Sisters' Retreat!

Assalamualaykum Everyone,

A request: Please make du'aa that the sisters' retreat this weekend goes off well and smoothly, and that it is a success in the eyes of Allah Ta'ala! (and that my voice is cooperative for the duration of the events!)

Jazakumallah Khayr!
May Allah Ta'ala accept our intentions and efforts..

Was'salaam
Shamira

A boy named Salem...

Assalamu alaykum,

Someone sent this to me; It has such a great message, Masha'Allah!

It's about muslim man named Rashid...

He Says. "I was not a practicing muslim, I had bad friends. I enjoyed going out with them. I was almost never home, but always at gatherings with friends, in these gatherings we backbited, gossiped and made fun of people.

I was especially known among my friends to make jokes and people were impressed by the way I was so good at it. One night (at the time I was 30 and married and my wife was pregnant with our 1st child) I was as usual gathered with my friends and talking useless talk. I was telling them how I was at the market one day and I saw a blind man and I put my leg out in front of this man and the blind man tripped and fell on his face. My friends laughed and so on.

When I went back home that night, my wife told me 'where have you been?' 'I am so tired and sick and I think I am in labor.' A tear dropped down her cheek.

I felt guilty, for I hadn't cared about my wife properly. I quickly took her to the hospital. She was in pain for a long time and could not give birth, I waited patiently, but eventually I left and told the hospital to call me when she gave birth. An hour later, they called telling me my wife had given birth to baby boy named Salem.

I quickly went to the hospital. I asked which room my wife was in.

They told me I 1st had to see the doctor. I got mad at them and said "What doctor? I want to see my son!?!" they insisted that I see the doctor first.

So I went to the doctor, she first talked to me about calamities and that one must accept the will (qadar) of Allah. Then she told me, 'your son is blind!' I lowered my head and remembered the blind man I tripped and made fun of. I didn't know what to say, I thanked the doctor for her kindness and went to see my wife.

My wife was not sad, rather she accepted the will of Allah . She had always advised me not to make fun of people and not to gossip and backbite. We left the hospital. I did not care about Salem, I did not like him, I pretended that he wasn't even in the house. But, my wife loved Salem very much and cared for him.

Salem grew and he began to crawl, he wasn't crawling properly. When he began to walk, we discovered that he was handicapped. This was too much for me.

Later, my wife gave birth to 2 boys, Omar and Khalid. Years passed, salem and his brothers grew. I continued to hang out with my bad friends and did not like to be at home. However, my wife was patient with me and she always made du'aa that Allah guide me.

One Friday, I woke up at 11 am (which was early for me) and was getting ready to go to a walimah (I did not go to Jummah). I got dressed, put on 'itr, and was about to head out the door when I saw Salem (who was 10 yrs old) crying very loudly in the living room. So, for the first time in 10 years I cared and went to ask him why he was crying.

When Salem felt me coming near, he stopped crying and pushed me away as if to say, "Now you care, where were you for the past 10 yrs!"

Salem was calling his mother and brothers, but no one was answering him, so he went to his room. I followed him. At first, he would not tell me why he was crying.

Do you know why he was crying? His brother Omar, who normally took him to the masjid, was late. Salem was afraid that since it was a Friday, he would not be able to get a spot in the
front row at the mosque. I said, "is that why you cried Salem?" Salem answered positively.

I, out of disbelief from what I heard, forgot about my friends and the walimah. I then told Salem that I would take him to the mosque.

Salem could not believe what he had heard. He thought his father was mocking him. He then began to cry. I wiped Salem's tears and took him by his hand to take him to the car.

Salem refused. He said the mosque is near, and he wants to walk there by foot. I could not remember the last time he went to the mosque. The mosque was full, but I was able to find a spot for Salem in the first row.

After prayer was over, Salem asked me to get him copy of the Qur'an. I thought, 'how can he want a Qur'an if he is blind!!!!' So I gave him one anyway so that his feelings would not be hurt. Salem then asked me to open to Surat al-Kahf. So when I opened it for him, Salem began to recite. He had memorized the entire surah.

I felt embarrassed and ashamed of myself. I took a Qur'an and began to read. I asked Allah for forgiveness and guidance. I then began to sob like a child. There were still people in the
mosque, so I tried to hide my tears. I couldn't. I began to sob loudly.

I felt a small hand wiping his tears away. It was Salem. He hugged me and I thought, 'you aren't the blind one, for I am, because I ran after the evil people who would drag me into
hell-fire.'

From that day on I never missed a prayer at the mosque. My wife was really happy. I left all my bad friends and tasted the sweetness of Imaan. I went to halaqas. I became closer to Allah and to my family. I thanked Allah for this great blessing.

