A Friend
Bismillah
A simple friend, when visiting, acts like a guest. A real friend opens your refrigerator and helps himself.
A simple friend has never seen you cry. A real friend has shoulders soggy from your tears.
A simple friend doesn’t know your parents’ first names. A real friend has their phone numbers in his address book.
A simple friend comes to attend your party. A real friend comes early to help you cook and stays late to help you clean.
A simple friend hates it when you call after he has gone to bed. A real friend asks you why you took so long to call.
A simple friend seeks to talk with you about your problems. A real friend seeks to help you with your problems.
A simple friend thinks the friendship is over when you have an argument. A real friend calls you after you had a fight.
A simple friend expects you to always be there for them. A real friend expects to always be there for you!
Amongst these two people, where do we fall into? Let’s try to be the best to our friends and with this, we will definitely create harmony. What do you think?
Taken from here.
Lista de cosas para hacer
Bismillah
Tengo una lista de cosas que tengo que hacer en las próximas semanas.
- Estudiar árabe y español. Tengo una clase de español que comienza en Marzo y tengo, insha’Allah, que prepararme para Fawakih en el verano. Recomiendo este programa!
- Hacer un plan para mi jardín. Ya es el final de Enero y es tiempo para prepararme. Quiero que el jardín de este año sea mejor que el anterior, de este año pasado. Bismillah!
- Voy a tomar parte en el reto para mejorar nuestra salud con Nourished Mama. Comienza este Lunes, insha’Allah! Vamos a evitar el azúcar y el trigo por un mes entero. Oh, sí, ejercicio cinco veces a la semana. Lo buene es que ya estoy haciendo ejercicio por lo menos tres veces a la semana.
- Ordenar mi casa. Tengo demasiadas cosas toda vía y tienen que salir porque tantas cosas enturbian mi mente.
- Terminar algunos de los libros que no he terminado para devolverlos a la biblioteca.
Todo esto mientras que al mismo tiempo tengo que pasar más tiempo con mi familia, crear mejores hábitos, y continuar el trayecto de la vida que incluye tantas cosas mas. Cuanto le pido a mi Creador que bendizca mi tiempo. آمين
Un creyente es el espejo de otro creyente
Bismillah
Ahora tuve un tiempo maravilloso con una de mis amigas mas cercanas. Mi amiga y yo comimos juntas, tuvimos una lección de costura con los niños, compartimos pensamientos y consejos. Tambien tuvimos una discusión sobre la fabricación de jabón. : )
Admito que no tengo muchas amigas cercanas. Considero esto una bendicion por la cual tengo que darle gracias a Allah porque me ha dado calidad y no cantidad. Cada vez que nos reunimos me beneficia de muchas maneras. Una visita durante la semana es suficiente para motivarme a mejorar mi vida. Alhamdulillah
Amistades como éstas son las que debemos proteger. Esta amiga mía es alguien quien ve mis defectos y me recuerda que tengo que mejorar. Es mi espejo y es lo que nuestro último Mensajero, Muhámmad, la paz y bendiciones de Allah sean con él, nos dijo: Un creyente es el espejo de otro creyente. Ahora yo me pregunto: ¿Qué tipo de espejo soy yo?
Allah is Merciful
Bismillah
Allah is soooooooo Merciful to us. Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.
Late night thoughts
Bismillah
Rhonda Jean, from Down to Earth, has started a series called Simple Living Series – Making the life you want. I finally sat down to write in my journal about the life I want the other day while at a dear friends house. I didn’t get to finish because as I started writing I realized just how much it is going to take to get to have the life I want. I don’t know why it is so hard to attain a life of simplicity, outdoor living, and dhikr. Allah bestows His Mercy on whom He wills. It’s not easy to stop shopping at a grocery store except for necessities, growing our own food and canning. It isn’t easy to avoid television, movies, music, etc., especially when you are still living in the city like us.
I’ve been thinking so much about the steps we’ve taken towards a better life, the back and forth with some things, and I’m grateful for these changes. It doesn’t just involve the healthier eating or shopping more at second hand stores. This also includes the awareness that the life that will lead to Allah doesn’t include television shows, sports shows, holding onto dunya, etc. All of this is work in progress, however. Especially for me. Change is very hard for me.
I’ve been thinking about making my own soap for a few months. Insha’Allah within the coming week I’ll finally be able to get what I need. It’s not time, money, or how to get there… I think I just need to stop being so scared to try new things. Anyone else experience this?
I haven’t started my 101 for 1001 ( I hope I got the numbers right). I do know that I want to get some good sewing done this year inshaAllah and finish my first quilt! I also thought about setting up a box in my room where throughout the year we collect homemade gifts and other cool things we find to give on special occasions, especially for the ‘eidayn. There is just something so amazingly beautiful and inspiring about giving gifts to people. It’s so much funner than receiving.
