Video by CBS: "Is Peace Out Of Reach?"

As salaamu alaikum,

Please take the time out to watch this 60 Minutes documentary about Palestine and Israel, entitled "Is Peace Out Of Reach?" Kudos to Bob Simon and CBS for the non-biased coverage



Watch CBS Videos Online

Breaking News! - Fiances are non-mahrams!

Alhamdulillah, I see a lot of younger sisters now pushing to get married earlier for fear of falling into sin. However, for some reason people take the label of 'fiance' and think it actually means something. It really doesn't. All it means is that this person will, inshaAllah, marry you and you've made promises/plans to do so. Other than that, they are still your non mahram up until the nikaah takes place. You treat him just as any other random Muhammad walking into the masjid. You can't chill with him, talk on the phone with him, even go out in groups with this person... no touching..nothing. Prior to the engagement surely you've spoken to this brother with your mahram present, getting to know him and considering him for marriage. Once you're engaged, khalas, you've considered and accepted him and there shouldn't be much need to get to know him more through speaking to him, because if you need to get to know him more, maybe you rushed into the engagement. From then on the only thing you may need to discuss are arrangements for the wedding.

Unfortauntely I see many sisters, most who have in the past shown clear understanding of fiances not being mahrams, driving alone in cars with their fiance, out smoking hooka with their finace, or hanging out at restaurants with them, sitting and posing side by side too. Just because other males/females are there with you, doesnt make it okay to go out and hang with him, especially if you're being social and giggling and laughing and flirting. What makes me even more confused is some of these sisters say, "It's okay, my cousin was there." YOUR COUSIN'S YOUR NON MAHRAM TOO - even if you don't plan on marrying him!

I understand there's a huge rush of emotions knowing that this is the man you will inshaAllah marry and spend the rest of your life with... but for now he is just a promise and nothing more. Please don't wear your heart on your sleeve and get so involved beforehand, because a lot of time this sets up false and high expectations which after marriage you realize those expectations will not be met. Please don't fall into the trap a lot of brothers and sisters get into with communicating with one another. This also makes it very difficult on people trying to get married but their parents disapprove. They feel so connected with this person and it causes much fitnah in the family because of the 'relationship' you had beforehand with this brother.

Indeed it's difficult to act like this person is no one special. Of course he is! But this is also why its best to not wait months or years for the nikaah to take place after an engagement because it makes things difficult between the intended partners.

Your finace is your non mahram, engagements are more easily broken off than marriages are. The nikaah puts the seal on your relationship and after that you can talk as much as you want without fear or worry of sinning. And then soon enough you'll start getting tired of hearing this person speak =p haha

Oh, and don't even get me started on engagement parties/ceremonies where they're sitting side by side decked out in front of dozens of people touching one another and putting rings on each other... blah..

May Allah make it easy on all of us, ameen!

mmm... salmonella...?

So I'm really craving this right now...


A chewy, peanut butter cookie with a warm chocolate Kiss on top... mmm mmmmmm...

...except for the recent salmonella contamination in peanut butter...

...nevermind...

I'll just eat the Kisses...

way to ruin the mood...

"Aynal Islam? Aynal Muslimeen?"

This is the saddest image yet of the atrocities taking place in Ghazzah.

These are the scenes kept away from CNN, Fox, and NBC.

Seeing this video hits you to the core, if it doesn't, I fear you have no heart.

What's stupid is that there are Israeli/Jewish hackers trying to remove this video from the internet because it's actually shifted a lot of people's beliefs in what's happening there and have launched more acitivism via Vlogs and YouTube to be pro-Palestine

(Please don't watch this if you're sensitive)



I couldn't believe the chills it gave me, I was physically shaking. Seeing the charred toddler, lifeless, head jerking around as the doctor held him up... these images are real and I think people have grown numb to seeing them that they forget this is an actual person, an actual life, or was.

It wasn't until inside the hospital that the doctor screamed, "AYNAL ISLAM, AYNAL MUSLIMEEN??" (Where is Islam? Are are the Muslims?) that I broke down uncontrolably.

This child is our child. Sisters, this is the beloved child you've carried in your womb for months, gave birth to and who was your happiness.This is the baby you craddled in your arms, fed, stared at for hours while he slept. This is the baby you fed and laughed with. This is the toddler who you watched take it's first steps. This is the child you had dreams and aspirations for. This is the child you would have done anything for.

