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

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