Khidmah… service. This is definitely a word to keep in mind this entire year.
I just ordered a book with our library called Amish Peace. It seems like it is going to be a wonderful read. I gotta wait till 4 people read it, though. Don’t know if I can hold off that long.
So many random thoughts and it is late.
I don’t miss blogging since returning home. I’m grateful for it. You’ll see this blog wind down quite a bit with the personal posts and move more to inspiring reads, quotes, and just things to remind us of what our aim should be as Muslim women (since this is “the Muslimah”). Our aim should be Allah, not dunya, not people, not fighting our deen. We’ve got our priorities messed up badly, fighting our natural roles and destroying our only chance of success. We live once. The reminders need to keep coming. I know I need them badly.
Few Thoughts Before We’re Off
Bismillah
We’re headed down to Florida for a week insha’Allah, leaving tomorrow morning. Alhamdulillah, I look forward to the break from the computer for an entire week, the winter snow, and the same ol things I see every day. Change is nice masha’Allah. We were supposed to leave Wednesday but my husband masha’Allah. What can I say? : ) It made packing a little more difficult and I prayed all day that I didn’t have an emotional breakdown from all the pressure of packing, cleaning, planning for someone to care for our pets, and all while I’m sick! I look forward to healing where there is sun and ocean, bi’idhnillah.
I’ve packed the teas, the agave nectar (out of honey for now), lectures, the crayons and paper, and all the essentials I know we will need. Packing for a trip like this really makes me think that I do not live like a stranger or a traveler on a path as the hadeeth of our Beloved Messenger (sallAllahu ‘alayhi wa sallam) says “Be in this world as though you were a stranger or a traveler on a path.” All this stuff, not knowing what to bring and what to leave, I just do not like it. I hate the feeling of being overwhelmed by things. I wish I could live my life with very few things, the necessities, and a little more for some comfort and warmth… but just enough… you know? Everything else is just too much.
I really don’t want a huge house someday with too many things. I do want a yurt because I love the simplicity of it. I want land. I’d love a little cottage… insha’Allah one day. But I want it small and with minimal things. I want the main purpose of my home to be a place where we cook, sleep, play, but a lot of our life is lived outdoors… and reading, contemplations. I want my impact on this earth to be minimal, not just for the sake of the Earth but for my own sanity.
I will make du’a’ for anyone I remember while travelling and in FL insha’Allah. Please keep us in your prayers and if you read this right away… please make du’a’ that I can sleep some tonight. Thanks!
New Layout on SeekersGuidance – Love it, masha’Allah!
Bismillah
Check out the new website for Seekers Guidance here. I’m in love. Masha’Allah. I love the white and green. Love, love, love it. Masha’Allah. May Allah continue to bless their efforts. Ameen!
Quoting My Child
Bismillah
The other day while in the car, my oldest son said to my husband something that really touched our hearts and encouraged us to keep doing what we are doing as parents, alhamdulillah.
Child: “Baba, why doesn’t grandma celebrate ‘eid?”
Parent: ”Because grandma is Christian and she has her own holiday.”
Child: “Christians should celebrate ‘eid. ‘Eid is so much fun baba.”
Parent: “You think so?”
Child: “Yes, ‘Eid is so much fun!”
[Not word for word but pretty close!!]
Alhamdulillah. Alhamdulillah.
That’s all I can say.
Re: Am I Conservative Yet? Or, Feeling Like a Stranger Amongst the Muslims
Bismillah
If you are to read this entry please read it in its entirety so that you do not misunderstand anything. A request, thank you.
Notetaker wrote a a post called Am I Conservative Yet? Or, Feeling Like a Stranger Amongst the Muslims that didn’t get as much talk around the blogosphere as it should have. Her post really made me think about my local community, the online Muslim community, and communities throughout the world, Muslim and non-Muslim. It brought to mind the abundant ignorance in our community about basic Shari’ah. It made me think about the spread of irreligiosity and the celebration for living a life without any sort of guidance. I want to share some of my thoughts that I couldn’t really get together when I first saw the feed on deenport…
When I first took my shahadah, I understood I had to undergo a lot of changes in my life. I knew I would have to start wearing a khimar (headscarf), learn to pray and pray 5 times a day, watch carefully who I befriended closely. I knew the whole boyfriend thing was a no no. I knew that controlling our anger was encouraged, etc. These are just examples. It was clear to me that accepting Islam meant I’d have to change my lifestyle. It didn’t mean it was going to be easy but I acknowledged it. I wanted to change my life because I believed in One Creator. I didn’t know about Ihsan but it was as if I already understood that Islam had a higher purpose… one that I had hoped would lead me to a better life. Ramadan came around and it wasn’t hard for me to just acknowledge that I had to control my anger. I remember telling my parents that if they angered me I might break my fast! It was so exciting. Maybe it was that I was so young, only 14, and hadn’t experienced much. My parents did shelter me, although at school it was a different thing. Maybe because I was still growing up and still very impressionable, maybe that is why it wasn’t hard for me to accept that I had to change and find my identity through my deen… Allah knows best.