Brothers, this is the child you spend hours away from to support financially, to bring food to him and shelter, saving for an education. This is the child you long to see coming home, before your own wife. This is your baby, the most precious part of your life.

This child is no different than your grandchild.
This child is no different than a neice of nephew.
This child is no different than your younger silbing, who you look out for and love so dearly.
This child is no different than the little kid whining for goodies at the grocery store.
This child is no different than the little kid you see boarding the school bus, waving goodbye to his mommy.
This child is no different than your best friends baby.
This child is no different than a small kid running around in the park, trying to touch the sky while on the swings, air in their hair as they go down the slide.

This child is your own flesh and blood, this child is a beautiful creation of Allah. This child's life was cut short, this is how he will be remembered. This is the child of Palestine.

May He curse the cowards and wrongdoers and give them the worst of punishments in the hereafter, and reward the victims with the hightest level of Jannah, ameen!!

Salaamz, Jazakz, and Stugz

Ew! Don't these sound so nasty and wrong!

In case you're still confused, let me provide the translation for you: As salaamu alaikum, JazakAllah khayr, and Astaghfir Allah

I don't know if it's people being lazy and trying to shorten these terms or if they think it's cool/cute to use them this way ... but it's not! I don't think saying any of these words take so long that they need to be shortened the way some people do it.

I first started seeing it years ago on the net whenever I'd chat with friends on AIM or MSN/Yahoo. But now it's common to hear these terms being used in verbal conversations. I can't take a person seriously or think they really mean what they're saying if they say it that way. Just the other day I did something for someone and they were like "Ohhh.. jazakz yo! Imma see you later ok? Salaamz!" All I could say was "Uhhh..?!"

Allah has given us the most beautiful language and the best of greetings. Why are we shortening it so the meaning can resemble what people say to one another now-a-days in English (Peace!) There is so much barakah in just saying 'As salaamu alaikum' and adding on to it only increases the rewards.

Alongside this come the distorted versions of someone giving salaams, and we've all heard them before: Salamalikum, salamlaykum, samalaykome, and my all time favorite... the Desi Aunty after seeing someone she loves or someone she hasnt seen in a while... SAAAA LAYYYKUMMMM!

Oh boy... who knows what freakish things these people are REALLY saying in Arabic, because with one slip of the tounge we can be saying something we don't even know the meaning of.

Then there are these: AOA, Assalamu alaykim wr wb, iA, mA..

What's so hard about saying mashaAllah or subhanAllah? Or wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh? Most people I personally know who do this aren't even actually saying wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh while they're typing - rather they are just programmed to type WR WB. This is so weird. Come on, can't we at least say salaams to one another and truly mean it? Do we need to take a look at the definition again? We're asking Allah to send his peace and mercy and blessings on someone. This is something we are all in need of and even ourselves, which is why the response is reciprocating the du'a you made for the person.

The meaning of the greeting of salaam is even deeper than just asking for the peace and mercy and blessings of Allah, but an entire history behind it.

So inshaAllah let's make the intention to use this blessed greeting the way it should be and honor the beautiful greeting Allah has bestowed upon us and truly mean it when we say it to one another iA, wasalaams.

........ KIDDING =D ........ about the last part that is!

I'm Selling Halal Skittles, Gummies, and Hijabs!

Attention candy and hijab lovers!

I'm currently selling halal candies and hijabs, items include ---

-Halal Skittles
-Halal Skittles (Sour)
-Halal chocolate marshmallow pies
-Halal Coconut mallows
-Halal gummies (worms, tropical gummies, peach rings, gummy bears)
-An assortment of hijab pins (clay and swarovski crystal ones, regular straight pins as well)
-Some beautiful pashmina styled hijabs... some plain and some with sequins

There's something for everyone! The mosiac shows a little of what I have =) plus my photography skills- woot woot! Okay, just kiddinggg! lol



The Skittles are packs between 30 and 37 grams, they go for $2.25 each. Gummies range in price, a little cheaper than the Skittles. I have hijabs ranging from $8 - $14, and pins start at around $1!

I live in Jersey, this is open to anyone in the states and Canada. If you're overseas and dying for something - we can work something out!