One day my pious friends decided to go to a far away place to make da'wah. I hesitated about going, I made istikhaara and asked my wife, to my surprise she encouraged me to go. She was so happy, for before I used to travel w/o asking her. I told Salem that I would be traveling, he hugged me with his tiny arms, bidding me farewell.

I was away for 3 months and I would call my family and I missed them greatly, especially Salem. Whenever I called I would ask for him but he was either at school or the mosque.

Every time I told my wife how much I missed her, she would laugh cheerfully. Except for the last call, She did not laugh but her voice had changed. I told her to say salaam to Salem and she said "Insha'Allah" and was quiet.

I finally came back home and hoped Salem would open the door for me, but Khaled did. Then I saw my wife, her face had changed. I asked her "what's wrong?" she replied "nothing." Then I remembered Salem, and asked "where is he?" My wife lowered her head and did not answer. A tear dropped down her cheek.

I screamed at her, "where's Salem, where is he?'" My son Khaled (4 yrs old), said "Daddy, Thalem went to Jannah, he is with Allah." My wife could not handle it and she broke down in tears and left the room.

I found out later that Salem had got sick with a fever and went to hospital 2 weeks before I arrived. The fever worsened and his mother stayed by his side and until his soul departed his body...


...May Allah Ta'ala keep us steadfast on His Straight Path. Amin.

--
God gives and forgives. Man gets and forgets.

"Marriage = Marring?!" Winner!

Assalamualaykum wa Rahmatullah

We have a winner for the "marriage = marring?!" post! The winner, touhid, wrote:

salaamu 'alykum,

i believe by fulfilling the sunna of Marriage (by marrying), you are marring the nafs al-ammara?

Alhamdulillah, that is what I was intending as well--that by getting married you learn how to subdue your ego which incites to evil. This is further supported by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani who writes:

It is a strong confirmed sunna to get married. The hadiths about the virtues of marriage, motherhood, fatherhood, raising children, and married life are in the hundreds. The Messenger of Allah (Allah bless him and give him peace) said, "Marriage is from my sunna. Whoever turns away from my sunna is not of my people."

Marriage is a wonderful gift from Allah. It is also one of the best ways to subdue your self (nafs) and learn the meaning of sacrifice, sharing, and love. Turning away sinfully, however, would be if one disliked the concept of marriage, or did not marry while needing to get married. Otherwise, one is missing out on one of the keys to worldly and next-worldly joy and reward.

May Allah Ta'ala grant all of our brothers and sisters amazing spouses/partners in our lifelong journey to Him, and grant us all abundant tawfiq to strive against our nafs, our base desires, and be able to reach Him in the best of states, in this life and the next. Amin.

And Allah Ta'ala knows best.

Was'salaam,
Shamira

The Notorious Al-Gebra

A public school teacher was arrested today at Gatwick Airport as he
attempted to board a flight while in possession of a ruler, a
protractor, a set square, a slide rule, and a calculator.

At a morning press conference, Home Secretary John Reid said he
believes the man is a member of the notorious "Al-Gebra" movement. He
did not identify the man, who has been charged by the Met Police with
carrying weapons of Maths instruction. "Al-Gebra is a problem for us,"
Reid said.

"They desire solutions by means and extremes, and sometimes go off on
tangents in a search of absolute values. They use secret code names
like 'x' and `y` and refer to themselves as `unknowns, `but we have
determined they belong to a common denominator of the axis of medieval
with co-ordinates in every country. As the Greek philanderer Isosceles
used to say, "There are 3 sides to every triangle".

When asked to comment on the arrest, Prime Minister Tony Blair,
speaking from his holiday resort before the planes stopped flying,
said, "If God had wanted us to have better Weapons of Maths
Instruction, He would have given us more fingers and toes."

Rihla Reminiscence

For those of us who were not able to attend the Rihla to blessed Makkah and Madinah this year, at least we can read about some of the experiences shared by our fortunate brothers and sisters!

One such sister writes:

The rihla was so incredible that it's difficult for me to find the words to explain how I felt and how I still feel. Actually, how I feel right now is pretty simple - sad - that I had to leave at all. I can't even begin to describe to you the experiences we were made privy to. It doesn't even suffice just to say that we were blessed to be among our amazing shuyukh in the most sacred of cities in the world. It was a ni'mah beyond comprehension. Alhamdulillah, we visited many historic sites and prayed in so many masajid that I have trouble remembering which is which when I look back at the pictures. When I close my eyes, I picture myself inside Masjid Nabawi and I think that was the best part about being able to spend so much time there - we really got a chance to imbibe Madinah. Every morning after Fajr I have tears in my eyes because I miss Madinah so much. I wish that everyone could experience what we were so fortunate to live for 3 weeks - each day that takes me farther from our experience I struggle to keep my grasp on what I learned, what I witnessed, what I was so extremely blessed to be a part of. I've been slowly translating my notes onto my computer in hopes of sharing the gems of knowledge that were imparted to us to others who were unable to come. It's also been a good way of keeping in touch with all of the information we were given access to. I know you asked us to share a favorite experience, but I don't know if I can -subhan Allah, it was all so wonderful that every minute was my favorite!

