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

Babies and small children! ♥

I love babies so much, I can describe them in one word. Adorable. Well, if someone asked me to describe babies in one word, I would. However, there's so many more words that I can describe them as. Adorable, fluffy, sweet, cuddly, cute, beautiful, a blessing, and all that mushy jazz. :) My teacher from my masjid just had a baby, and I had watched her baby grow while she was pregnant. It was so weird seeing her baby out of her stomach for the first time. The baby is beautiful (the picture to the left is not her)! I was amazed when I touched one of her perfect little toes. Masha Allah! I love babies so much!
At our masjid, there is a large community of small kids. On Family day events it gets kind of hard to control them all, but my friends & I do a pretty good job of keeping them in check. We play games, talk to them, and cuddle them (even though they aren't our children so we can't keep them! Lol). I cannot wait to get married, finish my schooling, and have myself a baby. Although, I am a little afraid of them growing up. Because when they are 18 you can't cuddle them like that anymore. Then what with all of the terror birth stories, I get really nervous. Other than my little fears, babies are such a reward. Ladies, if you have babies you should be sooo thankful! I am so jealous when I hear that someone is having a baby, but I am also excited for them too. Alhamdulilah.

All I can do for now is play those virtual "baby" games, and play with my baby doll. Lol. Insha allah one of these days I will be blessed with a little one myself. :) May Allah bless and guide us all! -Nisa

July Sisters Youth Conference

On Sunday my best friends, sister, and I had a conference. Before we began the conference, my friends & I helped set up the tables, podium, did henna (I did my Mom, myself, another girl, and Sis double you), and food. Then we talked, and had a little bit of then. When the people finally arrived, we talked about the Wives of the Prophet (saw), as I told you all before. It was great! All of my friends did their essays nicely, even my friend who doesn't speak English very well. She did amazing! This time we stood in the Musallah and spoke to the audience over speaker. Some people took pictures, and some took video recordings, alhamdulilah. Wipe the horrified look of your faces, there were no men. :P Not one, except for some sisters Husband and my friends brother. They stood outside for three hours waiting for us to finish when they didn't have to, subhanallah.

Afterwards we had a bake sale and henna art. My Mom made coconut pound cake and Patti Labelles carrot cake (I do NOT like carrot cake at all, but this cake was delicious! You NEED to try this cake! We didn't add raisins though.) My friend # 1 made home-made brownies and strawberry cake. Friends 2 & 3 made these Moroccan cookies that are made with honey, and strawberry cupcakes (she made 54!). Friend #4's mother burnt whatever she made. Friend #3 and I also did Henna Art. I had brought my portfolio, but she didn't bring hers...so she used one of my patterns. I did one little girl, and she did the little girls sister. When the conference was finished we made Asr, split up the remaining cakes among each working family, and went home. I was so tired! We were going to go to a soccer field to play soccer afterwards, but everyone was too tired, and it was too late!

As for my Henna, insha allah I will be having a Henna Art business because my customers that I do randomly really like my work. Insha allah I may also be doing Henna art for a bride at my masjid! I can't wait!! Next month we will be going to a big masjid that is a bit far away to do another conference on hijab. We are really excited about that too. We were supposed to be doing a speech on hijab at another masjid that is closer, but the sister wants us to do it in front of MEN and women. We were like, no way! So insha allah we we will see. May Allah bless and guide us all! ~Nisa

An-Nisa; oh no!

This coming week at my masjid we are having Girls Youth Gathering. People from other masjids are coming to our masjid, and we have to speak on the topic of the Wives of the Prophet (saw). Last month we put the names of the Wives in to a hat, and picked. I had to write an essay on Zainab bint Jahsh (R.A). I finished writing it last week. I really loved writing about her, she had such a beautiful story! If you ever get the chance, please read up on her. So yeah, I finished my essay and I am to read it on Sunday. I am the MC again (well, I was elected to be a permanent MC for our monthly girls youth gathering). I still have to write up a introduction, and the "quiz" for the end of the conference on the Prophets Wives.

We will have prizes for those that get answers right. Two gift certificates for free henna that costs $8.00's and under (from my bestie and I), hand made hijab pins, and my friends will probably think of some more ideas. That's all going to be in order, but that isn't the problem. The problem is that I'm being forced to learn an ayah (or a few verses) from surah An-Nisa because it has something about Hijab in it. It's really nerve wreaking! Plus, I need lots of practice before reciting in front of people, and lets face it; my voice isn't all that pretty to listen to. Make dua for me, please!

