Charity, Kindness, and Random musings

Today I really am feeling hungry, but I can handle it. I'm keeping my mind off the idea that hunger pain sharks are ripping at my stomach. OK, so it's not that bad. It's just uncomfortable. I believe I am keeping control of my temper. Haven't had an argument with my siblings yet. If they do something to irk my nerve, I just keep it low-key. Doing a great job over here, alhamdulilah! :D

Last night we did attend taraweeh prayer. I wore my blue abaya with a blue hijab and white under cap. My friends were all there. The sheik let his son and brother lead a few of the prayers this time, so we had three different types of recitations last night. Alhamdulilah, it was really nice. There were more men there than usual, but not many more women. That's usually the case at our masjid. My friends were talking of an organized sleep-over at the masjid. The young sisters in one room, and the brothers in another big room. To be quite honest, I don't think I would feel comfortable. For one, if we have to sleep in hijab that is no fun. If we don't, what if someone comes in? Two, I don't like waking up looking at a whole bunch of people who have just woken up. Three, what if someone steps on me while trying to get to the bathroom? No thank you, sleeping over at the masjid seems like a terrible idea. Maybe a huge late night get-together, but not a sleep over.
This morning for suhoor we had cheerios, apple sauce, and water. My Mom wasn't feeling well so we were expecting her to cook. I can cook, but I don't like to cook. Rather not risk burning our suhoor, so we just ate cereal. It was really yummy anyhow. I am still trying to memorize surah al-fajr. Tonight insha allah I will do Qu'ran. I don't know if we will be attending taraweeh at the masjid tonight. We'll see what my Dad says.

I have been thinking about giving charity. On my own. As an individual. What could I give as charity? I don't have much money, but I can knit. So I think I will find an organization to knit preemie baby hats for. That would be such a nice thing to do. I love babies. So insha allah I will try to do my best. What about you? May allah bless and reward us all! -Nisa

All I can think about is food...

This is the fourth day of Ramadan. I missed yesterdays post. You know how Mondays are, hectic. So, on Monday we had Oatmeal mixed with unsweetened apple sauce. It was soooo good, and so filling. It kept me full all through the day. I wasn't even really hungry until 7 PM came around, and the hunger pains started their attack. Alhamdulilah, that was a wholesome suhoor. Then we had Spanish rice and chicken for Iftar. We did not pray taraweeh at the masjid, my brother led it at home instead. Yesterday went by so quickly, I forgot that I was fasting. I practiced the surah Al-fajr yesterday for my daily dose of qu'ran. Beautiful surah with a beautiful meaning.

Today for suhoor we had cereal. I had Apple jacks and a banana. Yummy! I do not know what we will have for iftar tonight. I do think we are going to attend Taraweeh at the masjid tonight, so insha allah we will go. I will probably wear my blue abaya to the prayers if we do go. It is a little heavy, but I can handle it. It's not all that hot today either. It's actually very cool. Allah is ever merciful! I'm going to read surah al-fajr again today, insha allah. I have no idea what I will be buying for my friends for Eid. I will probably go to two festivals to do henna to make money. Then I can buy an Eid outfit, and gifts for my family & friends. May Allah bless and reward us all! - Nisa

I'm hungry!

This morning for suhoor my family had Oatmeal and peaches. It was delicious! I'm feeling a little hungry now though, but I think it's because we went out to visit Grandparents today and my aunt was cooking. So now I feel a little weak and hungry, but I only have three hours left! We read a few more pages of Surah al-baqarah after Fajr in both English and Arabic. My reading is getting better, alhamdulilah. Little bro still needs some help, but he reads very well.

I think my family is doing an amazing job of keeping good temper. No one seems irritated at all, and I know that I'm doing my best to avoid argument. That's probably one of my worst traits, quick tempered. Last night we attended Taraweeh prayer again at the masjid and we had Iftar there. I ate Moroccan cous cous, fried chicken, russian salad, Spanish rice, spiced chicken, and mixed rice. Oh, and a piece of chocolate frosted cake. When we came home I had some ice cream, a chocolate donut, and some pistachio nuts. Believe it or not, I did NOT eat as much as it seems. It all tasted /really/ good though. I mean, really.

So insha allah we will probably attend taraweeh prayer again. My Dad is making chicken enchiladas tonight for iftar. I truly do love Ramadan. May allah bless and reward us all - Nisa

The big day/Ramadan preperations

Tomorrow is the big day of our (my friends and I) big speech at a bigger masjid. I believe I told you ladies before that we will not be going to the really big masjid where we were supposed to go, but a doctor will be speaking so the people who asked us to speak switched it to a masjid smaller than the original, but bigger than ours. Alhamdulilah, we will have the honor of speaking either way. We will be speaking about the Wives of the Prophet instead of hijab. Everyone else speaking at the conference will be lecturing on Ramadan. Insha allah, I really hope everything goes well. I'm nervous, but super excited. We also have to cook something to bring, and we have no idea what to cook! Oh nooooo! Insha allah, I will probably wear my blue abaya to the conference because blue looks really nice on me. :D I love blue and pink clothing!

