Is there food on my niqaab?

Hm?

2011-02-13T20:37:00.002-05:00

I used to enjoy blogging...
Now I don't know what to blog about??
I suck at writing!
haha

As salaamu alaikum :)

Ramadan Without Dates??

2010-06-06T23:40:00.000-04:00

As salaamu alaikum!!

2 years ago some of you helped donate money to buy books and dates for Masjid Naim in Pereria, Colombia, alhamdulillah. Now we have a bigger project in mind, to raise money to buy dates for a few masaajid in South America and the Caribbean inshaAllah.

Barakah Dates Project is a non-profit organization collecting donations to purchase and ship dates to South American and Caribbean countries for Ramadan 2010!

Why is this so important? These countries do not import dates, and on top of that, the majority of these communities are too poor to even afford dates. Imagine never tasting dates before?! Dates are an essential part of Ramadan, let's share them with our beloved brothers and sisters, inshaAllah! Don't wait for the blessed month to arrive to start your sadaqah!

DONATE HERE using PayPal account OR credit/debit card: http://barakahdatesproject.chipin.com/

Follow the project's blog:
http://barakahdatesproject.blogspot.com/

Contact us for information on how to mail a check or money order.
Feel free to collect donations in your masjid/community/MSA!

Check out this video - the initial inspiration for the project, alhamdulillah!

How Long is Your Hand?

2009-12-14T00:39:00.003-05:00

A'ishah, radiAllahu anha, was reported to have said...

Some of the wives of the Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam) asked him, "Who amongst you will be the first to follow you (die after you)?" He said, "Whoever has the longest hand." So they started measuring their hands with a stick and Sawdah's hand turned out to be the longest. When Zainab bint Jahsh died first, we came to know that the long hand was a symbol of practicing charity, so she was the first to follow the Prophet (salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam) as she used to love to practice charity.

Al Bukhari (1221) and Muslim (4490)

This story does not only show how good charity is, but it's yet another example of the sweetness and wisdom of the speech of our Prophet, salAllahu 'alayhi wasallam. If he were to straight out tell them 'the one who gives the most charity will follow me first', they could have stretched their charity just for that sake, forgetting where their real intentions should be. But the real meaning of these words became apparent to them after-the-fact.

Never belittle any charity, and that's not just monetary, charity goes way beyond that.

Oops..

2009-12-07T22:42:00.000-05:00

I really haven't been here since September?
My bad.. =/

As salaamu alaikum =)

Ramadan Drummer

2009-09-14T15:52:00.003-04:00

Mohammad Boota, a Ramadan drummer in Brooklyn, plays to wake Muslims before their daily fast.

This is why you don't get tattoos...

2009-09-05T22:18:00.003-04:00

I have a lot of old high school friends added on facebook, but I don't usually go to their pages. One friend mentioned in her status that she got a new tattoo and out of curiosity I wanted to see what it was.

I was surprised when I enlarged the pic to see a mess of Arabic letters on her shoulder. It was supposed to say 'black beauty' in Arabic... however, it looked more like this:

د و س ا ب ا ل ا م ج ل ا

That's exactly how it looks... spaces and all. The letters aren't even connected. The best I can make out is that maybe it said al-jamaal something. I asked her who translated it and she said her and a friend looked it up on a free translating site. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! LOL!! You're gonna put something on your body which will be there forever and you rely on some site to do it for you?? I feel bad for her, but hey, this is why you DON'T get tattoos. This is almost as bad as the girl I know who got her name tattooed in huge letters on her back, without giving the artist the spelling of her name... so instead of saying Juajnita it said Huaneeta hahaha! I shouldn't laugh... it's really sad.. but... wowwww..

The Souq's Free Eid Giveaway update

2009-09-05T05:40:00.007-04:00

Alhamdulillah we have 60 subscribers, but need over 100 to do the giveaway.

Some brothers have expressed interest in subscribing, so the prize for brothers is $12 worth of halal snacks, yummm.

Again for those who don't know, www.shopthesouq.com will be giving away from free items to 3 random people on the 15th inshaAllah, so you have until then to enter! All you need to do is go to the site and simply subscribe to our newsletter and you'll be put into the raffle! Tell your friends, spread the word, if we don't get enough people we can't do the giveaway, boo.

Oh, we're also giving some things away free, for orders placed before the 18th... but we're already running out of free items, so act fast!

All pPrizes are from a wide selection of...
-An assortment of hijabs
-Swarovski crystal hijab pins (ooh la la) and other accessories
-Halal snacks: halal Doritos, halal Starbursts, and more!

Eid Giveaway! Free hijab, pin, and halal snack!

2009-09-01T14:26:00.001-04:00

Alhamdulillah my website is finally up and running. For those of you who didn't know, I've been selling hijabs and accessories, as well as halal snacks and candies.

I'm having an Eid Giveaway inshaAllah, to enter just sign up for The Souq's newsletter on the website, but do so before the deadline!

www.SHOPTHESOUQ.com

Spread the word like buttaaaa =)

THIS is a Terrorist.

2009-08-29T14:09:00.002-04:00

"A Muslim-hating Long Island man threatened to murder two women wearing traditional Islamic robes, then tried to run them over at a gas station, police said yesterday..." (click to read the rest of the article)

"She's lying... she's trying to fit in"

2009-08-25T16:32:00.007-04:00

The other night my husband and I went to a masjid in the next town for Taraweeh salah. The masjid is dominantly Egyptian with some other Arabs and few Somalis. After the first 4 raka'at the Imam gave a short talk - in Arabic. Since I couldn't understand and no one seemed to be translating for the sisters (pshh, no one was even listening!) I took a Qur'an and sat in a corner reading.

A sister with her friend came and sat near me and after a while one of them tapped me on the shoulder, "Excuse me sister, I think your friend is trying to get your attention".

"My friend?" I asked her, thinking no one even talks to me when I go to that masjid... at least they do answer my salaams though. She pointed to 2 Indian women, a mother and daughter, sticking out like a sore thumb among a sea of Arabs. They were staring dead at me. They smiled at me, and I smiled back slightly shaking my head. They probably thought I was Indian. They must have been happy thinking they finally found someone of "their own kind" at the masjid.

After the rest of salah and witr during the mad dash to make it out the door they pulled through the crowd towards me. The daughter said salaam to me and then said "Aap.." something something in Urdu, probably asking, 'Are you from Pakistan?'

I looked at her and said, "I only speak English.."

Her mother asked, "WHY?"

"Because that's the only language I know.."

"Are you Pakistani?" the daughter finally said in English.

"No.." I said smiling. The daughter translated the 'no' to her mom, even though she understood. She grabbed her moms hand and pulled ahead of me before I could even explain that I'm technically from Guyana, but my ancestors went there from India.

"But she's look Bakistani!" the mother told the daughter.

"She must be. But look at her, she is trying to be like them!" She was refering to the Arabs. "See how she is dressing in their clothes, I think she doesn't want anyone to know she is really Pakistani!" And they were lost in the crowd before I could hear more.

Seriously? How can you have that attitude after standing in nafl salah for 2 hours? They couldn't even continue a conversation with me after they heard my answer? It really irritated me for a while but then I reminded myself that it's Ramadan and I should just focus on that fact and get over some people who I met for a couple seconds and had such a negative way of interacting with people. Sigh.. nice to see the spirit of Ramadan is really reflecting in peoples' attitudes!

Ramadan `09 - Pics from around the world!

2009-08-23T18:54:00.004-04:00

A villager climbs up a date palm tree during the Festival of Dates ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, in Buraidah, north of Riyadh

A Palestinian vendor displays traditional pastries

A Muslim madrasa (Islamic school) student looks up while learning to read the Koran at the Muthurwa Mosque in the capital Nairobi

A vendor carries a tray of bread as he rides a bicycle past a stall selling traditional tin lanterns known as Fawanis, used to decorate during the fasting month of Ramadan, in Cairo

A Palestinian Muslim man, decorates an alley of Jerusalem's old city with festive lights in preparation for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan

Muslim women perform an evening prayer called 'Tarawih' marking the beginning of the holy fasting month of Ramadan at Istiqlal mosque in Jakarta, Indonesia

Pakistani Muslims recite holy book 'Quran' as a worshipper cleans the ceiling of the Mohabbat Khan mosque in Peshawar, Pakistan

A boy holds sweets as he reads the Koran in a mosque during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in Amman

A man prays on the side of a street during sunset in Kabul

Palestinian youth play with fireworks in Gaza City

A man sells dates in Amman, JordanA man sells dates in Amman, Jordan

A man takes a nap in between prayers at a mosque in Kabul

Muslim pilgrims are seen wearing medical masks in Mecca. The jump in swine flu cases and deaths across the Middle East has cast a cloud over Ramadan, with a plunge in the number of people undertaking umrah

Women look at a giant copy of the Muslim holy book, the Koran on display at a hotel in Jakarta

Men prepare food for breaking fast (iftar) on a street in Lahore

A physically challenged Muslim man walks outside a mosque before the evening prayers on the first-day of the holy month of Ramadan, in Jammu

A crescent moon is seen next to to the King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque in Amman, August 23, 2009

Female officers dress as Muslim women for a day

2009-08-06T00:00:00.003-04:00

Police defend Muslim dress scheme

A police force has been accused of wasting time after three officers spent the day dressed as Muslim women in an attempt to improve community relations.

The officers dressed in traditional clothing and spent the day in Sheffield city centre with four Muslim women.

The scheme has been described as a "politically correct gimmick" and a "dressing-up game" by critics.

South Yorkshire Police said the scheme was designed to help police interact better with the Islamic community.

The officers wore brightly-coloured traditional Muslim outfits and a full-length black jilbab plus a niqab, which covers the face leaving slits for eyes.

South Yorkshire Police said the officers attracted "quite a few stares in the street, particularly from young children".

A group of Muslim women were also invited into police cells, a CCTV control room and shown other daily duties of a police officer as part of the "In Your Shoes" initiative.

I have gained an appreciation and understanding of what Muslim females experience when they walk out in public in clothing appropriate to their beliefs"
Sgt Deb Leonard

Matthew Elliott, of the Taxpayers' Alliance, said: "This is an absurd diversion from real policing.

"People want the police out catching criminals, not indulging in politically correct gimmicks.

"The police are overstretched as it is without officers being paid to do other things than their real job."

Douglas Murray, director of British extremism think-tank the Centre for Social Cohesion, said: "Like most people who have been a victim of crime, I am amazed and flabbergasted that they have solved all the crimes so they can spend a day playing dressing-up games."

A police spokesman said said the aim of the scheme was for police officers to "interact with the Muslim community, learn about the Islamic faith and better understand their issues and the perceptions of local people".

Sgt Deb Leonard, who wore some of the clothing, said: "I have gained an appreciation and understanding of what Muslim females experience when they walk out in public in clothing appropriate to their beliefs."

Shaikh Abdullah Hakim Quick's family's home was damaged by a fire this weekend!

2009-08-04T22:03:00.010-04:00

I came across an article a friend posted on Facebook and it linked me back to Imam Suhaib Webb's website where he wrote that Shaikh Abdullah Hakim Quick's family's home was severely damaged by a fire. SubhanAllah, if anyone would like to donate I have a ChipIn account set up where you can donate via PayPal below inshaAllah, and I can have the money wired to their bank account up in Canada. I won't have it up for too long so don't wait a while to contribute, and even $1 will do! Ramadan is on it's way, let's get in the sadaqa spirit more than we usually are in!

Here is the email Shaikh Abdullah sent me:

Sister Umm Yusuf, wlsm Jazaakallahu khairan for your support. My Daughter and family have sustained major losses and have no insurance. Any support can be transferred to:

took out personal info in case there are any creeps lurking on my page ;)

May Allah accept your Zakat and Sadaqah
Hasbunallahu wa Ni'mal-Wakeel
Sh Abdullah Hakim Quick

Click here to check out the info at Imam Suhaib Webb's website

Funny article about hijab

2009-08-03T22:43:00.001-04:00

I found this in my inbox from back in 2005. It's an article someone whipped up about their observances regarding hijab. I can't remember where I found it or why I even saved it by emailing it to myself, but I thought I'd share!

Article: The Observations of the Muslimah wearing Hijab

It has been my personal observation that some Muslim girls and women do not realize the significance of hijab. Hijab is Arabic for protection and cover. Some people put a lot effort into their hijab, yet it serves no purpose. I am referring to the pointless hijab that some girls wear.

The first pointless hijab is referred to as the headband hijab. It is a band of fabric approximately 4 inches wide. It covers the back of the head and allows all the hair to be exposed. It doesn't serve much in terms of modesty, but at least it comes in handy in case of an unexpected tennis match.

The second pointless hijab is the dupatta, also known as the Saran wrap hijab. It covers all the hair, but it is totally transparent. Again it doesn't serve much in terms of modesty, but it keeps the hair nice and fresh.

The third type of hijab is known as the Mickey Mouse Hijab. It is when a girl wears a black scarf and tucks it behind her ear, so that her ears stick out.

-We now move to my favorites: - The yo-yo hijabs. The first yo-yo hijab, is the scarf that keeps falling down and needs to be constantly pulled back up....up, down, up, down, just like a yo-yo.

The second yo-yo hijab is also referred to as the convertible hijab. This type of hijab is predominant at any type of social event, i.e. an Aqeeqah, Bismillah party, Ameen party, wedding, etc. This is when an Imam or Qari comes up to the microphone and starts to recite Qur'an. At this point, all the convertible hijabs come up...until he says "Sadaqallahul adheem" (saying Sadaqullahul adheem has NO basis in the Quran or Sunnah and should NOT be said after reciting a surah). I'm not sure, but apparently in some cultures that translates to "ok sisters, you may now take off your scarves".

I'm sure this may seem odd, but what's even funnier is when people do not anticipate the recitation of Qur'an at a social event, and are forced to be creative and use accessories such as a purse to cover one's hair. I was surprised to see a women hold her purse over her head as "hijab"...as if the multitudes of men surrounding her are not a good enough reason to wear hijab, but some guy reciting du'aa compels her to hold a purse over her head. Her friends were more creative...one friend used her dinner napkin. I was also laughing when I saw the communal hijab -- two or more girls draped under one dinner napkin during the recitation of Qur'an. Her other friend was still more creative. She used her coffee saucer on the back of her head. I wasn't sure if it was hijab or a yamaka.....

And, people should remember that hijab is not just a protection from guys, but from a girl's nafs (ego) as well. It should prevent girls from having to spend hours in front of the mirror doing her hair. But, unfortunately, you see girls in front of the mirror for hours doing their hijab as they would do their hair, with all sorts of elaborate braids and the like. I wanted to go up to a sister and say "Is your hijab naturally curly?” I also felt compelled to go up to another girl and say "pardon me, but is your hijab naturally that color, or did you dye it?"

Well, the point to remember is that some people make an effort to wear hijab, but it is futile, because it is not fulfilling its purpose. It's like using an umbrella with holes in it. Hijab is used for protection from guys as well as from the girl herself, and should not be used as an accessory or for beautifying one's self.

Bus driver tells Muslim woman to 'take off mask'

2009-07-27T22:46:00.002-04:00

Recently in Australia, a niqaabi sister was told by the bus driver she could not enter into the bus without showing her face, read what happened here

MashaAllah I really admire how sister Khadijah handled the situation. A lot of women would feel flustered and do as the man said and not enter the bus and feel defeated. Most of the time we summon the proper words and courage long after an ordeal is over. However, this sister stood her ground,maintained her composure, and didn't seem to get an attitude or be rude mashaAllah. She didn't break down, instead she tried in the best way possible to educate the bus driver about niqaab and let him know that she is just another average person.

"Boys ages 9 to 14 charged with gang-raping 8-year-old girl in Phoenix"

2009-07-23T23:29:00.002-04:00

SubhanAllah, an 8 year old gang raped by mere pre-teens?! This is just so disgusting! Kids that age should be obsessing over video games, not making wretched plots like this. What saddens me more about this is the girls father told authorities "take her, I don't want her" claiming that she's brought shame to their family with what happened. She brought shame to her family? She was brutally victimized! She's just a kid! How can a parent say that to their child, in their presense, after she's been through something so traumatizing?? I wanted to cry after reading this! This poor, little girl doesn't even have the people she thought loved her the most right now to hold her and console her. Allah help us all! Ameen

Check out the article here.

Memorizing The Qur'an!

2009-07-20T23:08:00.005-04:00

SubhanAllah, to memorize the Qur'an requires patience and persistence. It isn't something that comes easily to some, and neither is it something done once and put aside. Even if you memorize a single ayah from the Qur'an, time and time again you will have to go back and revise and practice that ayah so you do not forget it! However, the hard work and dedication put into it is more than worth it, because it is a glorious deed with many wonderful virtues. Let us take a look see...

Al-Bukhari (4937) narrated from ‘Aa’ishah that the Prophet (SAW) said: “The likeness of the one who reads Qur’aan and memorizes it is that he is with the righteous honourable scribes. The likeness of the one who reads it and tries hard to memorize it even though it is difficult for him, he will have two rewards.”

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah that the Prophet (SAW) said: “The Qur’aan will come on the Day of Resurrection and will say, ‘O Lord, adorn him.’ So he will be given a crown of honour to wear. Then it will say, ‘O Lord, give him more.’ So he will be given a garment of honour.’ Then it will say, ‘O Lord, be pleased with him.’ So Allaah will be pleased with him. Then it will be said to him, ‘Recite and advance in status, and for each verse you will gain one more hasanah (reward for good deed).”

It was narrated that Buraydah said: “The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: ‘Whoever reads the Qur’aan, learns it and acts in accordance with it, on the Day of Resurrection his parents will be given a crown to wear whose light will be like the light of the sun, and his parents will be given garments which far surpass everything to be found in this world. They will say, “Why have we been given this to wear?” It will be said, “Because your child learned the Qur’aan.”’” (Narrated by al-Haakim, 1/756)

SubhanAllah! Allah knows best who is worthy of what, but I truly feel my parents are more than deserving of such an honor in the aakhira, and anything I give them in this world cannot amount to such a gift in the hereafter, inshaAllah. I would love to be the one to give them such a gift !

Now, I see in my community, and also in many others, that memorizing the Qur'an is encouraged for younger kids... but not so much for everyone else. Why has memorizing the Qur'an become a phenomenon among kids, and once someone reaches high school/college it takes the backseat? What was it? ..something to pass time until 'more important' things came along??

It doesn't matter if you are male or female, 6 or 60, working or unemployed, rich or poor... this is something we should all strive towards. I know it's a big goal for some of us, but we really do not give the Qur'an it's due. MashaAllah I know of a 6 year old boy who memorized the Quran, and an 80+ year old Muslimah who memorized the Qur'an. A revert sister I know learned to read the Qur'an and eventually memorized it just by listening to the audio on her mp3 player and playing it in her car, despite being in med school! This is not an impossible feat, you just really need to motivate yourself.

Being weak in reading Arabic is no excuse, as quoted above Allah has promised (at least) DOUBLE the reward for those who struggle in reading and still make the effort to memorize the Qur'an. This is the PERFECT regiment for slow readers, because the constant reading will only help improve your speed and agility in reciting Qur'an. Memorizing helps in giving you an extra connection with the Qur'an. For those who have problems with focusing in salah, it gives you a whole new surah to recite. It leads you to read the meaning and the tafseer and understand ayaat from a whole different perspective! We really do have time in our lives to do this, saying you don't is an excuse. There's always something you can do less of or even do without so you can give the Qur'an some time.

So please, if you know 20 juz (parts) or just 20 words from the Qur'an... set a goal for yourself to memorize something! Do a page a day, or a week, or a month! Do something! Get your friends invloved, meet once a week to test one another. See if there are any qualified people in your area who can listen to you once in a while.... make a chart and keep track of how much you memorize. Start with a surah that appeals to you or one which you love to listen to or like the meaning of. Use the audio to aid you in your memorizing and reading. We have so much at our fingertips right here online to help us in memorizing, so lets make it happen inshaAllah. Allah has already beautified the text of the Qur'an and the language of Arabic that these surahs are poetry and aren't a language that is too hard to pronounce, mashaAllah these verses can slide off our tongues like butta!

Abayas for sale!

2009-07-14T23:30:00.001-04:00

Okay, so I was looking though my closet and decided it was time to do something about the abayas sitting in there that are new and I never got to wearing because my abaya preferences have changed, and a few that I wore seldom just for Eid or so.

I took some pictures of them, please email me at lazeena.hosain@yahoo.com if you're interested in any. I'll respond back with any answers to your questions, abaya measurements, and shipping cost inshaAllah.