Insha allah, I hope this conference goes well. We are supposed to have a bake sale on that day too, and we are going to be raising money for our masjid again. I think my Mom is making mini cheese cakes and lemon pound cake. My bestie and I will be selling henna art again. I love doing henna art, it's so much fun to watch people smile at what they think is so beautiful on their hands. It makes me really happy inside. Alhamdulilah.

I don't know what I'm wearing this time. My bestie and other friends had planned to dress in green & white together. I don't have anything green and white. So I'll probably wear a black dress, and add color to it. I haven't decided, but whatever I decide I hope it'll be okay. On Saturday we have last minute rehearsal, and we have to organize everything for Sunday.

Oh, and remember the speech on hijab my friends and I did? Well, we are invited to TWO masjids because the people liked it so much! Both are really big masjids! However, at one masjid we might do our other speech on Adaab, because we are getting tired of doing the hijab one over and over again. Insha allah, we'll see! May Allah bless and guide us all! ~Nisa

All was well...

*Bismillah*

Last Saturday I went to the conference where I was to speak. I went early to help clean up the masjid, and arrange the food. My Mom made baked macaroni and potato salad...and I almost didn't get any! People started arriving while we were cleaning up, setting up food tables..etc. We were a little behind time when the actual conference started. The theme was about Prophet Muhammad's (saw) life and teachings. It was a pretty good conference, and about five Imam's spoke. The sheik of my masjid told my friends and I that next Sunday (this Sunday) we will have a sort of "quiz show" with maybe prizes (!!!). The lectures were mostly stuff that I knew already because I read the hadith a lot.

After the lectures we finally got to eat. I was starving because I didn't eat lunch before I left home. As we were getting our food, I looked for the food my Mom made. It was almost all gone! Luckily, my friend A saved me some potato salad. ;D I took some BBQ chicken (best BBQ chicken I have had so far!), Moroccan Couscous (that my friends Mom made...yummy! It's in the picture...I'm serious...it looks exactly like that!) , fried fish, corn muffins, Bread pudding, and some other chicken. There was a lot of chicken. Lol. Then after we ate, we did our hijab lecture! The Sisters really liked it! They liked it so much, that we are invited to speak again at a bigger masjid. :D I did henna on three guests at our masjid. So I made $15.00. My friend M did henna on one person. So together we made $20.00. I forgot to say we went up on our prices because people say my designs are pretty extravagant, and everyone wanted to give me a beat down for accidentally charging $5.00 a hand. Hehe. :P Ooops.

Sister1: (staring at my hand) "OOOH!! Who's doing the henna?"

Me: "Well, my friend and I."

Sister 2: "Really?! Mom, Mom...please?!"

Mother of two sisters (thinking):"Hmm...how much?"

Me (spur of moment thoughtbyaccident):" "$5.00 a hand."

Sister1: "Pleeaaase?!"

Mother of two sisters: "Okay, go get the money out of the car..."

Sister2 (runs off): "Kay!"

Sister 1 and Mother start ruffling through my designs I lay out. Both pick the same flower-vine hand design.

Sister 1: "I want it on both hands."

Mother: "Then I'd have to pay $20.00."

Sister1: "Yeah, I know."

Mother: "One hand is enough."

Sister2 comes back with money and needs change...goes off to find maintainer of masjid, Sis double you. Sister2 picks a design of swirls that goes all over the hand.

Sis Double You comes in to see the designs being taken place. She says to the two Sisters and mother;

"That's a $10.00 design you are getting."


I went home at about 9:30 PM. I had been there since 10:00 AM. Up at 8:00 because I had to help cook, and get dressed. There wasn't really a lot of people that I had expected, but there was ENOUGH people. People that I have never seen before in our community. Alhamdulilah, it was a really fun day. Insha allah, this summer for me this year will be really busy, and it will mostly evolve around my masjid...alhamdulilah! Oh, and everyone liked my dress! :) I also have more followers to my blog...Asalaam wa alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh everyone!! May Allah bless and guide us all! ~Nisa

The Breeze & the Update

*Bismiallah*

No, the day for my reciting event isn't here yet. The rehearsal is tomorrow, so insha'allah we will be going to the masjid then. I've prepared my index cards, and stuff. I think my friends and I will try to dress in the same outfit colors...hmmm. Oh, I can't find my shoes! :( I am so sad. I had everything all pretty and prepared, and now I can't find my shoes. They may be at the back of my closet, but it's not like I have a walk-in closet. All of my things are impeccably organized, so I have no reason to lose my shoes in my closet. I guess I'll have to keep looking. -sigh- Other than losing my shoes, my grandmother came all the way from another state to visit us & to see me speak! Not only that, but it was a surprise!