Keep me in your duas insha Allah, and I will do the same for you.

Make du'aa!! (15th of Sha'ban!)

A sister's beautiful email that we should all take to heart and implement, insha'Allah:

This is the night where Allah requests the Angels to close our record books
for the past year and the following for the coming year is written: -

Our Rizq (sustenance) for the Year
The names of those to leave this world
The names of those who will be born
The difficulties and the good to come upon us in the world (etc. etc.)

THINGS TO DO ON THIS NIGHT:

READ A LOT OF ISTIGHFAAR
READ THE QURAAN
VISIT THE CEMETARY
FORGIVE YOUR PARENTS, FRIENDS & FAMILIES

Before the night of Bara'at (15th Shabaan) dawns upon us, I wish to take
this opportunity to ask you for forgiveness if ever I have said anything wrong or
hurtful to you in any way (intentionally or unintentionally)

May the Almighty Allah accept all your Dua's and shower his mercy &
Blessings upon you and your families, may Allah forgive us for all our sins
we have committed in the past and strengthen our hearts with Imaan and
love, may Allah accept all our dua's and all our good deeds for the past
year and keep our Muslim Ummah stronger than before while we strive
everyday to perfect it and stay united - INSHA-ALLAH!!!

Please make dua for all the deceased family and friends, the hungry &
destitute, who are suffering, all over the world whom we have forgotten,
let us make dua for all our Muslim Brothers and Sisters that aresuffering
hardship and difficulties wherever they may be situated around the world

Remember my family & me, in your dua's, as I will remember you in mine,
and may all our dua's be accepted INSHA-ALLAH!!

Wassalaam

Small Fish, Big Price (1 million Dhs Offered!)

A brother emailed:

Ok so I received this forward and just had to pass it on, though the news article is from April 2006. Subhanallah. I think this quote sums up miracles like this:

"God created the whole universe. It's not a big thing for Him to create a small fish with His name on it."

This is the link to the archived article on Gulf Today: Click Here

U.S. Muslims becoming a people apart

SHADOW OF SEPT. 11 PUSHES THEM OUT OF THE MELTING POT, INTO OWN COMMUNITIES

By Geneive Abdo

If only the Muslims in Europe -- with their hearts focused on the Islamic world and their carry-on liquids poised for destruction in the West -- could behave like the well-educated, secular and Americanizing Muslims in the United States, no one would have to worry.

So runs the comforting media narrative that has developed around the approximately 6 million Muslims in the United States, who are often portrayed as well-assimilated and willing to leave their religion and culture behind in pursuit of American values and lifestyle.

But over the past two years, I have traveled the country, visiting mosques, interviewing Muslim leaders and speaking to Muslim youths in universities and Islamic centers from New York to Michigan to California -- and I have encountered a different truth. I found few signs of London-style radicalism among Muslims in the United States. At the same time, the real story of American Muslims is one of accelerating alienation from the mainstream of U.S. life, with Muslims in this country choosing their Islamic identity over their American one.

A new generation of American Muslims -- living in the shadow of the Sept. 11 attacks -- is becoming more religious. They are more likely to take comfort in their own communities, and less likely to embrace the nation's fabled melting pot of shared values and common culture.

Part of this is linked to the resurgence of Islam over the past several decades, a growth as visible in Western Europe and the United States as it is in Egypt and Morocco. But the Sept. 11 attacks also had the dual effect of making American Muslims feel isolated in their adopted country, while pushing them to rediscover their faith.

From schools to language to religion, American Muslims are becoming a people apart. Young, first-generation American Muslim women -- whose parents were born in Egypt, Pakistan and other Islamic countries -- are wearing head scarves even if their mothers have left them behind; increasing numbers of young Muslims are attending Islamic schools and lectures; Muslim student associations in high schools and at colleges are proliferating; and the role of the mosque has evolved from strictly a place of worship to a center for socializing and for learning Arabic and Urdu as well as the Koran.

The men and women I spoke to -- all mosque-goers, most born in the United States to immigrants -- include students, activists, imams and everyday working Muslims. Almost without exception, they recall feeling under siege after Sept. 11, with FBI agents raiding their mosques and homes, neighbors eyeing them suspiciously and television programs portraying Muslims as the new enemies of the West.