Have any of you begun preparing for Ramadan in any sort of way? The most that my family has been doing is preparing breakfast/dinner menu's for the four weeks of Ramadan, switching around schedules, deciding what to do for Eid gifts, and fasting on Mondays and Thursdays. We will probably be going to Iftar nights on Saturdays and Sundays at our local masjid. Everyone will have to cook something and bring it. Or, we can send something to the masjid for those that will be there. Either way, I'll be spending time with my friends and family during the holiest time of the year! Alhamdulilah! My family and I will also take turns reading the Qu'ran in the morning while we are cooking breakfast so that insha allah we will finish the entire Qu'ran before Eid day. I am knitting a scarf as a gift to give to someone, and I have plenty of other things on my list that I need to start knitting! I also need to find an Eid outfit, and I have no idea what it will be. So, how does your family prepare for Ramadan? Insha allah I will try to blog everyday of Ramadan, because I love documenting these things. It will be something to go back and read during next years Ramadan. Let the count down to Ramadan begin, I am fully prepared to bring myself closer to Allah, to finish the Qu'ran, and to spend time with family and friends! May Allah bless and reward us all! ~Nisa

Hey, you big, fat backbiter!

How many times have you sat around in the masjid or just at home on the cellphone bored? You start a conversation with your friend, and you talk about what you did over the weekend. The conversation slowly starts to die until your friend says;

"Hey, remember that really tall girl at the masjid?"

There are two types of back biting, the haraam and the halaal. I am going to address the haraam. Many Muslim girls and women do not actually realize they are backbiting until it is pointed out. Talking about how messy your sisters hijab looked, how bad her kids are, or how big that pimple was on sister Fatimah's face was are all forms are haraam backbiting. The excuse that, "No, it's not backbiting...I would say it to her face!" So why didn't you say it to her face when you were talking and laughing with her at the masjid on Sunday? Why wait until Tuesday afternoon to say something about it to someone else? The worst form of backbiting is making fun of someone behind their back to make someone else laugh!

"Jameelah smells like onions cause her Mama cooks Spanish Rice! Hahahaha!"

Do you not know what Allah says of backbiting, gossiping, and slander?

O you who believe! Avoid much suspicion, in deeds some suspicions are sins. And spy not neither backbite one another. Would one of you like to eat the flesh of his dead brother? You would hate it (so hate backbiting). And fear God, verily, God is the one who accepts repentance, Most Merciful. (Surah al-Hujurat ayah 12)

Backbiting is like eating the (human!) flesh of your brother or sister who is dead! How disgusting and repulsive is that? If backbiting is so hateful, why did you tell Amina that Sarah's fingers were bony and skinny? Even though sometimes you may not mean to backbite, you do. We all do. No one is perfect, yet we should try our hardest to avoid it. If you are bored, and you have nothing to talk about...you shouldn't invite people over to your house. That's where backbiting and gossiping usually stems from. Boredom. Keep yourself usefully active in the Muslim community, or talk about the future...anything except for someone else when they aren't present to defend themselves. This doesn't exclude non-muslims! Just because someone you are talking about is not Muslim, doesn't give you the right to talk about them!

Prophet Muhammad (saw) said: "Who protects his tongue from unlawful utterances and his private parts from illegal sexual intercourse, I shall guarantee him entrance into Paradise." (Bukhari and Muslim)

This is An-Nisa reminding you just in case you forgot! (Hehe Baba Ali!) May Allah bless and guide us all! ~ Nisa

You can't tell me that I'm wrong!

*Bismillah*

I am very, very, very upset to say that I have found this the case with a few blogs by young Muslim women out in blogosphere. They blog that they are going to do something haraam (proven by authentic hadith...etc), and then they tell their readers to not refute them! They say not to shoot hadiths or anything of the like at them. I'm sorry sisters, but if I see you doing something wrong; like it or not I'm going to tell you about it! If a Muslim sees another Muslim doing something wrong, and we don't say anything about it; we are also in the wrong. Why? Because we stood there watching you give into Shaitans whisperings. It's like standing by watching a Muslim steal a piece of candy (small as it is) from a store, and not say anything about it. The thing is that, it's not like you don't know what you are doing is wrong. You just don't like to be told that you are wrong, and that is a bad trait to have. To me it is just another form of arrogance; not liking to be told that you are wrong.

"When you see an evil act you have to stop it with your hand. If you can't, then at least speak out against it with your tongue. If you can't, then at least you have to hate it with all your heart. And this is the weakest of faith." - Prophet Muhammad (Sahih Muslim, Book 1, Number 79:)

If you don't like to be told that what you are doing is wrong, don't post it at all. No one wants to hear of your sinning if you KNOW that what you are doing is wrong. Because when you say; "Yeah, I'm going to slap on this load of bright makeup, and skinny jeans...DUN TELL ME THAT THIS IS HARAM CUS I DUN CARE!" really makes me want to throw the Qu'ran and Hadith in your face. However, I can't do that. I have to have adaab too. I have to correct you in a kind, understanding manner. I have to have hadith, and Qu'ran to back up my refutes. No, we shouldn't go around become the haraam police and saying "this is haraam, HARAAAM!!!". That's not the way to correct someone. We shouldn't be nit-picks and pick at everything someone is doing. Sometimes they don't know that what they are doing is wrong. We shouldn't correct people in a nasty way. Subhanallah! Subhanallah! I have seen so many Muslim's correct each other in such rude ways!! That is not the way to do things!