Last night as I was lying in my bed a soft breeze smelling of sweet, freshly cut grass blew through my window curtain. Where I live, we have been having cool, breezy weather. Sort of like, tropical weather. It's so nice! I was so thankful for that breeze (and many other breezes), I thanked Allah over and over again. There is nothing like a soft cooling breeze after a rather warm day! Allah is most merciful and compassionate! It set me to thinking about how we as humans take many things for granted in this life. Water, cool breezes, the sun, and the earth in general! We don't know how blessed we are until it's gone. Allah supplies us with the smallest things, yet do you thank him for it? Do you thank him for that beautiful, sunny comfortable day? Did you thank him for the water he gave you to quench your thirst? Did you thank him for that refreshing rain so that your garden could flourish beautifully? Did you thank him for the earth you live on? We should thank Allah everyday for the things we take for granted. We show our appreciation by obeying him, praying our five prayers, saying bismillah & alhamdulilah when we begin and finish eating, and praising him constantly!

"And (remember) when your Lord proclaimed: "If you give thanks (by accepting Faith and worshipping none but Allah), I will give you more (of My Blessings), but if you are thankless (i.e. disbelievers), verily! My Punishment is indeed severe." {Surah Ibrahim, ayat 7} May Allah bless and guide us all! ~Nisa

I'm going to recite at my masjid!

Yes ladies, you heard it. I'm going to recite and read poems at my masjid this week at a huge conference! I'm excited, and scared at the same time, and there will be alot of people. My friends & younger sister are going to speak on the importance of hijab. I'll be reading mostly poems on hijab, including the one I wrote myself.

Hijabi Personality
By: Nisa (anon)
I respect myself enough to cover.
From head to toe, my body is protected from the eyes of others.

I wear the hijab and I abide by the rules of adaab.
"You're a real beauty," comments my Dad.
I'm still beautiful even if I'm not scantily clad.

Wearing the hijab does not limit me,
I am entitled to my rights to think and be free.
I may be or do whatever I please.
Anything, as long as it doesn't conflict with my deen.

One of these days I will be something great.
People will respect me for my personality traits.
They won't ridicule me for my body weight, and
I will never have to look like an overdone fashion plate.

College is ahead on my future path.
Yes, I'll be studying that applied math,
when I'm done I'll relax in my bubble bath.

No, I won't spend my time over a kitchen stove,
I'll look deeper than that for my own dream treasure trove.

I'll explore the whole world if I must,
and hopefully my dear husband won't put up a fuss.


I'll play sports, soccer is fine.
If you want to catch me, I'll be by the goal line.

I'll kick off my shoes, and shuffle to bed.
I'll wake up in the morning with a tussled head.

06/17/09 EDIT: OH NO!! THERE WAS MORE TO MY POEM THAN JUST THIS. D: Insha allah I will post the rest soon.

Should I change anything? Don't be afraid to criticize!My main poem will be Baby it's all good. I'm sure many of you have heard of that poem. I will also recite a few surahs. My friends will be reading some essays and reading a few other poems. Then my best friend and I will do some henna. The last time we did henna at our masjid flea market and we made about $15.00. They were all non-Muslims though. So at this event, there will be nothing but Muslims. Insha allah we will make enough money to raise for our masjid trips. I got a pretty yellow dress to wear to the event. I can't find the exact dress, but it has thin rope straps with flowers. It also has little sequins running below the breast line. Here is something like what I will be wearing:

I haven't decided on a yellow hijab or a black one. Or both. I could wear a black under scarf with my Mom's soft yellow hijab. Or, the reverse. What do you think? Yes, I seriously wear glasses. Except, mine are not silver. They are brown. ;( So insha allah my friends and I will do good. We are going to the rehearsal a day before the actual event to help clean up the masjid etc. If you don't hear from me, you know I'm preparing my notes, practicing, making hijab pins, and brushing up on my henna art. Love you girls for the sake of Allah! May Allah bless and Guide us all ~ Nisa