If interested I have more detailed pics of everything I'm selling and can send them to you, just shoot me an email at lazeena.hosain @ yahoo.com (take out the spaces) and make sure you give the email a subject, something pertaining to hijabs/candies for sale. I get a lot of spam and delete them without opening them so I dont want to confuse your email for that! Shipping costs of course are on you - I'll calculate the price according to weight and we can go from there.

When you do email me though, I ask that you just list your name, country/state/province with postal code, prefered payment method (check/paypal/WU) and what you're interested in.

I have limited quantities so act fast!

I'll have pictures up of items already sold, still let me know if you're interested in it. I can try and get them back again for you, or just so I have a general idea of what most people are interested in! This would be helpful because once I'm sold out I'll be re-stocking again and if there's nothing you like the first time around, maybe there will be next time =)

JazakumAllahu khayran!

Genocide in Ghazzah

The media can deny it all they want, but actions speak louder than words. The images we see scream even more. SubhanAllah the atrocities in Ghazzah are only getting worse!

Hours ago I came across this BBC article saying:

"Israeli forces shelled a house in the Gaza Strip which they had moved around 110 Palestinians into 24 hours earlier, the UN quotes witnesses as saying."

Of the 110 people in the house, half of which were women and kids, 40 people died on the spot.

Now they're saying they aren't accusing the Israelis of committing this act on purpose, but how can someone view it as an accident? Remember, they claim they aren't targetting civilians *rolls eyes* So why fire that many times at a house? Not only that but whats the need to spit out so many bullets at a home if you think it's empty or does contain a family inside? It had to be known this house was filled with people and that these bullets they fired were bound to hit people since the house was packed.

This is probably one of the saddest events to happen so far, and this is of which we know of subhanAllah. I don't even know how they got these Palestinians to listen to them. I suppose in such a time you don't know who to trust and what to do you just do whatever. I can't even imagine... After days of surviving and terror, you finally think you can breathe and within hours your life is taken. This is pathetic and disgusting.

On top of living in constant fear, our brothers and sisters have been without food and water and even more limited electricity. If they're not shooting them down they will starve to death. They're living in homes with shattered windows and no roofs or doors.

"Since the ground operation, the number of children killed has risen by 250%."

An estimated 770 Palestinians and 14 Israelis have died in nearly two weeks of Israel's air and ground offensive against the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

I want to strangle any pro-Zionist or any person who says Israel is defending themself. This is clearly not the case if someone hasn't caught onto that by now I pity them because they cleary lack understanding. I want to explode when I hear 'Militant Islamists' or 'Hamas/Muslim terrorists' launced rockets over at Israel. It's obvious the Israelis are the terrorists. If we were to simply say Judaic Militants of Israeli terrorists in an article or news interview we wouldn't hear the end of it. But this is what they are, baby killers, scum bags, heartless. They must be blind, to carry out their acts despite all that they see. They must be deaf, to carry out their acts despite the cries and screams. They must be dumb, because they cannot stop and think. They cannot even smell, because I'm sure the smell in the air there is something we have never experienced before They are robots, shayateen. It will take some convincing for me to believe they are people with souls, I swear they are evil Jinns to do such things.

Allah curse them, defeat them, and expose them on the day of judgment! Ameen! Oh wait... he has exposed them but somehow people are still blinded to the truth!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7819492.stm

Sikh Hospitality

I don't know what Andrew Zimmern HASN'T eaten. If anyone's watched any of his shows (Bizzare Foods/Bizzare Worlds with Andrew Zimmern) on the Travel Channel, you'd know what I'm talking about! He eats anything; savory, sweet, sour, freshly made, old... you name it, he's devoured it... willingly and eagerly.

He's traveled to many countries all over the world. Some of the foods he's tried are barnacles, silk worms, jellied moose nose, white fish ice cream, fish pickled for over a year (not refrigerated!!), tuna eye, porcupine, stuffed frogs, live worms, veal cheeks, 5 year old sushi, blood soup, larvae, cow urine tonic, raw camel kidney, cow vein stew, freeze dried rotten potatos, donkey skin, and many more wonderously, delicious delicacies! (I'm joking about the last part haha, ewww!!)

A few weeks ago I was watching an episode of him in New Delhi, India. It wasn't anything he ate which stood out in this episode to me more than an experience he had there.