Narrated Anas bin Malik:

A bedouin urinated in the mosque and the people ran to (beat) him. Allah's Apostle said, "Do not interrupt his urination (i.e. let him finish)." Then the Prophet asked for a tumbler of water and poured the water over the place of urine. [Bukhari]

and another version from Sahih Muslim:

Anas ibn Maalik, who said:

“Whilst we were in the mosque with the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), a Bedouin came and stood urinating in the mosque. The Companions of the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Stop it! Stop it!’ But the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said, ‘Do not interrupt him; leave him alone.’ So they left him until he had finished urinating, then the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) called him and said to him, ‘In these mosques it is not right to do anything like urinating or defecating; they are only for remembering Allaah, praying and reading Qur`aan,’ or words to that effect. Then he commanded a man who was there to bring a bucket of water and throw it over the (urine), and he did so.” (Saheeh Muslim, no. 285).

Do you see how in that hadith something that the people wanted to attack the man for his doing something (wrong), and the prophet was kind about it? He solved the problem quickly, and maturely. He didn't get all in his face saying; HARAAM! So yeah brothers and sisters, correct your Muslim sisters and brothers correctly. For those that do know they are doing something wrong and don't like it pointed out...then please for the sake of Allah; stop what you are doing! Stop telling your fellow Muslims to not correct you! Stop it! Don't BLOG about something that you KNOW you are doing is haraam. We may not be Allah, but we are here to help guide you towards what is RIGHT.

In conclusion, sometimes taking the advice that you are given is better for you. I am not directing this towards anyone, I am simply making a statement. I am speaking out. Yes, I know how hard it is (especially as a young woman) to avoid doing some things. However, when you tell someone not to refute you; you are only making yourself seem arrogant, and wrong in two ways. One way because you sinned (or you are going to), and two because you know you sinned. You may tell us to let Allah deal with you, but Allah put us Muslims, parents, teachers, imam's, sheiks, and elders to help guide you. Do you really, truly want to answer to Allah for something that could have been easily avoided, and that a Muslim gave you advice on? Seriously? I'm sorry if I offended anyone with this post, but I have to state the truth. Usually I am the one who tells people things that no one else will say...and most of the time its the truth. May Allah bless and guide us all. - Nisa

Masjid Cliches, and Welcoming -RAWR!

*Bismiallah*

When you enter a seemingly innocent looking masjid, you suddenly see huddled in seperate groups; Eygptians with the Eygyptians, Morrocans with the Morrocans, African Americans with the African Americans, and Caucasians with the Caucasians. What the heck is wrong with this picture?

In Islam there is supposed to be no such thing as "race". We're all brothers and sisters no matter what color/culture...right? Sadly, this isn't reality, and this isn't the case at my masjid. I go to my masjid every week for my Qu'ran/Arabic classes. I also go to the many events they have, including the Family Day event. When my family first went to the Family Day gathering, it was so cliquish that me, my mom, and sister were literally sitting in a corner by ourselves. Untill I saw a group of four teenaged girls sitting across the room and I went to go talk to them, we were basically not warmly welcomed. It took all my courage because I am very shy to go over and talk to them. Alhamdulilah they were around my age and welcomed me. This was about three or four months ago, and one of those girls is my best friend...and so is her biological sister! The other two girls took a little longer to get used to us because they are so shy. We got to really know them when they went over my best friends house to eat dinner. Pretty cool huh?

At my masjid, newcomers in the Sisters rooms are generally ignored unless they jump up to introduce themselves. Cliches are also formed, but they aren't that bad. Muslims should be open to everyone. This isn't a Highschool, it's a Masjid! We don't group ourselves! We should welcome everyone no matter what their cultures/skin color may be. No matter what language they may speak! Seriously, how do you learn about other people if you stay in your own little bubble? Islam is supposed to destroy classification. We can't classify ourselves, we are all HUMAN. Didn't the Prophet Muhammad (SAW) say in his last sermon that no black is better than a white, and no white is better than a black? Islam doesn't tolerate groupies, let alone racism! We are brother and sisters, not aliens. We can identify to something a non-muslim can't. 

Besides not having cliches, we are supposed to greet those we know, and those we don't know. It's the Sunnah. Now when I go to my masjid and I see people sitting all alone while watching my friends and I laugh like a couple of lunatics, I get up and invite them over. Not only that, but I have encouraged my friends and younger sister to do this. Alhamdulilah. May Allah bless & guide us all. ~ Nisa