Purple Floral Abaya

This abaya is plain black, except for some simple floral patterns on both sleeves. The embroidery is accented with matching purple beads and multi colored-pearl rhinestones.
(Comes with matching, lightweight shayla, with the floral embroidery in 2 opposite corners)
Size: 45" bust, 49" hips, 54" length

CONDITION: Brand new
PRICE: $58

Sleeve

Closeup

***

Green Ribbon Abaya

This black abaya has 2 rows of green and black ribbon trimming along the end of both sleeves and on the bottom of the abaya. Between the 2 rows of trimming are some lovely, green colored rhinestones
Size: 45" bust, 49" hips, 54" length

CONDITION: Brand new!
PRICE: $56

Sleeve (embroidery pattern is the same on the bottom)

***

Rhinestone Vines Abaya

This lovely black abaya has vine designs on the sleeves and bottom made entirely of gray colored rhinestones. The design on the bottom is in a v-shape.
Size: 45" bust, 49" hips, 54" length

CONDITION: Brand new!
PRICE: $54

Sleeve

Closeup

***

Black Ribbon Abaya

This abaya is made from a ribbed jersey material, giving it some extra texture. The bodice and sleeves have 2 ruffled, satin ribbons with a multi colored edged trimming.
Size: 42"-44" bust, 44"-48" hip

CONDITION: Brand new!
PRICE: $55

***

Golden Trim Abaya

Black abaya with a golden colored diagonal ribbon, making it look like a wrap style abaya. There is also a golden ribbon pattern embroidered on the trimming, both sleeves, and on the bottom.
Size: 42"-44" bust, 44"-48" hip

CONDITION: Brand new!
PRICE: $55

***

Maroon Abaya

Lovely marron abaya with a pink ribbon on the bodice and around the sleeves. To keep it from being too plain there are some rhinestones on the pink ribbon! Very cute yet simple abaya mashaAllah
Size: 42"-44" bust, 44"-48" hip

CONDITION: Brand new!
PRICE: $58

***

Stars Abaya

Black abaya accented with silver stones. The sleeves have the stones arranged in diamond shapes all around. The top of the abaya has some lovely stars and so does the bottom right corner. One of the very few abayas where the stones seem stuck on REAL good mashaAllah.
Size: 42"-44" bust, 44"-48" hip

CONDITION: Brand new!
PRICE: $58

***

Red & Black Beaded Abaya

This black abaya has red colored pinstripes and is lined with maroon colored fabric. There is intricate red embroidery and black beadwork along the neckline, sleeves, and across the bottom

CONDITION: In mint condition, worn once for Eid
PRICE: $52

Top

Sleeve (bottom has this embroidery design on it as well)

***

Black & Maroon Double Layered Abaya

Al-Karam double layered abaya; the inside lining is maroon, and the outside is black with faint maroon pinstripes. The sleeves and bottom contains intricate embroidery in pink, beige, and maroon, along with a few rhinestones. Because of the double layer look, the top layer is "opened" showing the beautiful maroon color which is underneath.

PRICE: $58
CONDITION: Brand new

Sleeve

Bottom

***

Black Beaded Abaya

Beautiful black, lightweight abaya with a double layer look from Al-Karam. The outer "layer" fastens together in the front. The neckline has beadwork in solid black beads and the underlayer features a small zipper. The "top layer" of the abaya has beadwork going down the opening of the abaya and the gorgeous layered bell sleeve has beadwork as well. This is definitely a fancier abaya.
Size: 42" bust, 48" hips

PRICE: $42
CONDITION: I wore this abaya A LOT, but it really doesn't show any wear or tear. The only problem is in the front some beads seemed to have gotten loose in 1 area. I went for a while still wearing it like that, it isn't too noticeable, nonetheless, I don't want to conceal that from you guys either. But it still is a really nice abaya mashaAllah

Neckline

Sleeve <3

Down the middle of the abaya

Missing beads =x

Shipping fee is on you, of course. I'll ship it to anywhere inshaAllah. Prefered payment would be PayPal, but I don't mind a check/money order in the mail either inshaAllah. JazakAllah khayr!

Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'

2009-07-06T21:41:00.003-04:00

For those of you who haven't heard the tragic news already, here is the BBC article:

Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'

The body of a Muslim woman, killed in a German courtroom by a man convicted of insulting her religion, has been taken back to her native Egypt for burial.

Marwa Sherbini, 31, was stabbed 18 times by Axel W, who is now under arrest in Dresden for suspected murder.

Husband Elwi Okaz is also in a critical condition in hospital, after being injured as he tried to save his wife.

Ms Sherbini had sued her killer after he called her a "terrorist" because of her headscarf.

The case has attracted much attention in Egypt and the Muslim world.

German prosecutors have said the 28-year-old attacker, identified only as Axel W, was driven by a deep hatred of foreigners and Muslims.

'Martyr'

Medics were unable to save Ms Sherbini who was three months pregnant with her second child. Her three-year-old son was with the family in court when she was killed.

Axel W and Ms Sherbini and family were in court for his appeal against a fine of 750 euros ($1,050) for insulting her in 2008, apparently because she was wearing the Muslim headscarf or Hijab.

Newspapers in Egypt have expressed outrage at the case, asking how it was allowed to happen and dubbing Ms Sherbini "the martyr of the Hijab".

Senior Egyptian officials and German diplomatic staff attended the funeral in Alexandria along with hundreds of mourners.

Media reports say Mr Okaz was injured both by the attacker and when a policeman opened fire in the courtroom.

I conquered the world...

2009-07-05T10:05:00.005-04:00

"This life is not real. I conquered the world and it did not bring me satisfaction."

-Muhammad Ali

Deviant Sect: Ansaru Allah

2009-07-01T09:08:00.007-04:00

A few weeks back I went shoe shopping (no luck, everything was open toed, and I don't do those...) Anyway, my son was running wild up and down the aisles and my husband was keeping an eye on him while I browsed around. A woman, looking like the average American, came in and was looking in the same area as I was. I said "Hi" to her and she smiled at me and said, "As salaamu alaikum." I responded back to her.

Just minutes later my husband went outside the store with my son and the sister said to me, "Lemme ask you something now that your husband's gone.."

"Sure...?"

"How do you live in that thing? Like don't you ever just wanna rip it off your face? Do you ever tell him you don't want to wear it?"

Of course she was talking about my niqaab. I laughed. "I've been wearing this before I even married him! He has nothing to do with this, this is between myself and my Lord."

"Oh... okay... so he didn't make you?"

"No, not at all."

"Aight, cuz he look like that reallllll strict religious type... like hardcore religious..."

I laughed again. My husband looks so stern in person, but in reality I'm the one who tells him what to do ;) haha. "No, he's good alhamdulillah, not strict at all."

"Okay, thats good. I took my shahadah back when I was 17, I was part of the Bushwick movement, you heard of them?"

"Yeah, but I don't know too much about them..." I could recall the term, but that was really it. I couldn't remember anything that set them apart from other Muslims.

"Yeah I even moved out to Georgia with them. But then they started getting into all this Hebrew type stuff... myself and my then spouse weren't feelin it, so we came back here. Maybe you've seen me before, I used to sell scented oils and hand out da'wah information by the monument in the early 90's.." I didn't want to tell her I was just a toddler at that time haha. I didn't want to get into a whole conversation about age, and I didn't want her to feel old either.

We spoke for a couple more minutes and then I left the store. I came back to the car and mentioned to my husband that she said she was part of the Bushwick community. It wasn't until he mentioned the Arabic term the group used to refer to themselves as that I wished I could have ran back inside to talk to her.

The Bushwick community goes by a number of names, and so does their founder, Dwight (Malachi) York. But they're most commonly known as Ansaru Allah, or the Nubian Islamic Hebrews. I'd never heard of this group until a couple years ago, when I got my hands on a book about them a couple years back. My grandfather had passed away and my dad went to clean through his apartment and found a book about Ansaru Allah which I delved into in awe.

Their practices were just so bizarre, and so was their founder.

In short, this group was founded in NY in the 80s by York, a self proclaimed Prophet. who believed he was 76 trillion years old and came from some unknown planet onto Earth in the form of a comet. His sect followed a distorted mix of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism -with a strong emphasis on black nationalism as well. He yielded hundreds of followers, who soon moved out to other parts of NY and later to Georgia where they built their own communities. In Georgia they even built some pyramids and temples in their own community (known as the Tama-Re coumpound). As many cult leaders, he was eventually convicted in 2004 with at least 100 counts of child molestation. Though with him in prison, he probably has more supporters now than when he was a free man! SubhanAllah, and Allah knows best. May these people be guided to the true Islam, ameen.

I wish she'd said ANSARU ALLAH rather than Bushwick, or I wish I knew some people refered to them as the Bushwick community because I would have been all over her with questions!!

The book I have is focused on women who cover in niqaab, but it sheds light on some of Yorks teachings. It's written by York himself, he's written more than 450 books. Here are some excerpts from the one I have:

"These mortals can't teach you anything you can't look up or find yourself. But I am 76 trillion years old. I have seen many kingdoms fall and rise, nations fall and raise and galaxies fall and rise. Don't turn away from me. You have prayed for me for many years while in slavery and now I am with you again. Don't reject me. I am the way, the truth, the light, the doorway to our father - Allah most glorified and exhalted."

"Through radio, television, and newspapers he, the devil (CH), has promoted products such as Cover Girl, Revlon, Jerri Curl, and Jordache. Such diversions are designed to keep you, the Nubian (Black), in total darkness..."

"The Devil (CH, pale man) would like you to believe that Sarah was fair or as they'd say light skinned so they can justify their claims of being the descendents of the Prophets (PBUT). But that is why I am here to clean up the lies made by these lying devils (CH). No, the Prophets (PBUT) were not pale, they were all of Nubian stock as their father, the Prophet Adam (PBUH), was and as you are. Don't let the Devil (CH) trick you as he tricked your father, the Prophet Adam (PBUH)."

And one of my favorites: "In certain cartoons for instance, the term 'Salami Bologna' is used. This phrase is an outright mockery of the Muslim salutation - as salaamu alaykum!!!"

How he says Muslim men and women MUST dress

What the...?

"Every Soul Shall Taste Death"

2009-06-26T00:06:00.004-04:00

Michael Jackson - who HASN'T heard of him? A pop sensation, a man of endless money and fame, die-heart fans, a human being. One who will soon be placed into the earth and slowly devoured by worms and maggots.

All over the news you hear anchors asking, "Why?" Now what kind of question is that?? Why not? He's a human being, just like everyone else. And if you ask me I think it was pretty obvious how sickly and fragile the man was.

While everyone is completely shocked and mourning his death, I wonder what all the hype is about. Here's a man, who was in his 50's and died of a natural cause. Why aren't we more moved, upset, and effected by those who innocently die and suffer at the hands of disgusting and cold hearted people? What's more surprising? Why is dying because of cardiac arrest at 50 more shocking than the children who witness their parents being slaughtered in front if them? Why is that more shocking than the pigs who rape women? How is a natural death more shocking than all the atrocities mankind endows upon other people?

Sure, it's a reminder than no matter who you are, what you have, or how recognized you are, your health and body can "turn on you" in the split of a second. But isn't that something we already know? This is a natural process. The murdering, raping and dehumanizing of other people is not, and should be recognized and mourned more than anything else. Almost all coverage of Iran has ceased for Michael Jackson and Farrah Fawcett.

Anyway, I don't say this to be in any way disrespectful to him or his family, just hoping people would recognize that life goes on. MJ is gone but the world is still a mess. He left behind his kids, his property, his music, his fans, and no one or nothing is in that coffin with him protecting him for what Allah may have in store. All I can hope is that a couple months ago when it was reported that he took his shahadah that he truly was a Muslim in his heart. I hope that inshaAllah he said his shahada. And I wish the best for his kids who are now without their loving father.

Hey, and don't get too giddy with all the MJ songs playing on the radio and on TV haha

'New Muslim Cool'

2009-06-21T23:44:00.006-04:00

As salaamu alaikum all...

Just wanted to say that you guys need to watch this documentary entitled 'New Muslim Cool' Tuesday at 10pm (EST) on PBS inshaAllah.

For those of you who haven't heard about the groundbreaking documentary which has been showing in select cities over the past few months, here's the trailer. Also, check out the website here for more clips and info!

This should make up for my lack of updates =D I think...

2009-06-07T08:50:00.015-04:00

As salaamu alaikum all

So I've fallen into the trap of being disgustingly lazy and abandoning my blog =( Oops

InshaAllah I will update soon. For now, here's some pictures of the latest items I have that a lot of you have been emailing me and asking about. I still have a handful of items to add to the site, so remember to check the site periodically: http://souq.shutterfly.com

As salaamu alaikum all

So I've fallen into the trap of being disgustingly lazy and abandoning my blog =( Oops

InshaAllah I will update soon. For now, here's some pictures of the latest items I have that a lot of you have been emailing me and asking about. I still have a handful of items to add to the site, so remember to check: http://souq.shutterfly.com

Panorama of Representation of The Prophet's House (SAW)

2009-05-12T22:39:00.002-04:00

“The picture shows a replication of The Prophet Mohammad’s (peace be upon him) House. The model of the house was built to give people a glimpse of the way the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) lived. This house is just a part of a bigger exhibition of the life of the prophet (peace be upon him).

The house was reproduced based on authentic narrations that describe the Prophet’s (peace be upon him) house.

The Exhibition is held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.”

Check it out HERE!

"Best of Men":

2009-04-30T22:27:00.002-04:00

Please visit BestofMen.org and vote for our beloved Nabi Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wasallam as the best man of all time... because he is!

Also, pass the link around to as many brothers and sisters you can so they can vote as well inshaAllah!

Help for Homeless, Refugee, Widowed, & Orphan Muslims

2009-04-26T23:59:00.002-04:00

Currently HalfDate.com has a drive going on to collect money for families in Texas. These families come from different walks in life - single women, widows, orphans, homeless, needy... subhanAllah, I didn't think there was such a great need from Muslims in the US.

Please take the time to donate even a small amount of money inshaAllah. Let them know their brothers and sisters haven't turned their backs on them. People from all over the globe have donated mashaAllah, yet not that many donations have come fro

Go here to check out some videos and more info on the families. Please leave a comment and give whatever you can. There is some info on even sending clothes and household items inshaAllah. The group working directly with these families is Al Amaanah

I'm begging you... please don't be lazy. I noticed when messages like these get around people become lazy and wait to give and most of the time end up not giving anything. Please don't do that. Log onto paypal NOW, get your checkbook out NOW and make a contribution.

This is an investment in your hereafter inshaAllah, and sadaqah NEVER decreases your wealth... never!

May Allah grant these families ease, ameen!

I hate bugs!!!!

2009-04-21T21:56:00.002-04:00

I came home after maghrib, as I usually do after teaching. My son went to play in the living room and I decided to get some cleaning done, oddly I was in a cleaning mood.

I went to the kitchen and started washing dishes and for some reason I turned around. That's when I saw it. I flipped outttttttt! Right behind me was a roach!! I scurried to the other end of the kitchen and realized it didn't move. It had to have been dead, what roach runs out and chills in the middle of a room with the light on and someone nearby? A dead one of course. A breathed a sigh of relief. I freakin haaaate bugs astaghfirAllah. Roaches are sooo ugly and they move so fast!

After 10 minutes of freaking out and venting to my husband on the phone while he was at work, I saw Yusuf looking tired. Thank Allah he sat in the living room flipping through his Dr. Suess books. I can't imagine if he'd waddled into the kitchen. He probably would have seen it and been like, "Cookie?" *crunch crunch* AHHHH.

Anyway, my cleaning mood was long gone and I decided to put Yusuf to sleep. I figured by then I would have congered up the courage to get the roach onto the dustpan and dump him out the window into the bushes outside - as my husband suggested. However, I kept having images in my head of it coming back to life and eating my son and I, so I decided to scoop him up right away.

I put Yusuf into his crib and went to get the dustpan. Then I saw that idiot roach twitching! Aw heck no!! I ran for the Raid and doused that sucka. Man, I was like... in jihad mode for real, I was spraying it from all angles while whimpering Allahu akbar lol. I think I used way to much Raid, but I swear, the more I sprayed it, it looked like it was ABSORBING the liquid! That thing is NOT the same size it was when I first saw it in the kitchen. Gahh, I hate bugs! Although I must admit it's not as bad as when I was in madrasah and we'd find maggots chillin in the musallah... THAT was nasty.

I'm assuming the roach is long gone, laying in the puddle of Raid. I'll probably leave it as a treat for my husband when he comes home =) I can't even look at that thing. I swear I'm about to slowly walk down the hall and see if he's still there. He probably faked his death. He was being so dramatic, flailing his arms and legs all over... maybe I'll just leave him there as a lesson for any of his friends who may be lurking in the corners.

And for your viewing pleasure...
Okay kidding.
But seriously, I was about to put a pic up cuz I was in an evil mood *muahaha* but then I couldn't even get myself to look at the images haha, so this will have to do!

=)

"Allah's Pharmacy"

2009-04-16T23:11:00.007-04:00

A friend forwarded this to me, isn't it awesome? MashaAllah!
(for some reason one minute the pictures work, the next they dont...)

A sliced Carrot looks like the human eye The pupil, iris and radiating lines look just like the human eye...and YES science now shows that carrots greatly enhance blood flow to and function of the eyes.

A Tomato has four chambers and is red. The heart is red and has four chambers. All of the research shows tomatoes are indeed pure heart and blood food.

Grapes hang in a cluster that has the shape of the heart. Each grape looks like a blood cell and all of the research today shows that grapes are also profound heart and blood vitalizing food .

A Walnut looks like a little brain, a left and right hemisphere, upper cerebrums and lower cerebellums. Even the wrinkles or folds are on the nut just like the neo-cortex. We now know that walnuts help develop over 3 dozen neuron-transmitters for brain function.

Kidney Beans actually heal and help maintain kidney function and yes, they look exactly like the human kidneys .

Celery, Bok Choy, Rhubarb and more look just like bones. These foods specifically target bone strength. Bones are 23% sodium and these foods are 23% sodium. If you don't have enough sodium in your diet the body pulls it from the bones, making them weak. These foods replenish the skeletal needs of the body.

Eggplant, Avocadoes and Pears target the health and function of the womb and cervix of the female - they look just like these organs. Today's research shows that when a woman eats 1 avocado a week, it balances hormones, sheds unwanted birth weight and prevents cervical cancers. And how profound is this? .... It takes exactly 9 months to grow an avocado from blossom to ripened fruit. There are over 14,000 photolytic chemical constituents of nutrition in each one of these foods (modern science has only studied and named about 141 of them).

Figs are full of seeds and hang in twos when they grow. Figs increase the motility of male sperm and increase the numbers of Sperm cells to overcome male sterility.

Grapefruits, Oranges, and other Citrus fruits look just like the mammary glands of the female and actually assist the health of the breasts and the movement of lymph in and out of the breasts .

Onions look like body cells. Today's research shows that onions help clear waste materials from all of the body cells They even produce tears which wash the epithelial layers of the eyes.

Sweet Potatoes look like the pancreas and actually balance the glycemic index of diabetics.

Olives assist the health and function of the ovaries

Then which of the favours of your Allah will ye deny? - [Quran 55:13]

Eww, why do you have facial hair??????

2009-04-13T21:51:00.005-04:00

My brother is 6 years younger than me... he's almost 15.

A couple of years ago after graduating high school I went and attended a girls madrasah in Canada for a few months. After 2 or 3 months we returned home for 6 weeks for our Ramadan break. It was so good to be home.

Awkwardly, I was met by a dude almost as tall as me, if not, taller. There were tiny hairs over his lip. His voice squeaked on and off and when he hugged me I felt a hand the size of a basketball pat my back *shutters* I couldn't believe the changes my brother had gone through in just a couple months! Had I been around, surely I wouldn't have really noticed.

As a teen, I enjoyed teasing my brothers tiny friends. They were probably 8-10 years old at the time. They were so cute and fun to make fun of and annoy.

However, that Ramadan when I came back from Canada I was weirded out to hear some of them with bellowing voices and with loads of facial hair. Facial hair? Whaaat? Ewww, they're just kidsssss why's that stuff on their faces? I had to get those thoughts outta my head... They were no longer little kids I could be around, they were hitting the age of maturity. I started having to hide for cover when I heard them rounding the corner in the hall. I had to get used to wearing niqaab when they came over or just lounge in my room until they left. It was just so awkward to me, I'd never given thought to the fact that one day these kids would grow up and I couldn't really be friends with them anymore.