Andrew went to a Sikh temple to take part in a daily routine they have there. The temple has a huge hall and kitchen where they cook food for people to eat. They don't ask whether a person has food at home or not, they don't care what their gender or financial background is... they don't even care what the persons' faith is. Everyday close to 10,000 people go to the temple to have a meal. Not only that, but all the chefs are volunteers and all the food servers are volunteers as well! They even have volunteers who do the dishes after meals are eaten. All you have to do is go there and eat. The food is vegan (adhering to Sikh dietary laws) so it's suitable for Hindus and Muslims too.

I think this is a great thing. Why do they do this? Because they think it's their humanitarian duty as Sikhs to serve their community who may be in need. Hmm.. sounds familiar..! I wonder if there are any masaajid anywhere in the world who do this. It's not like this is something the temple does once a year, once a month, or once a week... this is something they do everyday. There are people who spend each day there rolling naan, stirring dhal, or washing dishes. All day people are wandering in and out, grabbing a plate and sitting down for a warm, filling meal with thousands of others.

Though I've never heard of any Muslim group anywhere doing this, I really hope somewhere does or is working towards something like this... especially in overseas countries where some wealthier people have the means to afford to donate large quantities of food for people to cook where people are suffering for just a piece of bread a day.

Ironically, after this meal he went to Kashmir to partake in a customary feast Muslims there take part in called a 'wazwan'. This feast is made up of... *drumroll* 36 different courses!!! Yes - all in one sitting! What a waste of food! How embarrassing. The Sikhs are handing out meals to thousands of people without charge, and the Muslims are sitting down shoveling pounds of kebabs and rice down their throats. Ughh..

Jews for Palestine

Check out this video of Orthodox Rabbis protesting the monstrocities taking place in Ghaza. The Zionist Jews in Israel even abuse them! This just goes to show all thats been happening has nothing to do with religion or land, it's all politics, or politricks, as Imam Abdul Malik would say.

But, sister... you're not pretty...

Many sisters I know who wear niqaab have encountered these vicious words.

I'm singling out niqaabis in this post because they specifically cover their faces.

One of the first niqaabis I knew went into a well known store a few towns over to purchase her first niqaab. When she asked the store owner if she had any in stock the woman scrunched her brows and scoffed at her. My friend continued to look at her, waiting for an answer. The storeowner brushed her bangs to the side, making sure they stuck out 'properly' from outside her hijab and pressed her red lips together.

"You want niqaab?" the store owner confirmed.

"Yes.."

"But you don't have to wear.. I mean.. you're not so pretty..."

Man, if someone were to say that to me it would be a slap in the face. On one hand, every person is attractive in some way. I don't expect every woman to think every other female is drop dead gorgeous, but no one has the right to call someone ugly!!!! And secondly, niqaab is not the mark of a stunningly beautiful woman, rather its the mark of a woman's modesty and her struggling to please her Lord. This is a task she's decided upon and taken up for her betterment and in hopes that Allah will inshaAllah reward her.

This isn't the only time I've heard someone tell a niqaabi sister they weren't pretty enough to wear niqaab. The funny thing is, sometimes these same people try to persuade sisters NOT to wear niqaab because they are so attractive and should show their faces to the world "But you're so beautiful, why are you trying to hide it?" *rolls eyes*

Any muhajjabah and any munaqqabah is beautiful. How can this be if you cannot see their bodies, hair, or face, and sometimes even eyes? They are beautiful because they ignore the disgusting comments from people and they endure hardships all for the sake of Allah and to protect themselves in this life and to help grant them a spot in the hereafter.

A hijabi is no more beautiful than a niqaabi and vice versa. Whenever a niqaabi sister walks into a masjid filled with virtually no niqaabis, I notice a lot of the sisters turn and wait for her to lift her niqaab, as if they expected a Hoor from Jannah to be standing before them!! haha, Come on, she's just another sister, like you!

And while on the subject, it's stupid too that there are some people who feel sisters who aren't that attractive should also cover their faces. Again, stop judging people's beauty. This is something Muslims do not do.

If anything, the niqaab is a mark of faith, and this is all... just like the hijab, just like the abaya, just like the beard, the kufi, the raised pants and the leather socks! And only Allah knows what is behind it all and what the intention is!