease price "instability".
'Ready to act'
The US, UK and other major consumers of oil have urged producers to boost supply, blaming lack of capacity for the recent price surge.
Business Secretary John Hutton reacts to Jeddah summit
In a statement issued at the end of the meeting in Jeddah, officials from Opec oil exporters and consumers said "an appropriate increase in investment" in production was needed to ensure that the markets were "well supplied in a timely and adequate manner"...
A Toronto mother was still trembling Sunday, hours after an alleged abduction attempt was foiled just feet from her three-year-old daughter's bed.
The near-tragic turn of events apparently unfolded around 10pm Saturday, at a Regent Park home near Sumach and Gerrard.
A shadowy male figure reportedly reached through an open window into the child's room, attempting to pick up and abscond with the youngster.
Perhaps it was a mother's intuition, perhaps just saving grace, but it was reportedly at this time the girl's mother caught on, spotting the would-be abductor in the act and scaring him off with a scream.
It was then he jumped into a waiting car and sped away.
Mother Newa Begum doesn't speak English, but her eldest daughter explained the frightening exchange.
"She opened the whole thing (window) and then the guy grabbed her," Tanjila (pictured) explained. "And then my mom yelled ... and he went away."
Boy is it getting hot in Toronto or what? With humidity it's 41 C. Which is just insane. It feels like there's a gigantic heater blowing outside along with a humidity machine...
I was supposed to be ironing, but I thought the blog needed some updating.
As you can tell, I got my NBN (NoBeatsNecessary) cd (Open Your Eyes). I actually got it a few weeks ago, just never got to update about it on the blog. What can I say? It's the only thing playing in our car other then 680 news. In the beginning we didn't really love all the tracks because it was different from all the other nasheeds we were used too. It only took a few times listening to them and they started growing on us. Now we're loving it! MashaAllah I have to say they've done an awesome job. The words have great meaning and really makes you think, like this track that I added on the blog.
Unfortunately it's the same weekend as MuslimFest, but I've made up my mind already and so i'll be the YTC, inshaAllah. You cannot miss out on this when there's such an amazing list of speakers this year. I mean every year there is but this year mashaAllah it's even better. I really want to hear Shaykh Ebrahim Bham, SubhanAllah I've heard a lot about him from my husband.
Yeah I know, I was supposed to be at MuslimFest this year to sell my paintings, since I missed out last year (for the first time because I was in Panama enjoying the palm trees and the rain forests). I guess I'll have to do it at RIS, even though the tables are so expensive! I really don't want to price them too high, inshaAllah we'll figure something out by then.
From Takbir Productions, comes NBN (NoBeatsNecessary) and their album (Open Your Eyes) is finally out!
I've already posted their first nasheed video called, "How Can You Deny" and here's another one called, "I'm Your Sinful Slave".
MashaAllah NO MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS!
FINALLY!!!!
You have to read the note that they have on their website. No other site has anything like this, SubhanAllah. Just when you think this Ummah is losing its self to the Fitnas of dunya, Allah (swt) sends some hope.
I've already ordered the CD and I cannot wait to get it (InshaAllah)! It's $18.00 AUD (Australian) with shipping and all that (to Canada), it's $23.00 AUD but when it's converted to Canadian it's only $21 (and something cents). Everyone should support these brothers (and whoever worked with them) and May Allah (swt) accept their efforts, keep them on the straight path and raise them amongst those that He (swt) loves and favours. Ameen
SubhanAllah, what an effort this is. As human beings, Canadians and especially as Muslims we should really take part in this. We can do it with the right intentions and InshaAllah we will be rewarded for trying to take action on climate change.
Allah (swt) has created the Heavens and the Earth for us, and we are the vicegerents of this world, so is it not our responsibility to take care of this Earth? Will Allah (swt) not question us on how much food we waste and on how much water we waste everyday? Will He not question us on how we polluted the earth with toxins harming not just ourselves but also all the living creatures that He (swt) has created? Knowing that all of these creatures are in constant dhikr of Allah, the Most High. Just as this body of ours is an Amana (trust) of Allah and we will be held accountable for how we used it, the same is with this world and all it contains (water, earth, air, wildlife, etc) that Allah (swt) has created for us to use. The earth is like our mother, we came from it and we shall return to it, and inshaAllah it’ll be in the best of ways.