It's weird watching them grow up over the years. In one way I feel like they're my little brothers too and I still have a special love or care for them, and then I realize that they tower over me and are in high school and I have to refrain from making corky jokes whenever one passes by or calls my parents house haha.

SubhanAllah I was happy, amazed, and highly entertained when the Sunday School at the masjid had a speech competiton and 2 of my brothers friends were the 'MC's. I wanted to laugh cuz in my head I was like 'Okay, they're just kids, why are they running the speech compitition??!' But then they'd speak with such poise and narrate ahadeeth I was like, 'Aww, theyre all grown up! MashaAllah!'

MashaAllah some of these kids are like driving now, they teach classes, have jobs, and some have memorized the entire Quran (mashaAllah, mashaAllah!) and have lost their stank attitude and have become respectful young brothers mashaAllah. I really hope they stay on the right path and can make a difference in our community. It makes me really happy and proud to see them making something of themselves, but sometimes I still wish they were little chitlins I could beat up.

The funny thing is, most of my brothers friends are Bangladeshi, and no disrespect to Desis, but it's like a known fact that Desi boys start getting facial hair at like 5 haha.. so even when they were young kids making fart jokes I'd still feel kinda strange around them cuz some of them really looked like mini men but were just 10 years old lol.

Even my mom feels awkward around them, they're like her sons but she knows she has to wear hijab in front of them when they come over because it's not like she's THAT old.

Does anyone else find this situation funny/odd to cope with?

Punishing Kids in Public

2009-04-08T21:39:00.006-04:00

Though I haven't been a mother for too long, I can certainly say that anytime I'm out and my son does something he shouldn't, I'm not going to be one of those parents who just ignores what he's doing and puts a fake smile on and gives that nervous giggle. No way! I'm going to let him know what he did was wrong, even if I have to speak sternly. But for the sake of being in public, I will not raise my voice.

What do you think about reprimanding kids outside the home?

It wasn't until last week that I actually saw a parent really reprimanding their kid in public. Usually I see kids laying on the supermarket floor throwing a fit, in toy stores telling off their parents, or in the masjid running around like monkeys while their mothers sit in groups chatting and giggling. Well, Thursday I saw something completely different, but totally out of line.

Asr salah began and the students and teachers in the masjids afternoon class prayed upstairs, while most of the mothers who stay behind with their kids prayed downstairs with their babies and toddlers... so it was only myself and 2 other adults upstairs. The first raka'ah had just began and I heard a girl break out in loud, and very fake, coughing. Soon a boy on the other side of the curtain "responded back" coughing out of control. This "conversation" went on a few times and then I heard some girls bust out giggling. It was really distracting. These girls were still kids, but old enough to know that they shouldn't behave that way in salah.

What really confused me was that this girl was praying next to her mom and doing this. After salah the drama began.

"Come, sit here.." the mother told her daughter, pointing to the spot in front of her where she had made sujood in during salah. The girl obeyed and sat in front of her mother. The mother started going off in Urdu. I don't know exactly what she said, but I got the jist of it, she was asking her if that's how she's supposed to behave in salah and what person is so stupid as to behave that way in salah. The other kids sat there making dhikr upon the request of one of the elder teachers, and were peering over at their friend from the corner of their eyes. The mother started getting louder and louder.

A sister who teaches Qur'an and was sitting next to me, 2 people away from the mother, turned to me and said, "Lazeena, please.. ask her to stop.. this is not appropriate..." she begged me.

"Me? I'm a kid to her. You know people don't take it well when younger girls give them advice.."

"Yes, but.."

"Okay.."

As I leaned over to get the aunty's attention, everything went so fast it took me some time to realize what happened. I was just about to open my mouth when this woman's hand cocked back and went flying into her daughters face - Slap 1. My eye's bulged, everyone stopped breathing. Even the daughter looked stunned. Her milky white cheek turned blazing red. Her mother continued to scream at her. "Aunty.." I said cowardly. The arm swung back again - Slap 2. The girls glasses flew off and hit the floor a few feet away, and the lens popped out. The girl was sobbing. The mother took her finger and poked the girl in the chest repeatedly as she asked her rhetorical questions. "Aunty please, not now.."

The sister who'd asked me to speak up had her hand to her chest. She started to tear, "Lazeena stop her, I've never... I've never seen something like this.." she seriously couldn't speak.. this sister was like.. in a state of shock. The girls watched in fear, and some backed away and hid behind the curtain. The mother continued screaming and shoved the daughter by the shoulder over and over, she made a fist and pounded her arm continuously. "Aunty, please!! Please, stop it!" I asked her.

This time the sister next to me tried to talk to her, the mother snarled at us and gave us the hand. Finally the girl managed to get up and run downstairs. My head was spinning, I wanted to barf. Sure she misbehaved... but she's a kid. How can you do that RIGHT after making salah? ..In the masjid, in front of all these kids, in front of all your daughters friends?

She sat there looking strangely proud for how she handled her daughters disruptiveness. She made a 2 minute du'a and then stood up and went after the girl she THOUGHT was praying next to her daughter... "AND YOU!!" she pointed at the girl and scrunched her face. "DON'T YOU EVER PRAY NEXT TO HER AGAIN!!" she screamed. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT. YOU DIRTY, BAD GIRL YOU. DON'T BEHAVE LIKE THAT DURING NAMAZ EVER AGAIN, YOU HEAR ME? YOU GIRLS ARE ALL BATAMESE, BESHARAM GIRLS..." her finger was all up in this girls face and she cornered her into the wall. "IF YOU EVER.. EVER.. DO THIS AGAIN, YOU SEE.."

There was commotion all around, kids were switching to their 3rd period classes and it seems that no one noticed this poor girl being told off by an older woman. A student of mine popped out of no where and wouldn't stop talking about how he liked staplers (...? okay..?! lol!!)

I turned around and the woman was gone, so was the girl. I spoke to a sister who I love sooo much for the sake of Allah and told her that we should really speak to the Imam about what happened and that he should tell them not to behave this way with their kids in the masjid. Also, that if they have a problem with someone elses child, find their mom, get their home number, or tell the Imam... they have no right to speak to someone elses child in that manner. If my son was bigger and at the masjid I would be so mad if some woman I don't even know was having such a nasty attitude with Yusuf, and I would be upset to hear that he had to watch someone get a beatdown from their parent.

As I went downstairs to get my shoes on to leave, I heard someone sobbing in the closet. It was the girls friend sitting in there in tears. She could barely speak. "She.. she yelled at me.. and it wasn't me. I did not even pray next to her daughter," the girl sobbed. I hugged her, "It's okay. You know the truth. Don't worry about it, don't worry about what she said. You saw how psycho she went right? Don't cry okay?" The girl nodded and went to her mom to tell her what happened.

The whole incident was just so crazy to me. It happened so fast and unexpectedly. I know for sure if she were in the supermarket, the mall, the park, or her daughters school she would have never even yelled at her. What makes it okay to do in the masjid? How far is too far? Did her laughter learn anything from that punishment? Well.. actually she did. She learned to stop praying next to her mom and to pray far away from her, where she can giggle and chew gum and bump her friends arm without her mom knowing. Had her mother explained to her that in salah you are presenting yourself before Allah and worshiping him and should be on your best behavior, maybe she would have stopped. Had she told her that Kiramun Katibeen are on her shoulders writing her every action, thought, and intention down, which will be presented to everyone on the Day of Judgment.. maybe... just maybe... she would have grasped the importance of focus and behavior in salah.

New Hijabs, Pins, Gummies and Other Candies!

2009-04-04T02:39:00.000-04:00

I've finally gotten the new items for my little online souq

They include:

New hijabs! (pashminas, shaylas, amiras, and square hijabs)
New hijab pins
Candies: Halal Starburst (Original and Strawberry Mixed flavors) Halal gummies (variety of flavors)
Chocolates: I've added a few chocolates which are not native to the US, so it's something sweet to treat yourself to! ;)

Check out http://souq.shutterfly.com for the products, information, pricing, and how to order.

Keep checking on and off too, I'll be adding items periodically over the next week. If you want me to hold something for you (at a negotiated and reasonable amount of time) then I am willing to do that too.

Now this brings me to something else. On my page where my hijabs are, I don't really have product numbers or anything... so when someone emails asking about/wanting a hijab, it usually goes like this:

Sister: I love that purple hijab! Can I have it? Please get back to me with the total cost with shipping, this is my postal code *****
Me: Oh.. uh.. which purple one?
Sister: The one with the fringes
Me: There are 3 with fringes
Sister: It has sequins also
Me: There are 2 with sequins...

Okay so maybe I need to add product numbers or... ohhhhhhh! I should name them! Isn't that what other sites do? I'm not good at that stuff... I'll probably just name the hijabs with the little Arabic I know... LAHM (meat), MIL'AQAH (spoon), MA HADHA (what is this?), MUSTASHFA (hospital), and a whole bunch of grammar terms like mudaf/mudaf ilayi, jumlah ismiyyah, mubtada/khabr, fi'l/ism...

Orrrrr, I can give them really awesome names that I wouldn't be able to give to my future kids... like Shaniqua, Xavier, Gwendolyn (really not awesome actually), Lorenzo... aw how I'd love to name a hijab Lorenzo!!

Okay so maybe finding a way to better differenciate the hijabs isn't that hard. Please don't feel ashamed to email me and say that you'd like to purchase 'The Meat Hijab', 'The Lint Hijab', or
'The Hairy Hijab'... they're just creative names.. that's all! ;)

Honey Straws

2009-04-01T10:18:00.004-04:00

I first discovered these maybe 4 or 5 years ago in the Dar-us-Salam bookstore in Brooklyn, New York. Since then, I try to always have them somewhere in the house because they're so handy!

All it is, is an enclosed straw filled with honey. Oh and mixed with the honey is some black seed alhamdulillah, the two best cures for anything as stated by our beloved Prophet (SAW). You just bite open one side and the plastic sealing pops open and you push the honey out.

Whenever I feel a cold coming on I can just go about cleaning and cooking while sucking on one of these. They're perfect to stick in my purse too, so I can take them anywhere I go! What I love best about these straws is that it's not as messy and sticky as taking a teaspoon of honey. I always get honey on the counter and on the side of the bottle, a headache to clean up and it makes me just not want to use the honey. Even if you're not sick, honey and black seed are both ridiculously good for the body and the straw contains probably a tablespoon's amount, so you don't have to worry about it being to much and not finishing it... most likely if anything, you'll grab another one.

You can find these honey straws here. They have them in 3 different flavors, I usually use 'Immune Boost'. Now, oddly enough they're 30 flippin' dollars (for a container of 100 sicks) on the manufacturers website but whenever I go to Brooklyn and buy it I get it for $20 haha. But they are worth the money!

They also carry Black Seed Lozenges in a variety of flavors which I like as well. Some flavors do have a strong black seed taste to it, but hey, it naturally has a strong taste anyway, so not much can be done about that.

"And the lord inspired the bee, saying: Take your habitations in the mountains and in the trees ad in what they erect. Then, eat of all fruits and follow the ways of your Lord made easy (for you)'. There comes forth from their bellies a drink of varying color wherein is healing for men. Verily in this is indeed a sign for people who think." [16:68-69]

Tirmithi, Ibn Majah and Baihaqi also reported that the Prophet (SAWS) said, "Make use of the two remedies: honey and the Quran."

He was also reported to have said, "There is within the black seed a cure for every disease except death" Sahih al-Bukhari.

Snow Ummah

2009-03-29T00:08:00.007-04:00

HAHAHAHA! A sister emailed me this pic from some brothers who built this very modest 'Niqaabi Snow Sister'

And this here is the Snow Sheikh my good friend/teacher built with her 2 adorable kids, mashaAllah.

I wonder if there are other members of this small community around? Do you think Snow Sheikh should propose to Niqaabi Snow Sister? I think they'd make a cuuute couple mashaAllah !

"Show me your face!"

2009-03-26T23:59:00.004-04:00

The other day when I was walking to the masjid, I noticed a car slowing down in the middle of the street. The street I was walking down rarely has cars driving on it since it's a back street. I shrugged it off and continued walking. I noticed the driver's window roll down and a woman was staring at me. I figured it was another person mesmerized by a niqaabi haha, so I continued walking. I turned and looked at the car and saw what seemed to be a Pakistani woman looking at me. I'm 95% sure she was Pakistani, if not, then she had to be Indian. She didn't say anything so I continued on my way. I thought I heard her grunt haha, but I kept going.

Finally I heard, "HELLO??"

Maybe she wanted to ask for directions. I went back towards her car.

Woman: Hello
Me: Hi
Woman: Hello
Me: ..Hi............
Woman: Uhhh, you are Muslim?
Me: Yeah..
Woman: Okay...
Me: Okay...
Woman: Can I see your face?
Me: ......................?
Woman: Can I see your face?
Me: What? Why?
Woman: Show me your face
Me: Not in the middle of the street
Woman: SHOW ME YOUR FACE!
Me: Bye..
Woman: Okay next time I pass you, you must show face!!!
Me: Whatever..
Woman: Okay
Me: Okay..

I backed away slowly and continue down the street. 2 blocks down I turn back and still see her parked in the middle of the street. What the heck? So weird! She must have been Muslim. There aren't that many non-Muslim Pakistanis in our area. Perhaps she thought she knew me. But she didn't say salaams... and she should have at least said, "Have you seen me before?" or " I think I've seen you before" or something like that. I don't think a non Muslim would just flat out ask that, especially a woman as gentle looking as her... except for the part when she got loud with me to show my face! lol

Thanks for your sweaty clothes!

2009-03-23T21:59:00.003-04:00

One of the colleges in my area is working with the NAAMA to collect clothes, toys, and kitchenware for the people of Palestine.

The moment I got the message about this I was sooo excited. My mind started racing thinking about what clothes I can easily part with and what clothes must be stashed in the closet hidden away in boxes.

My son isn't even 1 1/2 yet but has a few bags of clothes and I decided to sort through his stuff as well. It was amazing how there was such a strong memory connected to each and every outfit I picked up. I was beaming holding all of them, but decided that they would benefit others much more than sitting in my closet. Sure inshaAllah in the future if I have another boy I could use these clothes, and even pass some onto my son for keepsake or for my potential grandson to use... but we can so easily get new clothes too and most likely will. Also, I already have pictures of him in like every outfit so I don't need to keep each and every one.

It felt so good to see the bags sitting in the corner. My heart felt lighter and so did the closets and the drawers.

While speaking with my mother on the phone one day I mentioned to her about the clothing drive and she too went into a frenzy blabbing on about what clothes were packed in the attic that were in mint condition and that she would love to send too. Soon she had about a dozen bags of clothes, packed and ready for drop off.

A friend of hers said she had a lot of abayas and hijabs and a few other clothes that she would love to donate and my mom told her to drop them by.

My mom noticed all her bags and her friends 2 bags of clothes were really mixed up, so she decided to sort them and label them: Girls, Boys, Women, Men, Shoes, Babies.. and so on.

When she opened up the bag of clothes the friend of her gave, after sorting a few she noticed a rank smell getting stronger and stronger. She knew for suuuuuuure it wasn't her breath (haha) and she hadn't cooked that day either. She stuck her head in the bag and took a sniff and almost fell backwards. She picked up the clothes and some of them smelled stale and some wreaked of sweat. Some hijabs still had hair in them, and some clothing had stains on them. Well she figured some small stains wasn't too much of a big deal but she noticed it was still hard. If the clothes were washed there was NO way the stain would be hard and whatever was on it could be scratched off. Even some of the dark clothes had vivid deodorant stains on the inside!

She called me:

Mom: Lazeena, are you dropping the clothes off tomorrow?
Me: I'm not sure, Malik (my husband) didn't go through his clothes yet.. so..
Mom: Okay can you take it Saturday or Sunday
Me: Alright... but I thought you said you were all done.
Mom: I was.. but I wanted to sort them and when I opened the bag from my friend I noticed that the clothes... they.. they smelled terrible!
Me: What....??
Mom: They smell really bad. I know the people in Palestine are in great need for clothes, but come on! They're not animals, they're people who want nice, fresh clothes too. I can't send this, I have to wash it.
Me: Maybe the bag was in the kitchen while she was cooking or maybe-
Mom: Lazeena... no... There are stains on them and the armpits smell the strongest... they didn't wash the clothes before they gave it. I can't believe... I mean I can't just call them and tell them to do it. I don't want to be rude. But just because you're doing a favor for someone doesn't mean you do it this way. Now I have to go to 2 or 3 loads of laundry and then dry them all.
Me: Well.. maybe they forgot to wash it??? I dunno that's weird.
Mom: Even when your brother came out his room he could smell the clothes from down the hall Lazeena... Its like they wore it a few days in a row and then shoved it in this bag! i have a headache from it and I think I might need to just soak some of these overnight.
Me: Alright, well we still have until the end of next week to drop the clothes off anyway, so don't worry about it.. take your time..

Uhm... come on now! Yes it's virtuous to donate... but to give away your unwashed clothes is straight up nasty!!! I really hope it was some weird type of mix up or a slip of memory and they forgot to wash their stuff. That is just gross. The people in Palestine are not in need by choice, they aren't filthy people who will wear someones nasty clothes. Surely if someone is in need they will take what they're given or can get... but why would you give them something in that condition that they might wear like that or realize it's dirty and then have to take the time to go and wash it. Imagine if the bag wasn't opened and sent there and they got the clothes they would be even more disgusted with what their brothers and sisters are doing for them... or aren't rather. We barely do anything for them and when we finally do, we do it this way.

If any of you ever intend on donating clothes, please wash them before! with some really good smelling detergent and softener! No one wants to wear your unwashed clothes!

Life is Precious

2009-03-21T01:08:00.005-04:00

As I mentioned previously, I've started teaching Qur'an and tajweed at my local masjid. It was the first week and it started out kinda messy, but things are pretty much well put together now. I actually know my students' personalities pretty well - who's okay to sit in the back, who I need to bribe with stickers, who I need to have seated next to me, who I may need to run after and so on.

On the first day there was a sister who looked somewhat lost. I couldn't help but notice her Guyanese accent and tan colored skin and a paler than milk white boy with dirty blonde hair tagging behind her. I went up to her and gave my salaams...

"As salaamu alaikum"

"Wa alaikum salaam. Sorry I'm new here... I just put my son into classes here. He's supposed to be with sister Lazeena first period?"

"Yeah thats me actually.."

"Okay good good. You know I never came here before and my son is now learning about Islam and stuff.."

"Don't worry, it's okay. Where are you from?"

"Guyana."

"Me too! I figured you were."

"Oh yeah?? I wouldn't think you were. Back home no one covers like you do."

"Yeah I know.."

"This is my son Abdullah. He's 7"

*waves at kid hiding behind his mom* "I'm guessing he looks like daddy?"

"Ohhh yes!! 100%!!!! People find it hard to believe he's mine, not even his features are mine," she stokes his hair lovingly. "His father is Italian. He isn't Muslim though... that's why Abdullah doesn't know much about Islam. I mean I pray sometimes and I fast, but he's now learning mom and dad both believe different things."

"That's okay. He'll make some friends soon and enjoy it here inshaAllah. Is Abdullah your only child?"

"No, I have an 11 year old daughter at home, I actually have to hurry back to her. She was begging me to come actually.."

"Aww, why didn't you bring her? They have girls her age here - "

"She's actually....... she just recently she got into a car accident... and now she's on life support..... she can't really come out.. she can't really do anything.... but this morning I told her I'd be out for a little in the afternoon with Abdullah to bring him here and she got really upset. She wants to come. She had started learning how to read Arabic so she wants to continue, but right now it's quite impossible. I hope she makes it through and can continue where she left off."

"Yeah definitely inshaAllah. I'm so sorry to hear that. Don't worry about Abdullah... I'll make sure he makes it to his 2nd and 3rd period classes. And I'll tell him that he has to go home and teach his sister what he's learned!" "Oh, yes she will enjoy that!"

SubhanAllah, 11 years old and on life support! How often do we think of our 11 year old sibling, child, niece, or cute budding preteen at the masjid getting into a car accident and barely making it through alive? At most we may worry about her reaction to 'entering womanhood', scraping her knees if she falls off her bike, not feeling accepted at school, or forgetting to complete her homework. Never does it really cross our minds that a child so young and innocent could lose her life and become permanently injured in any way. SubhanAllah, this is not only something that happens to people 30+, this can happen to anyone. So inshaAllah let's use this as a reminder that anything can happen to us at anytime and that we should always try and be prepared for the worst, especially when leaving the house. Life is so fragile man, please please don't take it for granted!