What I see from American Muslims a lot, and part of the reason why I prefer to go to the smaller Masjid in my community, is an internal rebellion. It is quite apparent by the things that are said and done. I’ve been in Masaajid where Muslims fight certain basics of the deen, such as having to cover their bodies properly to make salah and having to lower their gazes. You can’t tell anyone anymore, it seems, even in private, that they have to cover their neck/chest and ears to pray because their prayer will not be valid. I’ve prayed next to women who do not cover anything at all and have felt horrible inside for not saying anything. I’ve said things in the past and have spoken to women in private, kindly, but I always feel like I’m walking on eggshells. It’s as if I can already hear the “I don’t care what you have to say! I’m American and I can do what I want!!” And it has happened.
I feel like a stranger in my own community. I go and I pray and that is what I am there for. There always seems to be some uproar about something, something that always starts because of ego. Really, this is the problem. As Muslims, we must be willing to re define ourselves and abandon old principles when we accept this faith, and this will happen if we are sincere. We can’t call ourselves Muslims and fight our faith at the same time. And I’m not saying that this means we are going to be doing everything and not struggle. We are going to struggle, some things will take a longer time, some won’t, some we may never get to. But we can’t fight them. We must acknowledge our faith and what it calls to. We can’t go on rejecting aspects of our faith simply because we are too weak to put them into practice. I struggle with my prayer but I can’t use that as an excuse to say its not obligatory or that I can pray whenever I just feel like it. Believe it or not, Muslims say these sorts of things. There are discussions even online about why women don’t have to cover at all and many people really do try to give da’wah to this and get offended if anything is said otherwise.
Those Muslims who stand up to this ignorance, even if its kindly, after waiting for the right moment (you know, with hikmah), do get called names, such as extremists, and told that they are ignoring more important issues. The truth is that these are cheap excuses to ignore the real issue at hand. I also think this points to deeper problems.
A lot of American converts who accept Islam are given da’wah by people and organizations who themselves don’t seem to see Islam beyond the 5 salawat at the Masjid. It seems that a lot of times the focus of the American Muslim community is to defend itself against attacks, suck up to people (this is exactly what it is!), and try to find new ways to fit in, even if it means going further and further from the proper way of doing things in Islam. How then will we as American converts get the message that our faith must become our new identity? The people around us themselves don’t get it! The responsibility that we have when we give da’wah is to call to tawheed and part of that is submission to the command of our Creator. What does submission mean to us anymore? La ilaha illa Allah by tongue and it stops there?
Again, we will struggle, and we may struggle a lot with basics, but we must atleast acknowledge the need for change and not fight it. It’s a scary line to cross. We should be encouraging each other to be more faithful, to hide our sins, to come together more for His sake. Our gatherings should have more conversation about Allah and ways that we can improve in this dunya. We should talk more about defeating the ego, accepting advice humbly, controlling our anger. We should be looking for the solutions in the Qur’an, the hadeeth books, books of tafaseer, and going to our scholars when we do not know.
I do feel like a stranger in my own community and sometimes I find myself sitting on my couch just thinking how it could be like if things were a little better. It would be easier to bring my children along more often and let them get to know more people… but I fear what people will tell them at this young age. I’ve heard so many horrible things from Muslim adults. We don’t even want to watch our tongues around our children. I fear that my children will become confused at this tender age and ask me why it is we do some things that other Muslims don’t… or why we don’t do some things that other Muslims do. It’s happened before many times and it has confused my 6 year old.
The Messenger of Allah (SallAllahu Alayhi wa sallam) said that his ummah (community), are like the bricks of a building, each strengthening the other. Our building is so weak and needs strengthened. I think it can start with our own small circles. We can come together more and talk more about ways of improving when we come together. It’s not always easy to be the first to bring it up when people don’t seem to care but its a struggle worth taking.
I don’t want anyone to misunderstand me and think I’m looking down on people who do not cover. This IS NOT what I am doing at all. Women struggle with hijab, prayer (I do!), and other basic things for many reasons. What I am saying is we must acknowledge our deen and what it calls to. Islam is about submission and obedience to our Creator. If this is understood from the beginning, what will be problem? It’s difficult, especially in the American context as this culture teaches us to think about I, I, I… but if it is Islam we are accepting then we need to realize that Islam and a lot of the American principles are complete opposites of one another and not compatible. Islam is what builds our identities. This also doesn’t mean that we abandon our cultures but that we should be vigilant and try and live a life that is pleasing to Him. It’s a blessing to be able to take the good and leave the bad.
Alhamdulillah for the blessing of Islam.