There are millions of people (many of them Muslims) with no clean water, no food and here we are consuming, consuming and wasting everything we have.
So spread the word and turn off your lights for an hour. In that time we can do dhikr of Allah (swt), pray extra nafl salah, and reflect on how we live in this world and what we can do to change it for the better.
This is going to be one random post...with many random thoughts.
Okay, I admit it, updating my blog hasn’t been on my list of priorities for a long time, but I can assure you that it has always been on my mind. I’ve started countless blog posts in my head. Unfortunately, there isn’t a USB cable that can connect to my brain and transfer my thoughts to the computer... (actually it IS fortunate we don’t have something like that!)
One thing that keeps poppin' up in my head is, "WHEN'S WINTER ENDING?!" Seriously, I'm done with the snow now...
Life is coming along just well alhamdulillah. No complaints! I started teaching at the Lote Tree Foundation. Just for the evening Qur’an classes though. Alhamdulillah, it’s going well so far. As for my Alimah course... well, we’ve finally managed to sort it out. I’m going to get taught by my husband. InshaAllah it leads me to completing the course. I’m going to have to go over all that I’ve already learnt at JAS and also continue from there on. I’m really, really looking forward to it. Make du’a Allah (swt) accepts me as a student of knowledge and gives me the reality of His Noor, so that it enters my heart and allows me to gain Ilm, put it into practice and teach it to others. I know my husband is already a great teacher. He’s really knowledgeable and motivated. May Allah (swt) make it easy for him to teach me, as I can be a difficult, lazy and forgetful student! I need all the support, motivation, determination, and patience I can get from him, and Alhamdulillah he gives me that everyday.
I’m finally moving steadily along my Child Psychology course…the course ends in July and the thing with distance learning is that you REALLY and I mean REALLY have to be motivated, and if you know me personally, you’d know that I can’t be self-motivated. If it wasn’t for my husband’s motivational talks…I’d have gone all dead with that course, the Alima course and my paintings. Alhamdulillah my paintings are coming along just fine as well. I’m actually surprised they’re turning out so good. I would post pics of them online, but everyone will have to wait and see them at Muslim Fest this year, inshaAllah. (muhahahahaha)
One of the things that I wanted to blog about was Black History Month (actually my husband gave the idea) and it’s important that we, as Muslims also educate ourselves with the History of Blacks, after all, they have a great part in our Muslim History. This brings the topic of racism, which isn’t only an issue amongst the non-Muslims but unfortunately amongst the Muslims as well. We have guji/desi parents (not all..) teaching their kids to be afraid of “karyas” or “kalais”, it’s like, “if you don’t behave the “karyas” will come and get you!!”I know a girl, who’s very VERY afraid of any black person she sees. If there’s a black person on one side of the street she’ll cross over to the other, shaking from head to toe and it tears. Sticking ideas like that isn’t going to help the future of this Ummah in anyway. We should be teaching kids that racism is not accepted in Islam and Islam was the first to oppose racism (1400 yrs ago!!!)
Black History month shouldn’t only be acknowledged at public schools but we should teach our children at home and to not just the children but it should be acknowledged in our communities and in our Masajids. There is so much to talk about; one famous example is Bilal (ra), one of the greatest Companions of Rasulullah (s.a.w). We all know his story of how he was tortured for being a Muslim and how he was given the honour of being the Mu’azzin of Rasulullah (s.a.w)’s Masjid. Umm Ayman (r.a) (also known as Barakah) who Rasulullah (s.a.w) described as “mother after my own mother. She is the rest of my family." She took care of Rasulullah (s.a.w)’s parents. She helped his mother through pregnancy and after she died she took care of Rasulullah (s.a.w) as well. She was one of the first to accept Islam, and was also tormented and tortured by the disbelievers in Makkah.
There were many great black Muslims in the past who were given the honour of being Sahabahs of Rasulullah (s.a.w), and there were many great Ulema afterwards as well. And there still are. We had great personalities like Malcolm X, he’s not only a legacy for the African Americans but for Muslims as well.
Here is a page on Sound Vision with many links on Black History month.
I can go on and on about it, but I’m kinda late with the whole black history month thing. However, it’s not something we should think about only in February!