Speaking a different language in front of others

2009-03-16T00:07:00.008-04:00

... IS SO ANNOYING!

Gosh! Why do people do this?

The other day I had a meeting at the masjid. InshaAllah I'm gonna start teaching Qur'an there and the Imam wanted to meet with all the Qur'an teachers to make sure we were all on the same page and to offer some teaching pointers. It was myself and two older sisters. Before the meeting even started the Imam said, "Sister Lazeena is here, so we will speak in English okay?"... since the rest of them have Urdu as their first language... but they DO speak good English alhamdulillah.

So he starts telling us about how to organize our time with our students and one sister interrupts and goes off in Urdu. The Imam answers her in English and she responds back in Urdu. I guess he didn't understand what she was saying and asked her to re-explain it. She explained it in English this time.

"So you can say in English?" He said with his little accent, and smiled. "Okay we talk in English inshaAllah?"

He continued to address her concern in English and the other sister then started talking to him in Urdu. Hello???? Then she turns to me and asks why I wasn't offering any input. "She's young, she's not experienced, we'll have to help her" the other sister tells her and the Imam... in ENGLISH! Ugh!

I straight out told her I couldn't say anything because I didn't know what she was even talking about.The Imam told them over and over again to speak in English but for whatever reason they didn't. I mean, I understand Urdu is their native tongue but if you can say it in English, then why not? The Imam was nice enough to answer their questions in English even though they spoke in Urdu, and they fully understood him when he did speak in English.

Now this is far from a worse case scenario. I've been invited to people's houses and everyone around me would be speaking in Urdu or Bengali and would totally ostracize me. Then when I turn down an invite in fear of that they get upset with me for not wanting to go. What difference does it make? It's not like my presence really makes a difference... most of the time the hostess if busy being the hostess (can't blame them), and I'm left wandering around looking for someone who's left out just like me, or watching the little kids beat each other up. Alhamdulillah I've met a fair share of sisters who would come speak to me or at least ask the other sisters to speak in English to include me. I know this is why a lot of masaajid which are dominantly 1 ethnic background do not get other members from a different background attending their masjid.

It's so rude and it makes people feel unwelcome. There's no reason for you to speak in another language. I always get a weird sense of paranoia... as if I think the person must be talking about me if they can't speak in English to their friend while I'm there. I get that sometimes there are jokes people make that only make sense in their language, which is cool with me, I'm always one for a good laugh.. but if we're talking about ashy feet or something do you really need to go off in Arabic for 10 minutes to your buddy while I stand there with a fake smile, staring at the wall, and eventually walk away? You must be telling your friend my feet are flakey (which they aren't!) if you can't say it in English ! Ahh!

If you speak a second language, alhamdulillah, this is a great gift. But use it wisely, please. Don't engaged in conversation with someone in your language if there is someone in the group who might not understand, especially if the other person is alone and has no one else to turn to and speak to. If it's a quick comment or joke, that's one thing... but if the conversation totally switches in that language and the person is left out that's not right at all. This is yet one of the many matters that is tearing the unity of our ummah apart!

Female Farmers in Yemen

2009-03-09T23:57:00.005-04:00

The tall hats are supposed to catch more cool air to cool them off. Awesome. I want one! Imagine.. people would probably think I were a walking scarecrow haha

Be careful of what you demand

2009-03-07T17:14:00.005-05:00

Over the past couple of years the masjid in my area has been working towards expanding the masjid. Recently, after years of fund raising and architectual plans, the construction began. Everyone who lives on the street the masjid is on are Muslim alhamdulillah, except the 1 house right next to the masjid, it was owned by a non-Muslim. Eventually the man wanted to sell his home and knew he would make a lot off of a Muslim family who wanted to buy it.

The masjid decided to buy the house and for a while went back and forth with the price. Each time they stated a price for the home, the man wouldn't agree and wanted them to go up on the price. The house seems really small (from the outside at least) and the yard needs a LOT of work. They were near $450,000 and he STILL wouldn't back down!

The brother giving the announcement regarding this matter after Jumu'ah salah then mentioned that just this week they were able to get the house for about half of that price. Half?! How? SubhanAllah the owner of the home DIED! His kids just sold it off for whatever amount they could.

SubhanAllah can you imagine? This man kept playing with the price so he could get a lot of money, enjoy that money, maybe get a nicer home, only Allah knows, but yet Allah had different plans for him subhanAllah.

Now the brother making the announcement said it in an odd way... he said, "This is a moment of celebration for us". All the sisters gasped and looked at one another, it was as though he was saying we should be pleased this man died and the masjid was able to buy and now own the house. I'm sure he meant it was great that the masjid finally got it, but there wasn't even a little sadness in his voice for the loss of life. It did kinda of bother me that he said it that way, but I chose to look at it from another angle...

Death is always near, and it's as simple as that. We have so many goals and aspirations and we forget to consider that we might not reach them, on our way there we can die and that'll be it. We won't take the money or the fame with us... just our deeds. So let's try not to get too caught up in the dunya and always remember to make time for Allah and to contemplate how to make our lives more fruitful for the hereafter inshaAllah.

The Follow Gadget

2009-03-04T16:14:00.002-05:00

I hate the way the new follow gadget looks.

It looks terrible. I must admit though that I like the way it functions more than the old one... but I miss the old look *tear*

Can you tell I'm not fond of change? haha

The 9/11 Imposter

2009-03-01T15:13:00.003-05:00

Last night I watched a documentary on a woman I hadn't heard about before. Her name is Tania Head. Soon after the events of 9/11, she joined a support group where she shared her touching story of survival and how she managed to escape from one of the Twin Towers after it was hit. She showed them an injured arm, from when it caught on fire while she tried to escape. She said her fiance Dave was in the other tower and ended up dying. Everyone was touched by her story, a story of suffering, escape, survival , and losing a loved one... she experienced it all in those few fateful minutes.

In time members of the 9/11 survivors support group started to see her change, Tania became very arrogant and didn't show much sadness in all she went through in 9/11. Her account of what happened seemed more rehearsed than heartfelt, and each time she told it more details were added - as if she were making up the story as she went along. Some people started to see the glint in her eye when the media gave her all the attention. She became the 'poster-child' for 9/11 survivors. Soon everyone knew her story and she was meeting with well known politicians in NY and leading tours at Ground Zero. Everyone in her support group admired all the work and effort she put into their group and how well she'd recovered emotionally from what happened, until she'd started to change.

Soon enough a newspaper interviewed some of her acquaintances saying they were writing an article about her - they figured it was a memorial type article or the 'anniversary' coming up. However, it wasn't. It was an article that exposed the glitches in her story and labeled her a fraud. Further investigation proved she was in Spain in business classes when the 9/11 events took place. Some of the people who were with her in Spain at the time also for school said that she'd shown them the same damaged arm and claimed that she was in a Ferrari accident, others she told that she was injured while horse riding.

Clearly she enjoyed attention. I just find that disgusting and totally unsympathetic towards those people who did die on 9/11 and even more offensive to those who survived and believed her story. She even met with a slain firefighters' parents and lied about him saving her and how she had pictures all over her home of their son to remind her of that. How can people be so heartless? Yeah okay, you want attention... but I didn't think people would lie to this extent. For 5 years she had people fooled until people started speculating discrepancies in her story. That's just crazy. I can't believe I didn't even hear of her before. Her real name is Alicia Esteve Head. She also fabricated receiving diplomas from Harvard and other universities. I dunno... maybe she suffers from some mental disorder, I really can't see how someone could just wake up one morning and plan out how they'll lie about being part of something so tragic... subhanAllah

Oops!

2009-02-25T16:21:00.002-05:00

So I had this dream...

I went to drop off my son at my parents house so my husband and I could go to a lecture. He went to the masjid to make salah and I prayed at home and got ready so he could pick me up and we'd be on our way.

I heard him honk outside and I slipped my coat on. Heading to the door, I told my mom that there should be enough diapers in the baby bag. I grabbed my niqaab and tied it on.

I said my salaams and closed the door behind me and bounced over to the car.

I could see my husbands eyes grow wider as he stared at me through the car window.

He ran out the car and towards me, "WHAT ARE YOU DOING? IS THIS A JOKE?" He pushed me back towards the house.

"Aren't we going out?"

"Not like that! What's wrong with you?!"

I turned back towards the house and felt the wind blow against my neck.

Wait... wind against my neck? I haven't felt that for years!

Alas, I put my niqaab on without my hijab

HAHAHA

Okay, the sad part is... I did this before in read life LOL. It was my first week of being a niqaabi. I was so paranoid that I would go out and forget to put it on, that I skipped the step before that - putting on my hijab! Good thing I was halfway out the door when I felt a warm summer breeze through my hair and ran back inside!

Oh and then there are those windy fall days where I'm just walking down the street and the wind swoops my niqaab up over my head while I frantically try to pull it back down over my face haha.

Girls Schools Closing in Pakistan

2009-02-24T09:37:00.005-05:00

Please watch this short documentary by The New York Times on the closing of girls' schools in Swat, Pakistan.

Also, cherish the opportunity you have to educate yourself! Teach all the young girls to stop complaining about school and be thankful for the chances they have that others are struggling, begging and praying for. Too many people complain about school, whether they're in elementary school or adults in college.

Tribal Beauties

2009-02-21T20:46:00.008-05:00

The other night I was watching a documentary on a tribe somewhere in Africa on the Travel Channel. It suddenly popped into my mind that every time I watch these types of documentaries, be it these people are in Africa, India, Mexicans or Native Indians of a particular land - they all have flawless skin.

That's the first thing I started to notice. Their skin is so smooth and creamy looking! They don't have any blemishes or scars from acne, MashaAllah. Their hair, you'd expect it to be frizzy and nappy but their hair is really well tamed, a lot of them even have pearly white teeth.

You'd think someone living in like... a jungle their entire life would look beastly or something. But mashaAllah these people eat the most healthiest and natural of foods. They have foods that haven't been processed the ways our are, and without all the nasty additives and preservatives. Sure they drink some cow blood and raw meat once in a while =x haha but for the most part they have wayyy better diets than we do.

They use the most natural, and purest forms of treatment for their skins, they have raw shea butter which softens their skin, and even though they may not bathe everyday, they don't have to worry about hard water damaging their skin.

Even from within the sunnah, there are plenty ahadeeth teaching us that the most natural forms of fruits and vegetables and plants are not only good for us on the inside, but also on the outside! I must say, sometimes I do fall for the glamorous advertisements and commercials, but why should I believe that when they've failed me for so many years? The most honest and trustworthy person has left an example for me of the best products to use to improve my physical health!!

Hijab Salons

2009-02-18T22:50:00.006-05:00

Recently, hijab styles have boomed. I remember not too long ago there were probably like... 5 common ways to tie your hijab. Now there are several books available on how to tie it. Not only that, but there are entire websites and YouTube video tutorials dedicated to this as well! There are now dozens of unique ways being shared, each one having a special touch.

Now while many of them are nice, we have to be sure to avoid the styles which leave the chest uncovered and the ears and neck exposed. While those are perfectly fine to wear during sisters events/parties, they aren't okay to wear outside of the home. If I wear a really fancy hijab (or if I were to use one of these styles) I'd usually just pull a huge khimar over it until I get to wherever I'm going and are sure it's a non-mahram free environment.

Anyway, I never thought just tying your hijab could turn into an artform. There are even hijab manufacturers now who make hijabs already fashioned and all you do is pull it on over your hair. Before, there just used to be squared hijabs. Now there are pashminas, al-amiras, kuwaiti hijabs, and a whole array of designs. Now a lot of us can even walk into the mall and find shawls to purchase and wear as hijabs alhamdulillah.

I'm telling you, pretty soon you'll see HIJAB SALONS everywhere. A sister can go and have a hijab stylist come and wrap their hijab for them if they have a wedding or aqeeqah to go to, if they aren't practiced in tying a hijab in a fancy manner. Heck, you'll probably be able to go there and rent a hijab with a perfectly matching hijab pin! You can wear it out and then return it to the salon where it will be thoroughly washed and waiting for the next customer.

Sisters will sit in the back, waiting... flipping through magazines with hijab styles, doggy earing pages that they may consider for their look. They'll bring their outfit in a separate bag to have the hijab, underscarf, and pin properly matched with it. The hijab stylist will examine their facial structure and complexion and then go to work, forming huge ruffles, buns, and arrangements with the hijab, tying and draping it in every way possible. Maybe they'll need special hijab spray to make it stay in place and not flop! Perhaps there will also be a beautician as well to help with makeup and they'll offer a niqaab for you to wear out since you'd be dolled up.

I can see it now... hmm...

By the way, if ANY of you jack my idea and open up a hijab salon I WILL come after you for 50% ... at least! Hmph!

Running Out of Halal Skittles

2009-02-17T17:13:00.009-05:00

As most of you know I've been selling halal Skittles and other halal goodies we don't get in the US, as well as some hijabs.

A lot of you told me you were interested but have been lazy in contacting me to settle on an order. Now is not the time to do that! I only have 30 packs of Original Skittles left, and 10 packs of Sour Skittles! My gummies, Starbursts, and marshmallow cookies are all gone, except for 1 pack of coconut covered marshmallow cookies *mmm*

So if interested, please email me before they're gone, I don't know when I'll get more. I do ship anywhere in the US and Canada. I also have some hijab pins, which are 10% if you order 3 or more! For pictures of the hijabs and pins, and even the candy, that I have go to http://souq.shutterfly.com/

Feel free to email me at lazeena.hosain at yahoo dot com with any questions or if you want to place an order!

JazakumAllahu khayrun!

Female Scholar in Egypt

2009-02-16T16:16:00.007-05:00

Check out this BBC piece about a sister in Egypt, Magda Amer, who is teaching to raise women's Islamic education and awareness in Egypt. I wish it was more detailed but kudos to them for even doing this! These are the types of articles and people they need to bring to light instead of us constantly seeing those psycho Muslims on the news!

One thing I didn't like was they called her a PREACHER, which made it seem as though she was on the minbar on Jumu'ah giving khutbahs and working forward towards an Imam-role or something. It seems as though she is just a female teacher, increasing her knowledge and sharing it with however many women she can!

13-Year Old Father: Update

2009-02-15T21:59:00.005-05:00

So now three other boys have come forward claiming that they may be the father of Chantelle's baby, Maisie. I did not see that one coming, I didn't think this story could get more bizarre than it already was.

In the car this morning on the way to the masjid I heard at least 8 boys can possibly be the father. Alfie has agreed to take a DNA test and is very offended with boys claiming they were 'active' with his girlfriend of two years. She claims Alfie was her first and only, that statement will be quite interesting if the DNA test is done and the baby is not his. I don't think boys would come forth publicly about something like this and really be lying... that would just be stupid.

I was reading some articles about their families.. subhanAllah... they have so many issues. Stability in a home is key to a child's outcome, this story is yet more proof of that.

13-Year Old Father

2009-02-14T17:26:00.012-05:00

Yes, you've read correctly. This week in Britain, 13-year old Alfie became a father. His girlfriend, Chantelle, is 15.

This is just insane, and totally grossed me out. Then again it's truly not unexpected in the society we lived in today, glorifying promiscuity and bombarding kids with sexual images and ideas in everything - movies, music, tv shows, magazines, books...

They all look like they're siblings! The kid is totally clueless. "What's financially...??" Ughh! I didn't even think it was possible for kids that age to be fathers..! And imagine by the time he's at the age to be college bound, his kid will already be in kindergarten!

Clearly sex education in schools is doing nothing, and parents are taking the 'birds and bees talk' as a joke or as something unnecessary. Who's to blame? The school system? His parents? Her parents? Are they rebellious kids? Are they the only ones at fault? Of course they'll be terribly criticized but surely there are thousands of people out there who did this and 'lucked out', among those are couples who opted to have the pregnancy terminated as well. Otherwise who knows how many child parents would be in the spotlight like these two kids.

Here is an article covering the story, and a more detailed one here.

The Devil Prays

2009-02-14T03:58:00.002-05:00

For years I've been hearing this rubbish and it still makes me giggle when I hear it for the 500th+ time.

I'm sure most of us are familiar with the prayer mat (janamaz for my Urdu peeps, Sajadah for my Arab folk). I was in elementary school when a Pakistani friend came over. for a play-date. My family wasn't really practicing then, and me being young myself, I never really made all my prayers... however, Maghrib was the 1 prayer that was always prayed in jama'ah in my home. My father lead us in salah and after he completed the fard he left for his bedroom to make his sunnah, so did my mother. My friend and I sat there discussing... I dunno.. probably Barbies or something haha.

Her eyes glanced over to the prayer rug my dad had prayed on... my mothers... and then mine... and her eyes bulged out and she let out a huge gasp. She ran over the folded over the top right orner of the 3 mats. She sat back down next to me and that's when I realized hers had been folded back the whole time we were talking.

I scrunched my eyebrows and she said, "OMG, don't you guys know when you don't fold the janemaz Shaytaan prays on it!!!! If you're not gonna put it away then you have to fold it! DUHHH!"

I was shocked, ashamed... how could I not know this? After that for years I'd remember to fold the mat over if I didn't put it back in the closet.

This wasn't the only situation I've heard 'shaytaan praying' applied to.

At the masjid during evening classes, for some reason some little boys were praying on the girls side (they're supposed to pray on the mens side, even though they're little kids).

After salah the following conversation took place between the mini Pakis, I shall translate:

"Where's your topi (kufi)?!"

*feels head* "Oh nooo... I left it in the gari (car)!"

"Stupid!!" "OMG, I'm gonna get gunnah (sinned) and when hafiz sahib (respectable term for HAFIDH, who in this case is also their teacher) comes I'm gonna get in trouble.."

"Yeah cuz you didn't make namaz with your topi so the whole Maghrib shaytaan was making namaz on your head!"

It was when I heard this I realized... ISN'T THAT A GOOD THING? Shaytaan praying... isn't that what we've wanted for so many centuries? haha. Ahh.. and another time something similar is mentioned is when the Qur'an is left open without being read... some say then the shaytaan comes and reads the Qur'an!!

Now this is something I only hear among Desis (Pakistanis, Indians & Bangladeshis). So far I've only heard those two specific scenarios for him making salah: when the prayer mat is left unfolded (even a small part of the corner) and when a boy prays with his head uncovered.

Now I'm assuming they mean shaytaan comes and makes a mockery of salah, not actually following the Imam and suddenly playing the good guy for a little. I don't know who came up with this and how.

The only reason I can think of this nonsense being used it just for respect I guess. Maybe some people feel since a person lays down their prayer mat to offer salah, it shouldn't be left open for someone to just walk by without caring and stepping on it, or for kids to come by and run around and play on it. However, people walk all over the musalla when their in the masjid, so I don't see how a separate mat is any different. Some people also put these rugs on their walls as decoration. Then what, shaytaan prays on the wall? I went to someones house and even though they did have it up on the wall, the right corner was stitched down lol. When it comes to boys wearing their kufis I guess it's a way of scaring small students into covering their head..?

Desi culture intrigues me... mainly the bizarre unnarrated ahadeeth people come up with which seems to be hammered into the minds of just about every young Desi child. Despite not being able to provide a source for their quotes (other than their parents and grandparents and so on told them), they cling onto these sayings tightly.

I'm sure for people unfamiliar with these weird sayings within Desi culture, it sounds straight up bonkers/hilarious to hear something like this.

The only related issue which is true when it comes to shaytaan within the ranks of salah is when the gaps are not filled during jama'ah the jinns pass through them. What do they do? I don't know... mock us? File their nails? Jumping jacks? Allah knows best!

Anyway, the next time you hear someone tell a kid shaytaan will pray on their uncovered head or shaytaan will pray on their prayer mat... please break the truth to them gently..

Valentine's Day & Romance

2009-02-10T01:24:00.008-05:00

So I'm trying to think of something nice to do on Valentines Day. I have no idea what to get for my husband or what we should really do. I want to make this year memorable. I wonder what he has planned for me? Hmm...

...Ok you guys know I'm kidding right? Me? Valentines Day? Pshhht! Puh-leeeease!!!

Aside from being un-Islamic... it's just totally LAME. I know some people get upset with me when I say this, but it really is. It's already known that it's such a commercial holiday. It really disappoints me that some sisters fall into this Valentine's Day trap. They're so flattered when their husbands show up with roses, teddy bears, and candy. They're over the moon if they wake up to breakfast in bed or a have nice evening out.

Don't get me wrong, these are all lovely things... but when it's happening on Valentines Day, it completely lacks originality! What's so incredible about your husband doing the same thing millions of other men are doing on the same exact day? There's nothing special in it at all. What's worse is that some brothers only do this on Valentines Day, birthdays, and anniversaries. How cliche. Then there are those sisters who turn sour when their husbands do nothing for them on V-Day.

Islam promotes romance in marriage, even through the smallest acts subhanAllah. Something as simple as eating food can be turned into a sweet and special moment between husband and wife as shown through the Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad salAllahu alayhi wasallam. This should mean that we should frequently do sweet things for our loved one.

Wouldn't you prefer a dinner out, roses, a special gift - anything - on any random day? That's so much sweeter than getting something on an expected day because everyone else is. Spontaneity is the key to romance. I find it strange that there needs to be a certain day dedicated to love, or to celebrating a person's life, or doing something good for one's parents.

wAllahi there isn't a single day where my husband doesn't do something totally selfless or tries to do something nice for me, though I can't say the same for myself to him. And I pray that inshaAllah he doesn't stop one day =) It's these numerous, small moments that keeps marriages strong.

We don't need to 'follow' the non-Muslims and think that going along with their holiday and definition of romance will keep us happy or flatter our spouse. Our beloved Prophet (SAW) has left many examples within the sunnah of how we should treat each other and what we can do to win each others hearts. Flowers and gifts are nice, but alhamdulillah, he's reminded us of specific things that we can do everyday to leave an imprint in our spouses hearts, and let's not forget those.

He's reminded the woman that though she should guard her modesty outside of the home, to beautify herself inside the house. I know it's hard sometimes, we get comfortable looking frumpy. How many times do we pick our best outfits when we go to sisters only parties/events? We wear our nicest jewelry and clothes, we put on some makeup and we don't take the time to preen ourselves at home... for the men who go out to work and lower their gaze all day long, only to come home to a woman in her oversized, stained t-shirt, hair a mess, nasty eye crust, and stankin' breath! haha Of course we aren't expected to like supermodels 24/7, but I think we can all agree we could put some more effort into looking better at home.

Brother's aren't an exception. So many sisters tell me prior to marriage their husbands used to be very athletic and at the gym all the time, and then post-nikaah, it all ends and he bears his long, hidden pot belly. Brothers comb and perfume their beards when they're out, but when they're home there's lint and crumbs scattered in their beards haha.

Men helping around the house, doing things for themselves sometimes is even a treat to women. The Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam was known to mend his own clothing. Helping with meals here and there or cleaning up speaks volumes to a woman, more so than a bouquet or unoriginal Hallmark card.

I have a friend who's been married for a couple months, and once a week her husband brings home a beautiful flower for her... each time it's a new flower. She presses them in a book to keep them, isn't that adorable? He doesn't wait for just a 'special' event to come up, being married to a loving wife is special enough.

I can't even remember the last time I made breakfast for my husband, alhamdulillah he takes care of that himself. I'd take this over a dozen roses any day. Even though it may go unmentioned a d it's not something I can wear on my finger/wrist and show to my friends, it's a load off of me and I really am thankful that he's not the type to lounge around in his recliner, scratching his belly and bark breakfast orders - not that men who don't make their meals all do that =)

So before you go back into the old routine, or even start a new one, of making plans for V-Day, how about thinking of something special you can do with your loved one weekly... or monthly even. Get gifts for one another when you least expect it. Surprise your husband with his favorite meal out of the blue... be original. Think of something special between the two of you and make it more meaningful than some lousy V-Day plans. We don't need these foolish holidays to give gifts or be sweet! Aishah radiAllahu anha used to wash our beloved Prophet's hair when he was in 'itikaaf, and she would comb his hair... how many of us do that for one another?

Let's not be like the non-Muslim couples to toss their spouses to the backseat year-round and when a 'holiday' or 'anniversary' comes up we make a big deal about it. Let's learn to forgive each other and show our love by whatever means we can each and every day.

Candies will be eaten and flowers will wilt - maybe we will remember them, maybe we won't - but sweet moments spent together are memories that last a lifetime inshaAllah

Death to Deodorant

2009-02-09T19:06:00.004-05:00

I was reading my buddy's entry over at The Healthy Muslimah about deodorant. It's pretty interesting. It makes me wanna stop using the stuff and opt for a mineral stone- except for the fact that I just stocked up on deodorant because they were on a great sale haha. A matter of fact... my son's here in the living room tossing around 4 deodorant sticks... *fun*

She mentions a mineral deodorant stick sold at iHerb.com. The Islamic shops I frequent in Brooklyn also sell these, I never tried them before though. They're just $0.50 more than iHerb, but if you choose to get them you'll be supporting a Muslim business.

On top of that the Madina Industrial Company has a wide range of vegetable based products for Muslims - including other halal deodorants, bar soaps, shampoos, hand soaps, hundreds of alcohol free perfumes (for men and women), body lotions, lip balm, all natural shea butter, dead sea salt, neem toothpaste, hair serums, facial scrubs and a few other items. So check them out!

Here's the sisters entry in case you're too lazy to just click the link above =p

Be sure to subscribe to her for updates - she has some really interesting info mashaAllah!

The main gist of deodorants:

Most, if not, all deodorants have aluminium in them; this greatly increases your risk of Alzheimer's disease.

When you put deodorant on your underarms you're really just plugging the pores. All the waste that your body excretes through sweat is basically being pushed back into your body because your pores are being blocked by disgusting chemicals in deodorants. You don't want to do this. You want to allow your body to excrete it's waste. Sweating isn't a bad thing; it's natural!

The nasty stuff that gets on your shirts as a result of sweating with deodorant on, is because of your deodorant. The chemicals mix with your sweat and produce that disgusting color.

An alternative to deodorants: deodorant stones. They are made of mineral salts, which kill the bacteria from the sweat. Thus, eliminating the odor when one sweats. The salt basically deprives the bacteria of it's fluids and eventually the bacteria die.

I suggest buying the one I linked to because it's cheaper than the larger one. Regardless of it's size, it will definitely last you a long time, inshaAllah.

Using it is pretty simple:

Wet the top of the stone.
Apply to underarms (it can be applied to feet, as well, to prevent bad odor during excessive exercise or on a regular basis).
Wash off the top of the stone again so that there is no bacteria left and the salt is not doing unnecessary work.

Musulmanes Colombianos!

2009-02-02T22:37:00.005-05:00

Alhamdulillah a few months ago some friends and I were able to collect some money to help a new community down in Pereira Colombia (South America). I'd come to learn of this community after watching a video the brother (Dawood) recorded on his laptop of his reversion story. The video is here:

Alhamdulillah since then there have been more than 100 in their community, and communities they've visited to give da'wah to, who've become Muslim! Allahu akbar! With the money I was able to send them dozens of books, kufis, hijabs, da'wah pamphlets and some dates. SubhanAllah down there they don't get dates and it was like an enchanting tale whenever they heard stories about dates or read about them in ahadeeth. I was taken aback when brother Dawood emailed me saying they got the package and that some of the brothers actually were in tears seeing and tasting dates for the first time! SubhanAllah how we take things for granted.

Ever since, brother Dawood would send emails on and off updating myself and others who've sent items down to Pereira about the communitys advancements and needs, sending pictures as well.

This picture really touched me, well not so much the picture but the story behind it.

Above is brother Ibraheem and his son Isma'il. Please ignore the brother in the background who's just kickin' it in the masjid resting haha.

Brother Dawood said that the elder brother took his shahadah after visiting the masjid and listening to the khutbah. SubhanAllah it just so happened that the khutbah was about Prophet Ibraheem alayhis salaam. Upon hearing of the Prophets story he told Dawood that he wanted to take his shahadah. Why? He said he too had a story similar to the prophets'. He is almost 80 and was blessed with his son Ismail just 6 years prior, after years of trying to have one subhanAllah!! With that of course, he took the name Ibraheem and gave his son the name Isma'il mashaAllah.

This was so touching to me. It reminded me of the time of the Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam when enemies would see a single act of a Muslim or hear just an ayah and not question anything and accept the truth into their hearts and take their shahadah right away.

This community holds a special place in my heart. Maybe it's because despite being dead broke, in the middle of coffee feilds, surrounded by people who don't have a clue of what Islam is... these people are walking around in their hijabs, thobes, and beards, handing out da'wah pamphlets like it's a party invitation mashaAllah.

May Allah allow Islam to flourish in Pereira and every corner of the world, ameen!

A naseeha no no

2009-02-01T22:38:00.004-05:00

I teach 4th grade at the local masjid's Sunday school alhamdulillah. I recently got permission by the administration to sell my halal Skittles and candies there during the kids recess and snack time.

After Dhuhr salah when I put my huge bag of Skittles down to put my boots on a sister in her early 30's comes up to me.

"Sister, I'd think by the way you dress - " *points to my niqaab* " - that you'd know Skittles are haram!! How can you bring those into a Masjid?"

"These are halal Skittles... what does my clothing have to do with candy... " *fake giggle*

"I mean, you dress super religious so from that you should know these things. But Skittles are haram you should check the ingredients, there's pig in them. You know here in the US we have to be very careful of what we eat, there's all types of things in these foods.."

"Yeah, you're right.." I tell her thinking if she only knew I had a blog dedicated to halal and haram products! haha. "These are halal though, they're gelatin-free," I told her.

"No they don't make them halal!!!!! They all have PORK! You know, PIG! You're not listening!!"

No! YOU'RE not listening! I was getting irritated... mainly because she was getting loud with me and in front of other people, and her own kid! "Actually, the ones made for the US contains BEEF gelatin, not pork. These are made specifically for the Middle East, they don't even have at least halal gelatin in them, they are gelatin free... they use vegetable substitutes."

She looked at me confused, "No I don't think so!"

"... And in the UK their Skittles used to be halal as well, they were Vegan-friendly until they started using E120 in them, a coloring taken from insects..."

She stared at me blankly. "Oh.. well.."

I went into the bag and handed her a pack, "See, read the ingredients..."

She read them and nodded and handed the pack back to me, "Hmm.. well... I'll have to look into that... something's not right."

?!?!?!?!?! Why do people have to ALWAYS be right even when the proof is right in their face! She looked at me as if I created the wrapper myself and filled haram Skittles inside! haha. Why can't people just admit when their wrong?

I just hate when people look at niqaabis or any other Muslimahs and based off the way she dresses assumes the sister is, or at least thinks she is, a perfect Muslim or know it all. Not only that, but they jump at them when they think they see something wrong. It's sad when people get all nasty and think they're so smart and try to make someone look bad in front of others. This isn't Islamic at all.

Allah knows best her intentions, but if she really wanted to give me 'naseeha' regarding the Skittles she wouldn't have told me in such a demeaning manner in front of so many people and kids. Not only that, she wouldn't have been rude when I tried to explain myself either, cutting me off and not listening.

Some people like to right wrongs just to show they're right. Please think twice when you think you see something wrong and try to give someone advice. Be sure to be gentle with them and pull them aside. Don't be harsh and ridicule them in front of others. First investigate the situation before assuming the worst of the person. It doesn't matter how a person is dressed, everyone still has learning to do and everyone is in need of help once in a while.

I don't know the source of this story, if it is true or not, but indeed it holds a good lesson inshaAllah and I just thought of it as I was explaining how we should give naseeha... here's the jist of it...

Once the grandsons of our beloved Prophet salAllahu alayhi wasallam, Hasan and Hussain, radiAllahu anhuma, saw an elderly man making wudu. After watching him they realized that he was making wudu incorrectly.

The two brothers wanted to correct the man, but didn't know how. He was older and they didn't want to offend him, being so young and correcting him. They came up with an idea of how to teach the man proper wudu without being direct.

They went over to him and told him they were in a disagreement over who performed wudu the best and they wanted him to be the judge.

The bedoin watched the two kids perform wudu, and in watching, he himself came to learn his mistake(s). He thanked them and told them that he did not know the proper way to make wudu until the two of them had come over and showed him, subhanAllah.

MashaAllah this is the way to give naseeha. It is not an easy thing to do. As open as we should be to constructive criticism, it is only understandable that a person may take offense to being corrected if it's not done in a gentle manner.

Just imagine how I would have felt if I did have haram Skittles? It already upset me the way she spoke to me even though I wasn't doing anything wrong. I would maybe even be mad and probably close my heart to her naseeha anyway. That of course wouldn't be the right thing to do, but as humans these are tendencies we do unfortunately have.

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

2009-01-28T15:28:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-01-26T17:00:00.006-05:00

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...?

2009-01-21T02:45:00.005-05:00

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?"

2009-01-17T15:27:00.005-05:00

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

2009-01-14T23:31:00.004-05:00

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!

2009-01-12T16:41:00.005-05:00

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

2009-01-10T00:46:00.004-05:00

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

2009-01-05T23:54:00.004-05:00

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

2009-01-04T12:41:00.002-05:00

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...

2009-01-01T02:13:00.005-05:00

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!

Be the change!

2008-12-30T19:30:00.005-05:00

As the world stands by, the Palestinians continue to be massacred. And of all people, its those who were once wrongly massacred carrying out the killings and genocide of another!

All over, the Muslims are fed up with the state of the sitaution in Ghaza. Our Muslim leaders do nothing, and of course the US is behind the Israelis. It seems as though the whole world is just watching and shaking their head and some others dont even know the severity of the problem over there.

But I'm starting to get disgusted with people's complaints. "The ummah is divided!" "Wake up Muslims" "No one is doing anything!" So then what are YOU doing. Complaints will get us nowhere. We're disappointed in others while we aren't doing anything ourselves.

"Well, I can't really do anything from here," someone would say.

-Well have you started boycotting Israeli products? There are still many Muslims who opt to purchase kosher meats at their grocery market rather than frmo a halal meat place. Lots of items in the kosher section are made in Israel and imported. If even just dozens of us were to boycott these products, it would make a big difference. Aside from Israeli products and companies, there are countless American companies sending money and even weapons to the Shayateen in Israel. Some people argue that too many companies support them and it's hard to boycott all. This is understandable, a lot of times we don't even know that a company does support Israel. Well we can start with what we know and the companies that send huge percentages to them. This is a simple way to show our support for Palestine!

-You can't help? Are you informing the non Muslims around you about the situation taking place? Many of them don't see the seriousness of the situation because of Western media diluting the information and stating that Israel has the right to carry out their terrorist acts. Start emailing articles which shed light on the truth to non Muslim friends, print out articles and give it to them in schools, to your neighbors, or at your job. You never know how it may effect them, they may end up becoming one of the very active people against Israel. Help them to stop buying into the lies! When I was in high school, sometimes I would anonymously leave news articles or Islamic da'wah articles in the locker rooms or on desktops in hopes that someone would find it and read it, and maybe change their views or become enlightened about things they didn't know. And alhamdulillah I do know for a fact that those articles DID impact people in some way.

-Everyone says PLEASE REMEMBER PALESTINE IN YOUR DU'AS. Are you really? Did you truly make a heartfelt du'a for them? Did you weep, was your heart aching for those dead? For the children who watched their parents die? For the ones who are now orphans? For the hardworkers who lost their homes? For the ones who lost limbs? The people who were turned away medical aid due to lack of supplies? Are we waking up in the 3rd hour of the night just to stand before Allah for THEIR sake? Are we invoking Allah in our sujood to ease their pain and to guide the enemies or give them what they deserve? What kind of du'a are we really making? Let's take this statement more seriously!

-Still can't do anything??? Give. Give what you can give to the Palestinians. There are organizations out there taking money for food and medical supplies for the people over there, such as Islamic Relief, Meca for Peace, and InterPal, and I'm sure there are more I don't know about. Donate what you can. Urge your community members to give. Surely their needs are more than ours! Surely we can give something, anything, a dollar or a thousand, its all in your intention! Pass the links around to friends and family. Ask your masjid to get involved and set up a donation box. Collect money at Jumu'ah prayers. Get your friends involved. This is one of the easiest way to get actual help to these victims inshaAllah. Don't belittle what your efforts can do. I always remember when I was trying to raise money for this family, my goal was $5,000 and people laughed at me! But Allah helps those who need help subhanAllah and before we knew it we'd raised $25,000 for them, among several gifts and cards!!! Can you imagine? A lot of it was from people's $20 donations adding up mashaAllah.

- Have you contacted head government leaders? Have you called them? How about writing a letter? How about starting a petiton? Get your friends to write letters to them. Bombard them with letters, postcards, greeting cards, all stating you want Israeli aid to end!

-Another way to get word around your community is to contact a newspaper company or a journalist and get them to write an article about you and your friends who are against the occupation. Readers will get to see this, even if they dont read the article, they'll see the Muslims are standing up and making their voices heard!

It's time to stop being lazy. It's time to stop whining and start doing something. The smallest of actions is an effort to make a difference. Too many of us are sitting at home behind our laptops and desktop computers writing raging entries and stopping at that... we're not stepping forward or progressing in any way.

Stop waiting for a change and BE the change.

Bloodiest Day Since 1967

2008-12-27T23:56:00.011-05:00

More than 100 tons of bombs.

More than 200 killed.

More than 700 wounded.

More than 40 locations hit.

Why?

I'm sure just about everyone will post on this topic, and this is yet another one. It's a good thing to see many people talking about what's happened in Ghaza because it shows we choose not to be quiet about it, and that we do care.

I watched some news clips like this one and it breaks my heart to see crowds of people in chaos, people carrying lifeless bodies, the screams, the billowing smoke, the echos of explosions, sirens blaring in every direction, men in tears, bodies covered in blood, bodies in piles, demolished buildings...I can only think this is the closest image we'll see resembling yawmul Qiyamah.

People get into legal trouble for stealing, litering, mouthing off... but a city can be turned upside down with so many fatalities and no one is serving time for it, no one is being condoned, no one is reprimanded.

When I first heard of this I logged onto several news sides and had to navigate around the site just to find an article on what had happened. Why is this being treated as though it's not a big deal? It is! Had this happened elsewhere the world would have been in an uproar. It's disgusting. People no longer see value in human life. It's as if someone swatted a fly - who cares? People have grown used to seeing images life we've seen today of Ghaza. How disgusting is that? I saw pictures of salaatul janazah being prayed in front of dozens of bodies. Dozens!

SubhanAllah, seeing the police officer laid down saying the shahadah sent chills throughout my entire body! I don't know who he is, and if he is alive or dead, but I pray anyone who came near death and uttered these words are given the best of rewards from Allah, whether they survived or not ameen! When do we ever see such a sight? I pray that Allah guides these criminals or give these shayateen what they deserve in this life and in the hereafter ameen!!! Please please please make du'a that there there will be no ground attack (the Israelis are threatening to carry one out)

Demonstrations in Sudan

Demonstrations in Egypt

Muslims and the Holiday Season

2008-12-24T22:12:00.003-05:00

Growing up as a little Muslim attending public school throughout my years, I understand what it's like for kids to go through some type of identity crisis during the holidays, especially during this time of the year where it seems as though everyone is celebrating something. I'd always feel this sense of lonliness or emptyness while everyone else was excited for the holidays. It wasn't until my teen years when my parents actually started practicing the religion they too were born into. But before this change came, there were things they could have done to make me feel better around the holiday time which wasn't done. Two key things to do with kids these days, especially if they attend public school, is to make the Eidain seem like the 2 most incredible days of the year, and the second thing is to help them understand why we do not celebrate any other holidays besides these two and not be lenient with them.

"Separation of church and state" is such a lie. There was never a time in school where the winter holidays were not celebrated. Before the holiday break would begin, the list would circulate the classroom asking us to jot down what we'd bring in for the party. Even though the Eids were great for me, I'd get hundreds of dollars and have fun visiting my family until midnight, when it came to the un-Islamic holidays my parents never taught me WHY we didn't celebrate it .So rather than understanding why, I felt left out at school.

During my elementary school days I'd get caught up in the holiday hype. I looked forward to Christmas parties, the numerous candy canes I'd go home with, the hot chocolate we'd drink in school, and by that time I had memorized all the Xmas songs that would play over and over on the teachers cassette player. When we'd go to the mall we'd stop for pics with Santa (lol I still cant believe we'd do this nonsense!).I exchanged gifts with all of my friends and bought gifts for my teachers as well. I'd turn on the TV and watch all the xmas specials. In the stores xmas songs would be blaring and decorations would be everywhere, even in the towns streets lights would be strung around trees and illuminated snowflakes were on each lamppost. It was inescapable, anything you bought came in a red bag. Even the Oreos came in red cream, Santa was on every can of Coke, and Hershey Kisses wrappers were festive as well. Everyone on the block would have decorations on their lawns, blow up snowmen, prancing reindeer, and light up santas. The Jews would have their menorahs displayed at the window. I'd collected dozens on dreidels by the time I was in high school and understood what each of the 4 symbols stood for.

Halloween, Easter, New Year, Valentines Day, and Thanksgiving were no exception. Again, there was non-stop commercialization on TV and in all the stores. In middle school I was in the schools chorus and memorized songs about xmas morning, hannukah, and even kwanzaa. 10 year olds were paying to have anonymous roses sent as Valentines and I couldnt help but feel flattered when I received one. Now when I think back to it I was only 10, what the heck?! We weren't Turkey people, but on Thanksgiving my mom would bake a chicken and we'd sit down at the table and eat dinner together, one of the few times we'd even do that. On New Years we'd stay up and watch the ball drop, I taped a paper with my 'New Years Resolutions' on the wall in my bedroom. I'd take great pride in making my Mother's and Father's Day presents at school... the list goes on...

Finally when I just entered my teen years, the imaan in my household shot up. And I'm thankful that the explinations I never got when I was younger, at least my brother was getting in his childhood. He sat out during the holiday parties and concerts. He did his own type of crafts when everyone else made gift baskets for their moms or colored pictures of ties for their parents. He went to school in his usual clothes while everyone came in costumes... and halloween night while many of this friends were out trick or treating, he was where he was every night, at the masjid learning how to read the Qur'an and memorizing it. My parents were sure to explain to him that we have our own holidays to get excited about and shouldnt have anything to do with the rest. I too became more fond of Eid and brushed the holidays to the side when they came around, though my memories were still with me of days passed and traditions lost. But for the most part we had normal days when birthdays would come by, we kept our door shut when trick or treaters rang our bell and so on.

Some parents may think there's no big deal in giving kids some exposure during these holidays so they don't feel left out. But in my opinion it'll only confuse them and when they become older and need to stay away from these practices, they too will figure 'whats the big deal'? Really the best cure for this is spending time with your kids, explaining to them, and keeping them on the right path from the start.

-Before Ramadan came around my mom was sure to set aside a day for me to have my friends over for an iftar party and another day for my brother. She'd make whatever we wanted and we'd have a blast with our friends. Everyone would come dressed in their cute outfits and we'd have fun just eating and hanging out with each other. A week ahead of time we'd put lights up around the windows and a 'HAPPY RAMADAN/RAMADAN MUBARAK poster at our window. Just recently we found the light up Happy Ramadan/Eid sign and started using that. Sometimes we'd be the only ones with lights up in our windows on the block haha, but we liked that even our home, inside and out, reflected OUR holiday was here!

-The night before Eid we'd do a super clean up of the house, we'd iron our clothes and prepare sweets for the blessed day. Sometimes my mom even had weird urges to rearrange the furniture LOL. I enjoyed this preparation time because it was time in the kitchen with my mom making our favorite treats. We'd go outfit shopping together and shop for gifts for me to exchange with my friends.

-The day of Eid, of course everyone would enjoy that. We had our own custom of visiting family in the morning and making time for sick family members most importantly. My mom would never go empty-handed to someones house. My dad always took the last 10 days of Ramadan off and Eid as well. I felt bad for friends whos parents went to work. I understand sometimes you just cant get the day, but they wouldnt even make it exciting when theyd come home from work. Some friends on Eid ul Adha would even go to school. Come on, thats the Eid thats celebrated for 3 days and from day 1 people are treating it like nothing!

-The day we'd return to school after Eid my mom would give me something really nice to wear, hoping she'd prompt friends to ask me, "Why are you all dressed up?" And so I could answer, "Eid!!!" with this I was able to explain to lots of my friends what Eid was.

-Since I was nearing high school at this point, my mom would send treats for my brothers classmates at school and a book for them to read about the holiday of Eid. I really liked this because it gave my brother a chance to get excited over something in school and also these young children were being exposed to the fact that there are holidays out there they don't know about. Any non-Muslims my brother was really close with would be invited over for iftar parties too and would be able to watch my brother and the other Muslim kids make salah and my mom wouldn't exclude them when she bought Eid gifts for my brothers friends either.

-Though we never celebrated the Islamic New Year, my mom again would give us nice clothes to wear to school so we could tell people its the New Year for Muslims - even my teachers never knew that Muslims went by a different calendar. Through this eventually I was able to give one of my teachers a da'wah pamphlet explaining Islam because this triggered her interest in it. In middle school the few Muslims would get together and have iftar parties and invite some of the non Muslim teachers and classmates, I always admired some of them who fasted just for the day and some even for the entire month! Many of them asked for a copy of the Quran after experiencing a little bit of Ramadan.

-Even though we only celebrate the Eidain, many Muslims forget that Jumu'ah is also a special day for us. In the summertime and whenever we were off from school my mother would give us nicely ironed clothes to wear to Jumu'ah. The clothes we wore then we never wore for any other occasion unless it was really special. We'd leave early and be among the first people there. She'd let us have our friends over or let us spend time at our friends house. She'd cook something extra special on Fridays and was sure Thursday night to finish all her cleaning. There is not a single Friday I remember coming home from school and not seeing the lines from the vaccum on the carpet indicating she'd vaccumed and there would be a fresh smell in the air, sometimes oil burning in the corner or the carpet powder smell still lingering. The beds would have crisp, clean sheets and my father would come home early from work to attend Jumuah salah with us and take us out if we thought of anywhere to go.

Despite disliking my younger childhood memories of holidays and how my parents never helped me feel better about not celebrating xmas and so on... I cherish the memories I made in my early teen years when we started practicing and made our Islamic holidays more special. We never went on vacations or had over the top parties... actually we never had parties! haha... but the time we spent as a family, the special customs we had during Eid and Jumuah complete my childhood memories, and rank highest. When other Muslims are discussing what theyll wear to go trick or treating or the awesome turkey their mom made for Thanksgiving, or even now, the roses their husbands bought them on Valentines Day...I smile to myself and remember how wonderful my mother made Eid for us and the special feeling and warth that filled the home on these joyous days. Even when, alhamdulillah, my father returned from Hajj when I was a sophomore in high school - we didn't throw a big party or anything. We wrapped some presents he brought back for people, whoever visited was offered Zam Zam water, and spent time together and thanked Allah for his safe return. We huddled together in the room sipping hot chocolate while my father shared his Hajj stories for the next following nights. I loved how we didnt need to spend money or do over the top things to have fun with one another.

I hope inshaAllah as my family grows we can make the Eidain more and more special. I already enjoy Fridays when I iron my 1 year olds clothes and dress him nicely for Jumuah, and when my husband would occasionally dab Yusuf's head with some of his oil haha. I dont want my child(ren) to ever feel left out or anything during the holiday seasons, but like myself, to remember how much fun Eid is.

I pray the families of our generation, whether they have kids yet or not, can also practice these traditions in their household. I see more and more Muslims getting excited for Thanksgiving and birthdays than they do for Eid. More Muslims are making time to attend birthday and holiday parties than they are making time to go out for Jumuah. Its time we start cherishing our OWN holidays more and stop trying to fit in with everyone else and give time to their holidays, most of which now are unfortunately commercial and the true teachings and traditions are lost anyway.

Anti-FunSlides!!

2008-12-21T01:04:00.005-05:00

FunSlides Infomercial here

Okay this is probably THEE DUMBEST toy I have ever seen. Come on! I remember when I was younger and my mother would use her machine to shampoo the carpet, my younger brother and I would dig under the bed to get my fathers' reject slippers which were leathery on the bottom. The living room rug would still be damp and the furniture would be moved out of the way since my mom needed to clean underneath the sofas and all the corners. Whenever the coast was clear we'd take turns putting them on, taking a running start and sliding through the living room. It was fun I admit it. But it was one of those things that got old after a few minutes and we'd move onto something else. Our mother of course scolded us whenever we did do it because it was dangerous, we of course never told her about the times we got hurt.

Now I turn on the TV and see a specialized product being sold to slide on the carpet. From watching the infomercial you can see that wherever these kids are sliding, there's virtually no furniture in the room. Of course not- you can't really slide unless there's vast space. They even have a specialized carpetted ramp set up, who has that in their home?? Where else other than the living can you use this thing? The hall? After watching this all I can imagine are kids sliding into pieces of furniture and some kid will probably try using it on their newly waxed floor and slam right into the wall! Plus, I just feel like kids these days won't have enough fun sliding on the carpet with these and will go out and use them on the ice or try to do wacko stunts with them.

Maybe cuz I'm not a kid anymore these things just seem weird and funny to me. Why not just do the real thing and go roller blading or ice skating?

The best part is, I got a good laugh reading some of what the makers call "Benefits of Carpet Skates":

*Children motivated to learn how to strap over shoes
*Helped manage interferring behaviors such as swearing, jumping up out of the seat, hand flapping and toe walking
*Great alternative to sliding on paper plates, etc..

Toe walking? Paper plates? HAHAHAHAHA. No seriously, this is what their site said, I didn't make it up!

Don't let him get away this time!

2008-12-17T22:23:00.008-05:00

Feeling bored?

Knock yourself out with this game

I mean - knock Bush out!

So far 15 hits is my highest, enjoy!

"Help Our Girls", The Beg Family

2008-12-15T22:55:00.000-05:00

“Need your prayers for Abeerah today. She having more frequent seizures this week. Thursday she had a seizure in school. Friday two seizure one seizure after other in school. And today she had another seizure at home which really shook me up. She bit on her tongue again and bleed during seizure. After 5 minutes, inserting DIastate she relief herself and fall a sleep. Unfortunatly Bilal was there with her watching and saw her. He got really upset and thought she is going to die and call 911. With taking care of Abeerah, i had to calm him down too. It had left a impact on him. I hate MPS. Some times moments comes in your life that you feel so helpless. Pain just shoot through your heart like some one stab you, stomach feel pains and eyes can't hold in the flow of your tears. Then what you do in times like this????
Moments like that comes a lot in my life and i live through holding my faith tight. I believe neither the good things of this world are forever, nor the bad things eternal. We are here for a short time. Pains and suffering are test and trial for some people. Allah allows some people to suffer in order to test their patience and steadfastness...” (continued here)

Can you imagine the joy after giving birth to three beautiful daughters and watching them grow into their infant years happy and like any other normal kid their age? Then suddenly their health begins to deteriorate and you’re disappointed time after time as you take them to numerous doctors to find out what is wrong, finally discover that the different diagnosis you’ve been getting are all wrong and your children are suffering from a rare, fatal illness? Your child goes from being happy and playful to being difficult to discipline. They become extremely active and suffer sleeping problems. To soothe themselves they begin chewing on anything they can grab, sometimes their own clothes or hands. Gradually language and understanding will be lost and so will the ability to properly use the bathroom. Then it will become difficult to feed themselves, walk, and potentially they can even lose the ability to walk altogether. And to top if off, they tend to have sudden seizures on and off.

…No, you can’t imagine this. Who could possibly imagine this happening to their child? For a friend of mine this is her reality, this is her day to day life. Not one or two, but all 3 of her lovely daughters suffer from Salfilippo syndrome (MPS). In short, these girls are basically missing a specific enzyme in their body to break down sugar molecules. Instead of these molecules being broken down and disposed, they store themselves into cells, thus causing progressive damage to the child.

Sister Tayyaba is one of the most humble and sweetest sisters I know. How she’s been dealing with this for almost a decade, I don’t know. She also has 2 sons, one which is autistic. Truly she is the bravest and strongest mother I know, may Allah always give her strength, ameen! I have no idea how she keeps up with her two sons and her sick daughters, making sure Ammar gets the proper attention he needs because of his autism, finding time to make Bilal feel like a normal kid, changing the girls diapers, feeding them, bathing them, cleaning up, making meals… just finding time to sit and clear her head… subhanAllah.

You can learn more about Tayyaba and her family by reading her journal I linked at the end of the journal excerpt above. Please take the time to navigate around the site and learn more about MPS and enjoy the pictures of her kids. And please please pleeeease sign her guestbook! Words of encouragement, love and du’as really do go a long way!!

She has a paypal link for donations, please send something to help with their whomping medical bills. I tried using the link and it didn’t work, please let me know if it works for you or not. She does have her address there anyway, checks can be sent to:

"Help Our Girls"

216 Manhattan Ave

Teaneck, NJ 07666

If you’d like to send something through paypal and the link doesn’t work, you can send it to me and I’ll get it to her, she lives a few blocks away from me alhamdulillah, you can even keep in contact with her to be sure she gets it. I hope most of you trust me since I’ve been collecting around $25,000 for a while for this project too. MashaAllah she is a sweet sister. I wish I knew more about her family before my son was born so I could go over and lend a helping hand. I know some sisters who would go there and help mashaAllah, I dunno how they even do it. I think I would break down in tears, but in time I’m sure you get used to it and know you’re doing something good.

What bothers me is cases like these go forgotten. I know whenever any of her daughters are in the hospital sometimes kids in the area make cards for them and all… but aren’t they suffering too when they’re home? Don’t they need that love and affection in their home as well? I’m sure everyday brings a new hurdle to Tayyaba and her husband brother Zarrar.

Please post post a link back to my blog or her site on your page or as your face book status or profile info or anything to make people aware of what’s going on, in hopes that they may contribute something - even if it is also just to pass the word along.

SubhanAllah it makes you think how simple our days are and how we may be tested from time to time, but for others their entire life is a test… and we only pray that Allah gives them the best in the akhirah for everything they are enduring here inshaAllah. Again please keep the Beg family in your du’as and pass the word along, please sign the guestbook and send even if it’s $5 to help the girls out. It would be nice to even form a habit of sending $5 every month or something like this. Because once you give your contribution we shouldn’t forget them, because there will always be the need for help. Let’s not be of those people who hear of something, get emotional about it, and forget it the next week.

JazakumAllahu khayran and may Allah grant ease and happiness to all families suffering like this but make the best of their days, ameen!

Islamic survey!

2008-12-13T23:25:00.001-05:00

It's about time I got one of these! A friend emailed it to me and I had to fill it out since it wasn't like any of those other bozo surveys I've gotten where the questions do not apply to Muslims at all! Enjoy, and feel free to fill it out yourself, only after erasing my answers of course!

***

Name: Lazeena

Age: 20

Location: NJ, USA

Background: Guyanese

Spouse (if so, name and background): Abdul Malik, Colombian & European

How long have you been married? 2 1/2 years

Kids? Yusuf, 13 months

Are you a revert? technically speaking, no, but sometimes I consider myself one since I wasn't always practicing. My husband is a revert, about 5 or 6 years strong now alhamdulillah

Have you been to Hajj or Umrah? No, hoping to someday inshaAllah, it's my mahr!

How many masaajid have you been to? Wow.. um..Darul Islah, Nida ul Islam, Minhaj ul Quran, ICPC, Masjid Omar, Ansar us Sunnah, NIA of Newark, Islam Education Center of North Hudson, Masjid Rahmah, Masjid Farooq, 96th street masjid, Masjid Tawheed, Masjid Taqwa, Nugget Masjid, Islamic Society of North Jersey, Masjid al Abadein, Masjid Ashabil Yameen, Muslim Social Club, and maybe about 10 more masaajid I've stopped in at during traveling and don't know/can't remember the name of

Have you ever been involved with a masjid? Man, I used to live at the local masjid... after attending I started teaching summer classes, Saturday school, Sunday school, did office work, have done cleaning, attended Hifdh classes there and YM/halaqas there.. currently I still teach Sunday school. I can't see myself NOT doing anything there

Who are some of your favorite lectures by? Imam Anwar al Awlaki, Dawud Adib, Imam Abdul Malik, Khalid Yasin,Yasir Birjas, Muhammad al Shareef, okay basically all of the Al Maghrib instructors, and some of the local khateebs even

Who are some of your favorite recitors? Mahmoud Tablawi!!! Muhammad Jibreel!!! MashaAllahhh! Ahmed Al Haddad, Yousef Mouti, Abdul Basit Abdus Samad of course.... Imam Ajami, Hafidh Idris, my husband =) and any random kid on YouTube mashaAllah

Some of your favorite Islamic books? Don't Be Sad, The Ideal Muslimah, Zaad ul Ma'ad, Return of the Pharaoh, any books with small hisorical stories with morals, like Gems and Jewels, the Qur'an of course tops all.

Decribe your most memorable Eid: When I wasn't married I always enjoyed visiting extended family members, now that I'm married and have my son, I enjoy our small family adventures as well alhamdulillah, each Eid offers something new

When did you first start fasting? When I was 7 alhamdulillah, fasting full days! woohoo!

When did you start hijab? When I was 12, in 7th grade.. I was a fake hijabi for some time, with short sleeves and tight jeans haha.

What's your usual outift like when you go out? abayah, hijab, niqaab.. I only like pashmina and khimar type hijabs, the 45" square ones seem too small too me.

What do you like about blogging? I like meeting sisters all over the world who see things the way I do and have the same views as I do as well. It's always nice reading someones thoughts and smiling to yourself thinking they took the words right out of your mouth. alhamdulillah. I wish there was some weird virtual way we could meet one another though!

Describe your first feelings wearing hijab
Hijab: I was really insecure honestly. I didn't even understand much about it, though I was the one who chose to wear it. I felt worse when the first day of school when I wore it these girls were telling other girls to stop being friends with me, I felt like melting! But then there were those other friends who stopped being friends with the bully because of her negative attitude and I realized some people are just losers and I was thankful for my friends alhamdulillah.
Abayah: I was relieved wearing it honestly. Finally there was an end to finding matching tunics and loose pants with matching hijabs and accessories. Getting dressed in the morning was so much easier and I didn't need to spend an extra 10 minutes turning in the mirror to see if anything was showing or was too tight!
Niqaab: I was very confident wearing niqaab alhamdulillah. It took time getting used to something on my face, a lot of foods crashed into my niqaab when I first started and forgot to lift and taste haha.. but alhamdulillah I was overjoyed to put it on. After waiting almost 2 years for my parents to approve and still starting without their approval anyway, I actually felt at home in it alhamdulillah. Niqaabi love!

How do you pin your hijab? The only pinnable hijabs I wear are shaylas/pashminas so I keep one side really long, pin it under my chin, wrap the long part over my head and pin it with s traight pin. I made sure the front covers the way it should and then theres a long piece in the back providing extra coverage for the backyard ;)

Highlight the countries you know Muslims from: Antarctica, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cambodia, Chechnya, China, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Fiji, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Malaysia, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Philippines, Qatar, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Spain, Taiwan, Trinidad Tobago, Turkey, Yemen, Yugoslavia

What was on the last prayer mat you made salah on? It's gray, green, black, blue and red, just some huge multicolored triangles on it. They need to start making some solid colored prayer mats, with some of the crazy intricate designs I see on some prayer mats, I don't see how people stay focused while praying!

What's your ideal iftar? Well, just dates for me when I break my fast, and maybe a sip of something. I don't do the whole samosa and 10 other appetizers thing, and wind up praying maghrib late! But for dinner, anything goes, just something warm and fulfilling. A Ramadan staple I do enjoy is rooh afza (aka Pakistani pink milk! haha)

What type of adhaan really gets to you? the kind where the masjid is filled with chatter and once the adhaan starts not even a pindrop can be heard, thats an amazing thing to hear mashaAllah

What's something that annoys you at Jummah: People taking calls during the khutbah! Or people reading Qur'an during the khutbah. Come on guys, you're not even supposed to respond to someones salaams during the khutbah, that's how focused you should be on the khateebs words!

What was the last surah you read? (not recited in salah) Al Furqan

Do you dry yourself after wudu? Sometimes, mostly when I do it's just my face because I have to put lotion on afterwards

Do you brush your teeth for fajr salah? HAHAHA uhh sometimes a quick brush or I use mouthwash, theres something off about praying with stank breath to me haha

Whats the last Islamic thing you've been involved with? helping to raise awareness and money for this family alhamdulillah

What was the last convention you went to? I've only been to 1 in my life - Masjid Rahmah's 2nd annual convention. Conventions never appealed to me that much ever since I'd ask people what it was like and they'd go on and on about what funny things brothers did there, what good bargains they got, and how many brothers and sisters they saw meeting up - no one tells me about the moving lectures! Isnt that the whole point??

Have you ever been part of an Islamic matrimonial site? No. But I don't think it's anything to be ashamed of if you have..

What color is the rug in the masjid you usually attend? green... I think all the masjids I generally go to have green carpets..

Is the masjid you usually attend separated? Yes there is a top floor for the brothers, bottom for the sisters. Whenever there aren't events there is a curtain in the middle and the brothers pray in the front portion, sisters in back.

Have you ever stood in a minbar? Haha, yes, and I've given fake khutbahs from it too

Have you ever washed a dead body before? No I haven't. I've only gotten as far as the room the masjid has to wash the body and keep the it in until the janazah

What's the last thing you ate in the masjid? Some Khasmiri food at a sisters nikaah

Where's the strangest place you've seen a Muslim working? I havent seen, of course, but a sister once told me she was working at a night club..?!

Have you ever posted a flier in the masjid? Yes haha

Rate your masjid's bathroom: I don't use it because from the reviews I've heard it isn't all that.. who likes using a bathroom other than their own anyways?

Have you ever used a bidet for istinja?:Yes, we used to have one. Thanks, I kinda miss it now!

What's the weirdest thing that happened to you in salah? The person next to me fell asleep and rolled over onto their side after we stood up from sujood. I think I had to break my prayer because I couldn't focus and was laughing!! I was so mad because it was tahajjud and I was so motivated to stand through the long prayer!

Isn't it annoying when the imam tells everyone to shut off their cell phones and someone's phone rings in the middle of salah? haha yess, it always happens! just put it on vibrate people! its only for 5 minutes!

What's some of the best halal food you've had (from a non Muslim country)?Popeyes in Canada!

What was it like when you found out skittles were haram? LOL I was in 2nd grade and the teacher gave some out because.. well I can't remember. My new Muslim buddy who moved from Texas waited until I ate some and then said "OOOOOOOOHH, THOSE ARE HARAM! THERE'S PIG INSIDE!" I didn't understand, there was no meaty texture to it, but I stopped eating them and gave them to someone else. My mom later explained pork was in them. Some months we bought Mentos and after bringing them home. My mom told me to take them to school and give them to my friends since I couldn't eat them. I handed mentos out to my friends and the one who told me skittles were haram asked for one. I handed her one and whispered in her ear, "Say Bismillah before you eat it cuz there's gelatin inside!" And she listened to me! hahaha! Okay we werent practicing then and I was young so I didn't know anything!

What's something haram that you think most people don't know? Your fiance and cousins are non mahram to you, you're supposed to treat them like any other random brother walking into the masjid. And Pepperidge Farm Goldfish have beef fat in them. Most people refuse to come to terms to that because they're so yummy. Recently I contacted a company about their soaps and the person mentioned that some of their FABRIC SOFTENERS have gelatin and beef fat in them - who'd of though?! Ironic question because I've recently started this

What's the craziest hijabi fashion you've seen? Someone wearing a headscarf and a salwar kameez, where the pants were capris, they were in high heels, the top had slits and you could see her stomach, there were no sleeves on the outfit, and it was lowcut in the front. Oh, did I mention she was a niqaabi??? This was at the airport, she was waiting for someones arrival. I wanted to puke.

What did you like about this survey?? That it didn't ask dumb questions like 'whos the last person you kissed', 'what does your breath smell like', and 'how drunk were you last night?' totally relatable questions! We need more Islamic surveys like these!

Homemade whipped cream

2008-12-10T21:16:00.000-05:00

I can't believe how easy this is and how great it came out. I'm kicking myself for not trying it before. It tasted just like the store bought stuff, but I could taste the freshness!

You'll need:
-1/2 pint heavy cream
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 to 2 tbs confectioners sugar (I heard granulated sugar works fine as well)

Directions:
1) Pour the cream into a big bowl (if you don't have a stand up mixer) to avoid cream splashing everywhere!

2) Beat the cream on medium for 30-40 seconds, you'll see it thickening a little, then add the vanilla and sugar

3) Beat again for another 30-50 seconds until it's the consistancy you like! Taste for if the sugar is enough, if not add some more and mix for a couple seconds.

And that's it!

It made enough for me to cover an entire pie (in a traditional sized pie pan) with more leftover. I'm sure it'll be great on pancakes. I'm about to make some hot chocolate and add some on top =)

It's been in the fridge since yesterday afternoon and it hasn't melted/deflated yet, so thus far all I can tell you is it lasts at least 1 day and 1/2.

Here's a simple chocolate pudding pie I made that I used the whipped cream for, so easy but tastes really good. It's so versatile as well, you can play around with different pudding flavors. The 'authentic' recipe uses chocolate though, which my husband loves.

All I did was layer honey graham crackers with pudding in a pie dish, 3 layers of crackers, and 2 layers of pudding. Then I added the whipped cream on top. Let it sit in the fridge and the graham crackers will soften and then dig in! (This is pretty much like an 'icebox cake')

You can probably also play around with the whipped cream, like instead of vanilla, add almond extract or anything else!

Yayy for homemade whipped cream. If you try it out lemme know how it is! Or leave some suggestions here for us =)

First Qur'an in Nepali

2008-12-09T23:15:00.000-05:00

I came across this article and realized I never gave thought to the fact that there may still be countries that do not yet have the Qur'an available in their language, and are still learning about Islam for the first time as we speak.

Alhamdulillah on Eid the country of Nepal was given it's first Qur'an in Nepali, as well as other small Nepali speaking communities in Asia.

Click the link to read about it!

Coilless hijab pins

2008-12-07T01:49:00.001-05:00

One day while I was surfing the net for some new hijabs and niqaabs I came across a website advertising 'coil-less hijab pins'. Finally! They've come up with a safety pin without the nasrty coil on the end that would ALWAYS get stuck and caught up in my hijab. So many hijabs of mine have been ruined after getting stuck in the coil. I'd have to sit and try and twist the pin out and in even more dire cases, cut the pin off. I have a nice hijab with an almost dime sized hole in it because of that! I actually have to calculate and try tying the hijab in a way so the hole doesn't show, so I don't waste the hijab and just not use it.

I decided to give these a shot. I bought a pack from a website and they soon arrived. I opened the small ziplock bag and poured the 5 pins in the pack onto my dresser and proceeded to open one. Of course, unlike the coiled pins, it didn't spring open, since there was no coil. It opened and the straight part of the pin to go through the hijab just stayed in place haha. I bent the piece with the tip back and stuck it through my hijab and pinned it. I felt happy, no more messed up hijabs!

Okay I was so wrong! When I got home and it was time to take my hijab off, instead of my hijab getting caught in the coil, it got caught in the head!! .. and now I couldn't even unpin the hijab! After minutes of strugging, I slipped my hijab off from my head and took a look at the mess trying to figure out how to get the pin out. Finally I did get it out, but not until I messed up the hijab, a very small hole, but still one. I always wear my hijabs the same way, and pin it in the same place, so no harm done really, it can't be seen. But I pay good money for my hijabs and don't want them messed up and I'm tired of wasting time unpinning my hijab like it was some type brain teaser!

For me, these pins weren't a solution. Has anyone else tried the coil-less pins. How'd it work for you? I mean coil-less or not, there are some days alhamdulillah the pin comes out clean and some days it causes damage.

I've never been a fan of the chunky plastic pins. They always break on me. I've had too many episodes in high school of me sneezing and the pin breaking and the plastic part flying across the room haha! This is another reason why I like khimars, no pin necessary! (that's if the hole fits your head exactly)

The idea for these were really good, but now they need to work on making a hijab friendly safety pin head!

Another Blog

2008-12-04T04:13:00.001-05:00

Okay so I've made another blog.

I know what you're thinking... "She can't keep up with this one, why another blog?!"

My new blog serves for a specific purpose inshaAllah, and I have a feeling that I'll probably be updating more there than here.

But this one is going nowhere! It's here to stay and inshaAllah I'll stop putting off entries of all the thoughts buzzing around in my head. But for now check this out inshaAllah

JazakumAllahu khayran all!

ISITHALAL.BLOGSPOT.COM

Halloween is lame

2008-10-27T12:03:00.001-04:00

Aside from being a Pagan celebration... Halloween just seems so played out. It seems to be the same thing every year, the same candy corn, the same costumes, the same Halloween specials on TV, the same decorations, the same parties, the same practices, the same traditions, the same candy, the same themes of black cats, ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and mummies... and it seems every year less and less kids are out trick or treating.

In my 20 years nothing has changed about Halloween... maybe this is because I don't celebrate it, but I feel like it's so boring and lame now, or maybe the Halloween hype is more for younger children... but even then I started feeling annoyed when the month of October crept around the corner.

This is one of the beautiful things about the Eidain. They will always be different. Ramadan will always start at a different time of the year, some years we'll be sipping hot chocolate for iftaar, eating ripe apples and seasonal pumpkin pie, or having popsicles on the front porch before Taraweeh and ice cold beverages to break our fasts with in the summers' scorching heat... it'll always be different seasonally. Therefore, just the season alone will have something different to offer inshaAllah, it'll help make it all the more enjoyable! Eid does have it's common traditions as well, but it seems to me every year there's something new to look forward too.

When Thanksgiving ends, it'll be the same decorated lawns, candy canes in all the stores, potbellied Santas in malls, the same Christmas specials on TV.. I guess this is enjoyable for those who do celebrate it, but it seems stale to me. Where's the umph?

***

On another note: In NY we lived in an apartment and no one came trick or treating at our apartment door. When we moved to NJ and October came around my mom started seeing shows and commercials related to Halloween and trick or treating. This was the first time since she moved to America that she would come face to face with the holiday since we'd just moved into a house. She grew anxious for the little kids who would come knocking on our door seeking candy. We were NOT practicing then, so getting involved seemed to be a must. We never even considered we could just not open the door or put a sign up saying we didn't have candy.

My mom went out and bought dozens of bags of candies and even bought zip lock bags and goody bags to package them in hahaha. For the entire week ahead I'd come home from school and help her pack the bags with candy. Each bag probably had a minimum of 15 candies! We had hundreds of bags too, all sitting in a box by the door waiting for the night of the 31st.

When that night came, I sat by the door waiting to give the bags out and see everyone in their costumes. I recognized some classmates and for some reason felt obliged to give them 3 bags of candy each haha. Every child who's parent came up to the door with them commented on the bags of candies we gave out. Finally a family friend came with her son to the door and also said something about the bag of candy, telling my mom she really went out of her way and was in the 'Halloween spirit'. "Isn't this how you do it?" My mom asked her. The woman laughed at her and said you just take 2 candies or something out of a jumbo sized variety bag of candy and put it in the kids bags, not make your own stuffed goody bags. We felt dumb! Not to mention at the end of the night we had more than 200 bags still left!! What were we thinking? LOL!

I'm sure other people who just move to America have their own first Halloween stories. This is the only holiday where you REALLY interact with your neighbors and community members because they show up at your doorstep begging for candy. All other holidays are pretty much observed alone at home with your families or in churches.

Why are Muslims STILL Smoking Sheesha?

2008-10-23T21:15:00.000-04:00

I think I've received the email entitled 'Doctors say sheesha/hookay may be more dangerous than smoking cigarettes' more than 25 times, thus I know many people I know and countless other Muslims must have gotten this same email.

I'm sure more than half of these people didn't even read it, or even take the title of the article to heart.

I still can't believe I see so many pictures of brothers and sisters lounging around, INTERMINGLING, and smoking sheesha together. I think if I see another bearded brother or hijabi blowing smoke I'll barf. Seriously guys, it looks so disgusting to see Muslim people doing this.

I understand in some Muslim countries it's customary, but custom strikes out when it steps to the plate against Islam. Not to mention most people smoking sheesha uptook this custom right here in the US after it became popular.

I think just because it's done in Muslim countries that put comfort and reassurance in some Muslims hearts that this is something we could do without feeling bad about it. The same goes for the kifayah/shemagh design which has become so popular and almost every clothing line has some article of clothing with the design. I rarely saw Muslims wearing their kifayahs before, but ever since Rachel Ray's paisly scarf confusion, I've been seeing kifayah prints everywhere and morebrothers and sisters feel more comfortable, but firstly, fashionable and accepted wearing it. Props to the brothers in Islam who went out with their kifayahs before it became a fashion statement. Many people who wear it for fashion (mostly non Muslims) don't even know where the print originated from or what it stands for.

Anyway, call me a fool, but after receiving all those emails about hookah being dangerous, I felt kind of happy because I figured more Muslims would stop, but it seems more people are doing it. My heart aches from seeing brothers and sisters giggling and sitting next to each other smoking away, this is truly one of the saddest images I have seen subhanAllah. It just looks so wrong.

May Allah help guide us all, ameen!

The pictures are up!

2008-10-01T01:34:00.000-04:00

www.alghaithigirls.com if you want to see pics from our visit!

Eid Mubarak, Kullu 'aam wa antum bikhayr to all!

Ramadan Woes

2008-09-27T13:35:00.000-04:00

I find that a lot of people each year are losing the essence of Ramadan. It's becoming more and more 'fun' and 'traditional' rather than a moving spiritual experience and focusing on self discipline and reflection. This year I've seen it more than ever!

Iftar get togethers are more about (girls mainly) getting glammed up and cooking so much food that half is wasted at the end of the night. I've spoken to several people who didn't even fast that day just to taste the food properly and make sure that it was just perfect.

The barakah of suhoor and iftar are lost with all these extravagant meals which fall into salah time making people pray Fajr and Maghrib a good 20 minutes late!

For some reason, there are some people who think, at the most, praying only Fajr and Maghrib is necessary and they neglect the other prayers of the day. That's not to forget those who don't pray all day and then bust their feet for 2 hours at taraweeh salah!

For many tweens, their parents allow them to go to the masjid and act like taraweeh is one big playdate/get together with all their friends they don't usually see on a daily basis. It is nice to see these people all together in one place, but come on, keep the socialization to a minimum please!

Sisters have been acting very beastly (for lack of better words.. =) )when the masjid kitchen door is left open and there is iftar food left there. Just the other day I saw a woman using a high heeled show trying to break a lock on a closet to find bowls to pack biryani and kheer in. What's sad is that they KNOW this food is left behind for the brothers in 'itikaaf! "It's so much food, what difference does it make if we take some!" Stop acting like you didn't eat before you got to the masjid or have empty cupboards at home!

While at the masjid one night a girl complained to me that her mother is planning to drag her and her siblings out to what is called 'shabeena'. Some masaajid do this, where basically they complete the entire Qur'an in qiyaamul layl within 3 nights. So unlike taraweeh which is 1 juz per night, this is 10 juzzes (I can't remember the plural in Arabic.. haha) that they try to complete between taraweeh and suhoor time. Last year I went by for the first time to see what it was like and saw most of the women chilling in the kitchen chomping away on goodies that were made for the nightlong stay, while kids ran around with bloodshot eyes like maniacs. They needed sleep, but because their friends were there they went bonkers chasing one another and beating their friends. Smaller children laid on the cold tiles asleep, being jumped over by bigger kids and waking up on and off from the loud noise. What sucked was that a lot of these kids still had to go to school in the morning! It bothered me that a lot of these women were hanging out and not even praying, yet inconveniecing their children and wrecking their sleeping pattern, for what? And for those who were praying, I know myself that praying in the masjid is much more motivating than at home.... but why drag them out like that if you know they won't be comfortable or will be causing trouble? As a mother your priority are your children and making decisions that are best for them, especially when it pertains to something you could be doing at home. It's a sacrifice that has to be made until the children become older.

This is one though that I haven't seen until this year. One day while going for Jumu'ah salah I saw someones van pass by blasting Indian music, the following night I heard someone listening to R&B or something while looking for parking outside the masjid. Seriously...? Just last night I went to an iftar and girls were talking about the latest song and how much they liked it and what artist was better looking than the other. When it was time to break our fast we weren't sure if it was the correct time, a girl proceeded to put the date to her mouth and her friend said "NO 5 MORE MINUTES! " The girl stuffed the date in her mouth "5 minutes only, does it really make a difference... I'm so hungry!" Uhmm...?! What's going on?!

Unfortunately I think there will never be a Ramadan free of these things but we can try and make sure we aren't involved in these oddities. I'm not trying to say I'm perfect, there was a time when I probably did most of these things. But the difference lies in changing once you learn you're doing something wrong, whereas some change and others ignore their duties. Allah help us all, I still can't believe Ramadan is near to done! =(

Helping Young Burn Victims, The Al-Ghaithi Family

2008-09-14T02:18:00.001-04:00

I feel as though I've posted this in 51 different places (which I most likely have!) but I am currently working on a sadaqah project and felt obliged to fill you all in, and hopefully you choose to get involved.

About a year ago a Yemeni family suffered from a natural gas explosion in their apartment, just two weeks after moving in. Wife and mother, Alouf, died as a result, leaving behind her husband and four badly burned daughters. They were all in the hospital and just about a month ago the eldest was released. Finally the family is all together and just moved out of a homeless shelter into a new home. The girls' grandmother came from Yemen to help Brother Rassas (their father, and her son) with the girls. As you can imagine having four ill/disabled/recovering girls under the age of six is a burdening task. 3 1/2 year old Lina is now blind as a result of the fire, and her eldest sister Duaa lost three fingers and wears a nylon compression suit 23 hours a day to reduce scarring on her body which was 60% burned. She had to learn to roll, sit, walk, eat, speak and even breathe normally all over again during her stay at the hospital, subhanAllah.

I was shocked to read Brother Rassas was ONLY 29 years old, subhanAllah. When my husband and I went to visit him and his daughters at the hospital I knew he was young, but not that young. Clearly the grief and worry has aged him physically and I cannot imagine everything going through his mind, on top of that he is suffering from posttraumatic stress disorder. He needs to find a job, his mothers visa is up in November and he is yet to know if she will be allowed to stay. Who will look after the girls if he is at work and she must return to Yemen? They receive nurse visits everyday and have frequent visits to the hospital, some of them have several surgeries they will have to undergo in the future. They lost everything and have to start from scratch, I cannot imagine how many bills have piled up for Br. Rassas, and what not. Nevertheless, right off the bat I saw he was a humble and softspoken brother the day we visited him. He was filled with joy and was excited to take us from room to room in the Pediatrics Intensive Care Unit to see his daughters. He would walk in the kiss them on the head, showing us pictures of how they looked before the blast. It was so difficult to look at the small body laying helplessly on the hospital bed with tubes coming from every possible place, her body covered in vaseline to prevent her burnt skin from drying out, her eyes were closed. "No see," Br. Rassas told us in his poor English, pointing to Lina's eyes. At that point, she had just had her 3rd birthday.

***

So far my husband and I have collected about $1,1oo.00 for them. We will continue to take donations until the 26th of this month, as we would like to give them this gift for Eid, give or take a day or two. We've received donations from people as big as $200 and as small as $5, even pocket change is acceptable. Just think how much we can gather if people even give just $1. I don't see why people should be ashamed to give that, I would feel ashamed to give nothing.

This is the perfect time, Ramadan, to purify our intentions and do what we can to help the Ummah. This is a family who have no one else to turn to and have been, walhamdulillah, receiving donations from non-Muslims. What about the Muslims? What about the Ummah reaching out to each other? Here is our brother in need, our young sisters learning to cope without the loss of their mother and with new challenges ahead, and we couldn't even give a few dollars to ease their burden? I urge each of you who read this to please give any small amount that you can, and don't just stop there... tell whoever you know. If you tell 20 people and you all give $1, that's $20 right there mashaAllah. We can easily raise a good amount for them inshaAllah.

So what can you do?

First off, if you have any questions or comments, you can email me at lazeena.hosain[AT]yahoo[DOT]com. If you feel this is a little shady, there are people right here on blogger who can inshaAllah vouch for me and HOPEFULLY my trustworthyness =P If not, I can send you their lawyers information and you can send a donation through them. I would hope you would trust the Muslim more though!

Anywho, here are your options:

A) Mail a check to me or a money order, if you email me I will send you my address

B) Send a donation via payal, which is under the same email address I wrote above

C) Send a donation through Western Union

If you think of any other possibility, by all means, let me know. And again, please don't feel lame giving even $2, seriously, it means something. This is an investment in your aakhirah inshaAllah and fulfilling your duties towards your brothers and sisters in need.

And most importantly, please do not forget to keep them in your du'as! If you get involved don't worry, I will keep you updated via email, here, or on facebook, if I have you added, on the status of the project and how much is being collected.

May Allah accept your intentions and actions this Ramadan and foreverrr! AMEEN!
JazakumAllahu khayran

Oh, and please check out this news clip of when Duaa was released from the hospital! : http://www.ny1news.com/content/top_stories/84818/girl-injured-in-harlem-explosion-leaves-hospital/Default.aspx?ap=1&Flash

Article with more detailed information: http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20085486&BRD=2731&PAG=461&dept_id=574902&rfi=_

Ramadan around the World!

2008-09-11T02:01:00.000-04:00

An Iranian man buys special sweets called 'zulbia' and 'bamieh' in a pastry shop in Tehran last year. Iran has shut down more than 200 eateries and warned 26,000 people for violating a ban on eating and offering food before sunset during Ramadan, Iran's deputy police chief has said

A Palestinian walks past an arranged Iftar meal, a meal breaking the fast during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, at a mosque in Balata refugee camp in the West Bank city of Nablus

A Kashmiri Muslim woman licks the walls [??!!?!?!?!!], as she prays inside the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Sheikh Hamza Makhdoom, commonly known as Sultan-Ul-Arifeen during holy month of Ramadan, in Srinagar, India

A Bosnian baker prepares traditional breads for Iftar

A Palestinian man prays outside the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif

A Palestinian Muslim girl looks out from her family house which is decorated with festive lights

Bangladeshi boatmen offer prayer during Ramadan, Islam's holiest month, as others wait for passengers in flooded Munshigonj district, 20 kilometers (12 miles) south of Dhaka, Bangladesh, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. Thousands of villagers have been displaced due to floods in northern Bangladesh

An Indonesian chef makes a finishing touch on a giant replica of a mosque made of chocolate at a hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, Sept. 8, 2008. The 5-meter (16.4 feet) tall chocolate mosque was made of 200 kilograms (441 lbs.) of chocolate

Jordan's King Abdullah prepares to kiss the Al-Hajar Al-Aswad, or black stone, as he performs the Umrah

An Iraqi baker prepares sweets for iftar

A Palestinian woman walks near the controversial Israeli barrier as she crosses a checkpoint in the West Bank city of Bethlehem

A newly released prisoner greets a relative as US troops look on in Al-Rashid, south of Baghdad, February 2008. The US military has said it plans to free 3,000 detainees held in Iraq during the month of Ramadan, taking the number of those released so far this year to more than 15,000

An Israeli border police officer gestures to a Palestinian Muslim family while they wait to cross at the Israeli army checkpoint at Kalandiya, between Ramallah and Jerusalem, Friday, Sept. 5, 2008. Around 90,000 Muslims congregated in Jerusalem for the first Friday prayers of the holy month of Ramadan

A Palestinian Muslim worshipper is backdropped by the Russian Orthodox Church

Workers dry vermicelli, a specialty eaten during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, in the southern Indian city of Hyderabad

Mubarak!

2008-08-31T21:11:00.000-04:00

كل عام وأنتم بخير

RAMADAN KAREEM!

Mubarak to all for making it to yet another blessed month of Ramadan! Please use the time wisely and to your advantage! Allah has truly given us this month as a blessing!

It's taking me some time to get used to the fact that I'll be fasting tomorrow and the AC is on! haha All my life I can remember Ramadan being during the cool weather. My father would come in from Fajr salah with a red nose and frosted glasses, cups of hot chocolate for iftaar, watching 'smoke' escape our mouthes as we stood outside conversing at the masjid after taraweeh salah.... it's just so different... but mashaAllah it makes it all the more fun!

I can't wait to go to taraweeh once in a while, it will be hard with the baby and being that taraweeh starts at Yusuf's bedtime... but alhamdulillah! I'm excited to have iftaars at our place inshaAllah and I reallyyyy hope inshaAllah I can complete the entire Qur'an.

Last year because I was pushing the end of my pregnancy I could not fast and I felt so totally out of the game, but I'm back in this year and excited inshaAllah. I pray that I can form many traditions and warm feelings in my home for my family during this blessed month, and really embrace our beloved holiday.

May Allah increase us in faithfulness this Ramadan and preserve it for long after the month has left us, may He increase our ibadah. and may He increase us all in knowledge and patience in this month! AMEEN!

Dressing for Eid

2008-08-27T18:46:00.000-04:00

With Ramadan around the corner, I'm sure sisters who haven't already gotten their outfits for Eid are scrambling to get something nice now. Hopefully we can get that done with before the holy month begins, so we don't have to waste our precious time then running around and looking for something to wear.

An important thing to keep in mind, is just because it's Eid, doesn't mean we should forget our hijab. No, I don't mean remember to cover your hair before you leave the house! I mean, make sure that your Eid outfit adheres to the Islamic guideline for women's clothing. Unfortunately not a single Eid goes by where my heart aches to see sisters out in such flashy, revealing clothing.

Last year I was almost blinded by a sister in a sari (which exposed her belly) don't worry though, she remembered to cover her hair! (?!?) Her sari was covered in gold sequins and her arms were entirely exposed. We have to make sure we're not in flashy colors, or wearing anything with ornate details, which goes against the laws of hijab. Why? Because these intricate details call for attention.. and of course we can't help but wait to hear what compliments our friends will give us on our outfits, but don't forget the lurking eyes of brothers.. Also, don't forget that Allah is still watching us this day, and our angels will still be writing.

We can totally get decked out and not be over the top or go against true hijab. We don't need a whole container of beads dumped on an outfit, or a see through hijab, or parts other than our hands or face revealed. We don't need to be in 5 inch heals and wearing 10 bracelets on 1 arm which clink together making noise, which is similar to wear bells which are haram. Actually, a lot of them do have bells on them now! And please please don't get your nails done, you need wudu for Eid salah! And please don't get all ready for Eid salah, which is not a fard, and neglect the other 5 prayers for the day just because you don't want to make wudu and wash off your makeup. Making wudu will only make you more beautiful, inshaAllah! And no, perfumes are not suddenly permissible on this day either!

I know, I know, it's Eid. We wanna look nice. We're not just gonna roll out of bed, we'll get up early, do our makeup, make sure our clothes are nicely ironed, and our shoes look nice and neat. There's nothing wrong with wanting to look nice, but within the boundaries of Islam. For myself, I wear my usual plain clothes, just a new black abaya, this year it has a black rose embroidered on the sleeves, which isn't even that noticible, and a simple hijab, which I'm get to find, maybe in black or gray. I did have a mauve colored abaya with minimal silver detailing I was thinking about wearing... if I do wear it, then I'll just pull a plain abaya over it and take it off when I get to the masjid. On Eid the sisters get the entire masjid and the men pray out in the parking garage =P. For me, it's all about what I wear when I come back home. That's when I can get decked out. Married sisters, please invest in a beautiful outfit to wear at home on Eid! Heck, even if you're not married! Home is the place you can totally get dolled up, as much as you want, and not many of us take advantage of that. Stop preening and beautifying yourself for your friends outside and start doing it for your husbands and even just yourself inside!

And so here are some rules in case we've forgotten =)

CONDITIONS OF HIJAB:
1. It's not short, and it covers the entire body.
2. It's not transparent/thin so the body color or shape can be seen through.
3. It's not tight describing the body parts of the woman
4. That it does not resemble the dress of the men
5. That it does not resemble the dress of the disbelieving women
6. That it's not a decorated/adorned garment which attracts attention
7. That garment is not perfumed whereas others can smell it

Co-wifeys

2008-07-19T23:15:00.000-04:00

Like many other women, I can never imagine my husband with another wife. That's not to say that I don't accept it as a part of Islam. This I know, and will never deny, and I will always support polygyny because of the hikmah in it. And even if I did not see hikmah in it, it is a part of Islam, it is a law made by my Lord, and he is the All-Knowing. Hubbybi jokes sometimes and says he'll never take a second wife because he can't even split his time equally between me and the computer LOL.

Recently, polygyny has been a hot case within the media, and it's a wonder it isn't circling Islam for once haha. So many people are in a uproar, are disgusted by this practice. Now there are several documentaries inside the lives of co-wives. I can't speak for them, but from all I've watched, the majority of them are pleased with their lifestyle and enjoy the company of women who they get along with perfectly. They love that they have an extra hand around the house. They enjoy that they can relax a few nights as the other one is cooking or tending to other chores. They find it humorous that they can discuss their husband's odd ways with another woman yet without exposing him. They love being around their co-wives kids and having a big family. So why are others speaking for them and saying they are unhappy and mistreated? For sure there are definitely cases of polygyny where women are forced into it, are neglected, hate their co-wives, aren't cared for, and are straight up unhappy. But aren't single marriages the same? Single marriage all have these issues as well. Even relationships outside of marriage suffer from these ailments.

Now what really bothers me is the backwardness in a lot of people who reject polygyny. They screw up their faces at a man who takes two wives, he's a womenizer, a beast, a pig. However, if a man is marries and has an affair, it's okay, it's looked at as difficult for him to control his urges. She should forgive him and not leave him. "Everyone is tempted at some point or another" So this makes it okay? Why not have your husband married to a woman and know that he is with her, permissibly fulfilling his desires rather than creeping around your back with the secretary or some other nobody? Or flirting with other women who cross his path? Having mistresses? Who would prefer that? To add in, it irritates me so much that people view polygyny as 'fun' for the husband. What's so0o0o much fun about dealing with two women, meeting all their financial needs, possibly dealing with jealousy and bickering between the two, having to hear both of them nag, having to care for kids by both of them... it's double the work. One extra night with a woman really isn't worth all that headache I'm sure...

And now look at this... I was flipping though channels the other day and saw that there's a reality show featuring Hugh Hefner (founder of Playboy magazine) and his 3 girlfriends. (Seems as though there was once a time when he had 7 at one time) Hmm... it's okay? - even to the point that there's a popular TV show, for a man in his 80's to have 3 girlfriends? Not to mention that he was in his 70's when he took an 18 year old as his 3rd girlfriend. I believe that eldest of his girlfriends is pushing 30 or just hit it. So for him to have 3 girlfriends is okay? Accepted? BUT, if he were to marry them, which is a more acceptable way to be in a relationship with a woman, then he would be committing a crime and being a lewd man? How incredibly, stupidly twisted is that? And if a Muslim man marries a woman maximum 10 years younger than her, he is robbing the cradle. It just makes no sense at all. It's really disgusting how backwards society has become.

I don't even want to watch these specials on co-wives and polygyny because it really is twisted and makes no sense. I really don't know what to say... other than I hope Muslims can stop feeling ashamed of this aspect of Islam and realize there's nothing to be ashamed about. Look at how non Muslims are living their lives, look at what they accept as moral and immoral and look at how senseless their beliefs are. (Okay, duh, not all of them are like this haha) Buttt, yaknowww!!

Humiliation of our sisters

2008-06-18T15:29:00.000-04:00

Recently brothers unjustly being held in prisons in Morocco have been starving themselves in hopes that the head figures in the prison will stop tourmenting them.

Woman gathered outside (mostly wives, daughters, sisters, and mothers of these imprisoned men) and demonstrated against the foul way their husbands were being treated. Usually men do not attend these demonstrations because they would be handcuffed and dragged into jail right off the bat.

Recently some sisters were demonstrated, and this is what one of our beautiful sisters had to endure, humiliation in front of everyone from a lowlife shaytaan. May Allah give him what he deserves and elevate this sisters and others like her in this life and the hereafter, ameen.If they are treating the women this way, then imagine what they must be doing to the men inside..

This idiot scumbag threw this beautiful sister to the muddy ground WHILE her child was strapped to her by a baby sling... clearly a heartless shaytaan. Let me remind you, this is "Muslim" on Muslim action!

And despite the misery and hardships of having their male members in jail, these sisters are still steadfast in deen and have kept their hijab and iman intact, and are going out there to fight however they can for their families. These are the ironhearts of our Ummah, takbeer.

NEWS: Principal May Be Replaced After Muslim Presentation

2008-06-10T22:30:00.000-04:00

Here's some proof of the ignorance and Islamophobia that exsists in this nation subhanAllah.

HOUSTON -- The Friendswood school district board will meet Tuesday night to discuss the replacement of a principal who invited two Muslim women into her school to teach students about their culture, KPRC Local 2 reported.

The presentation created a controversy in the southeast-side town.

Approximately 800 seventh- and eighth-grade students saw a PowerPoint presentation put together by the Council on American-Islamic Relations just before school on May 22

Asma Siddiqi helped present it. She said it was simply meant to explain Muslim tradition and culture, not to promote the religion.

"I didn't expect people to get upset because, I mean, we were just there telling kids, you know, this is who we are," Siddiqi said. "I explained what the holy book was, which is the Koran."

But plenty of parents were upset, such as Kim Leago. She was angry that she was not told her eighth-grade son would attend the presentation.

"If they're going to squeeze in religion, which is not allowed in school, why did they choose that religion? With the war and everything, I just don't think that was the right choice," Leago said.

Principal Robin Lowe allowed CAIR to make the presentation because a few weeks before, a Muslim student had been bullied and beaten at the school.

But criticism from Leago and other parents, which was echoed on local talk radio programs, resulted in Lowe being reassigned.

That move upset parents who believe Lowe was made a scapegoat. Both sides will tell it to the school board Tuesday night.

http://www.click2houston.com/education/16562511/detail.html

So parents are more concerned that people came to the school to teach the kids what Islam really was, rather than the fact that a child was bullied and beaten up in school because of his religion? Now that's just sad. We're talking about the safety and well being of children here! What are these people so afraid of? It saddens me how people take small matters and totally blow them out of proportion- just like last week or so and the Rachel Ray in a 'kifayah' in a Dunkin Donuts add.... calm the heck down losers... it's REALLY not that serious!

A lot of times Muslims are blamed for being 'antisocial' and not educating their communities about Islam- which is partially true. But in many cases when we do stand up and try and inform people of who we are and how we too are just people tryna get by in life, they take it and flip it into us trying to convert or brainwash them. It's like no matter what we do, we'll be attacked. This is the time we live in... and yet I always like to keep in mind... we are still growing as a faith. Despite all this nonsense... Islam is gaining more and more followers everyday, walhamdulillah.

Dhikr Beans

2008-06-07T21:35:00.000-04:00

Yes, dhikr beans, not beads! Yesterday when pulling into the masjid parking lot on our way for Jumu'ah salah we saw a hearse easing it's way into a parking spot. Inna lillahi wa inni 'alayhi raji'oon. I walked into the masjid and saw the expected band of sisters sitting against the wall making dhikr, using beans to count as they went along.

A long white sheet was spread on the ground and numerous piles of kidney beans laid scattered atop. 1 pile for the subhanAllahs, another for the alhamdulillah, another for the Allahu akbars, and so on... Of course the piles stand for different things depending on the family and what practice they're used to.

I prayed my 2 raka'at of tahiyyatul masjid and sat in the back against the wall to wait for the khutbah to begin, we were about 20 minutes early though. So a sister comes up to me with a plate of beans and asks me to join on board the 'subhanAllah' team. I kindly refused and told the sister I'd prefer to make du'a for the deceased. She looked at me and pushed the plate into my face and said, "Someone just died, can't you take some time out to pray for them?"

I responded, "Yeah, but I prefer to make du'a." I was trying to find a polite way to maybe tell her that their method in 'praying' for the dead was empty, an odd innovation which would only bring barakah to themselves, but nothing came to mind so I just stayed silent and smiled at the sister and said to her, "May Allah bring ease to your family in such a hard time and may He have mercy on the deceased!" She raised and brow and walked away to the head bean counter and told her that I didn't want to use the beans.

After a minute or two the entire group of women turned and stared at me, clicking their tongues, shaking their heads, and whispering. Great- despite their mourning they can still take the time out to gossip about me. I looked down and tried to avoid eye contact with them despite feeling their eyes burning through my skin.

One of the younger girls in the group came up to me and silently sat down. After a few minutes she turned and asked me, "So you're just sitting here anyway, why can't you just make some zikr for my family?"

I turned to her and said, "In my opinion, I don't think that's a valid way to pray for someone who died. I personally never ran into any hadith where the Prophet (SAW) informed us to do that. So I think just quietly sitting and making du'a for them is the best thing to do. That's just my opinion."

So she gave me the answer I anticipated, "My family and all Muslims have been doing this for centuries, what makes it wrong?"

I repeated myself, "I'm just telling you my opinion, you know? I believe what I believe, and you believe what you believe."

"Well, whatever then. We're perfectly right." And she gets up and goes back to the group and of course tells them what I said.

Man!! I go to Jumu'ah (for the first time in 8 or 9 months, since the end of my pregnancy) and this is what happens? This is what's going down in the masjid on a blessed Friday? Ughh

The khutbah begins and I shake off the stares and try to focus on what the khateeb is saying despite the clinking of the beans. Okay, you're supposed to not do ANYTHING during the khutbah, not even reply to a persons salaams or hush them if they're making noise!

Well, the khutbah ends and salah is about to begin. One of the sisters asked the 'mourners' to fill in the gaps in one of the front lines and they all refused saying that they were too sad to make salah. WHAT?! So an elder sister goes up to them and asks, "So ALLof you can't pray..?"

One of them answers for the group and says, "No we can, but we are just too sad, too sad. We will watch."

"Your sadness is no excuse not to pray. The best thing you can do at this time is ask Allah to give them ease and not to forget yourself, not to forget your prayers." She received blank stares and the Imam said, ALLAHU AKBAR.

***

I wonder when this odd cylce of bean counting, grave worshipping, and masjid gossiping will end! It seems like an ongoing cycle that's being passed along to the next generation. It's very sad, I wish people would look more into their practices and be open to constructive criticism. Sometimes no matter how nice you try to be or how much you try and word something the right way, people still take it as something negative or flip it into something bad. Through criticism we will better ourselves, this is one the major ways we can do so. Even the most feared and 'fierce' of men, Umar ibn Khattab (RA) was corrected by a woman! Come on, the shaytaan would run in the opposite direction when this man came walking, subhanAllah! So who are we? Are we really tough? Are we really big shots where we have to be looking down on others and their suggestions rather than being the true bigger person and accepting our flaws? *sigh I await this time, and until then, I'll continue to make du'a for it inshaAllah

Is there food on my niqaab?

Hm?

Ramadan Without Dates??

How Long is Your Hand?

Oops..

Ramadan Drummer

This is why you don't get tattoos...

The Souq's Free Eid Giveaway *update*

Eid Giveaway! Free hijab, pin, and halal snack!

THIS is a Terrorist.

"She's lying... she's trying to fit in"

Ramadan `09 - Pics from around the world!

Female officers dress as Muslim women for a day

Police defend Muslim dress scheme

Shaikh Abdullah Hakim Quick's family's home was damaged by a fire this weekend!

Funny article about hijab

Bus driver tells Muslim woman to 'take off mask'

"Boys ages 9 to 14 charged with gang-raping 8-year-old girl in Phoenix"

Memorizing The Qur'an!

Abayas for sale!

Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'

Egypt mourns 'headscarf martyr'

I conquered the world...

"This life is not real. I conquered the world and it did not bring me satisfaction."

-Muhammad Ali

Deviant Sect: Ansaru Allah

"Every Soul Shall Taste Death"

'New Muslim Cool'

This should make up for my lack of updates =D I think...

Panorama of Representation of The Prophet's House (SAW)

"Best of Men":

Help for Homeless, Refugee, Widowed, & Orphan Muslims

I hate bugs!!!!

"Allah's Pharmacy"

Eww, why do you have facial hair??????

Punishing Kids in Public

**New Hijabs, Pins, Gummies and Other Candies!**

Honey Straws

Snow Ummah

"Show me your face!"

Thanks for your sweaty clothes!

Life is Precious

Speaking a different language in front of others

Female Farmers in Yemen

Be careful of what you demand

The Follow Gadget

The 9/11 Imposter

Oops!

Girls Schools Closing in Pakistan

Tribal Beauties

Hijab Salons

**Running Out of Halal Skittles**

Female Scholar in Egypt

13-Year Old Father: Update

13-Year Old Father

The Devil Prays

Valentine's Day & Romance

Death to Deodorant

Musulmanes Colombianos!

A naseeha no no

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

Breaking News! - Fiances are non-mahrams!

mmm... salmonella...?

"Aynal Islam? Aynal Muslimeen?"

Salaamz, Jazakz, and Stugz

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

Genocide in Ghazzah

Sikh Hospitality

Jews for Palestine

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

Be the change!

Bloodiest Day Since 1967

Muslims and the Holiday Season

Anti-FunSlides!!

Don't let him get away this time!

"Help Our Girls", The Beg Family

Islamic survey!

Homemade whipped cream

First Qur'an in Nepali

Coilless hijab pins

The Souq's Free Eid Giveaway update

New Hijabs, Pins, Gummies and Other Candies!

Running Out of Halal Skittles