Such feelings led them, they say, to adopt Islamic symbols -- the hijab, or head covering, for women and the kufi, or cap, for men -- as a defense mechanism. Many, such as Rehan, whom I met at a madrasah (religious school) in California with her husband, Ramy, also felt compelled to deepen their faith.

``After I covered, I changed,'' Rehan told me. ``I felt I wanted to give people a good impression of Islam. I wanted people to know how happy I am to be Muslim.'' But not everyone understood, she said, recalling an incident in a supermarket in 2003: ``The man next to me in the vegetable section said, `You'd be much more beautiful without that thing on your head. It's demeaning to women.' '' But to her the head scarf symbolized piety, not oppression.

A group of young college-educated women at the Dix mosque in Dearborn, Mich., described the challenges many Muslims face as they carve out their identity in the United States. I spoke with them in the winter of 2004, after they had been to the mosque one Sunday for a halaqa (a study circle) focused on integrating faith and daily life. They were in their twenties: Hayat, a psychologist; Ismahan, a computer scientist; and Fatma, a third-grade teacher.

Hayat said veiling was easier for her than it had been for her sister, 10 years her senior, because Hayat had more Muslim peers when she reached high school and felt far less pressure to conform to American ways. When she went on to the University of Michigan, she was surrounded for the first time by young Muslims who dared to show pride in their religion in a non-Muslim setting.

Fatma described the mosque as central to her future: ``What made me sane during years of public high school,'' she said, ``was coming to the halaqa every Sunday.'' Fatma was also quick to distinguish herself from other young Muslim women who embrace American mores. ``Some Muslims do anything to fit in. They drink. They date. My biggest fear is that I might assimilate to the American lifestyle so much that my modesty goes out the window.''

Imam Zaid Shakir -- who teaches at the Bay Area's Zaytuna Institute, America's only true madrasah -- refers to such young Muslims as the ``rejectionist generation.'' They are rejectionist, he says, because they turn their backs not only on absolutist religious interpretations, but also on America's secular ways. Many of these young American Muslims look to Shakir (and to celebrated Zaytuna founder Hamza Yusuf) for guidance on how to live pious lives in the United States.

I spent several days at one of the institute's ``mobile madrasahs,'' this one in San Jose, and watched hundreds of young Muslim professionals sit on cushioned folding chairs and listen intently as Yusuf delivered his lecture.

``Everywhere I go, I see Muslims,'' he told them. ``Go to the gas station and the airport. Muslims are present in the United States, and that was not true 20 years ago. There are more Muslims living outside the Dar al-Islam [Islamic countries, or literally the House of Islam] than ever. So we have to be strategic in our thinking, because people who are our enemies are strategic in their thinking.''

The ``enemies'' Yusuf referred to that day were not non-Muslims, but rather those who use Islam as a rationale for violence. For the students at this madrasah and for many Muslims I interviewed, their strategy focuses on public displays of their faith.

Being ambassadors of Islam is daring behavior when you consider that American Muslims live in a country where so many people are ignorant of -- if not hostile to -- their faith. In a Gallup poll this year, when U.S. respondents were asked what they admire about the Muslim world, the most common response was ``nothing'' (33 percent); the second most common was ``I don't know'' (22 percent).

Despite contemporary public opinion -- or perhaps because of it -- Muslim Americans consider Islam their defining characteristic, beyond any national identity. In this way, their experience in the United States resembles that of their co-religionists in Europe, where mosques are also growing, Islamic schools are being built, and practicing the faith is the center of life, particularly for the young generation.

In Europe and the United States, young Muslims are unifying around popular imams they believe understand the challenges they face in Western societies; these leaders include Yusuf in the United States and Amer Khaled, an Egyptian-born imam who lives in Britain. Thousands of young Muslims attend their lectures.

In my years of interviews, I found few indications of homegrown militancy among American Muslims. Indeed, thus far, they have proved they can compete economically with other Americans. Although the unemployment rate for Muslims in Britain is far higher than for most other groups, the average annual income of a Muslim household surpasses that of average American households. Yet, outside the workplace, Muslims retreat into the comfort zone of their mosques and Islamic schools.

It is too soon to say where the growing alienation of American Muslims will lead, but it seems clear that the factors contributing to it will endure. U.S. foreign policy persists in dividing Muslim and Western societies, making it harder still for Americans to realize that there is a difference between their Muslim neighbor and the plotter in London or the kidnapper in Baghdad.

---

GENEIVE ABDO (geneive.abdo@geneiveabdo.com) is the liaison for the Alliance of Civilizations at the United Nations and author of ``Mecca and Main Street: Muslim Life in America After 9/11'' (Oxford). She wrote this article for the Washington Post

Discussion topic! Re: Fasting

Assalamualaykum wa Rahmatullah!

Insha'Allah you are all well. A sister had a question (below), and I thought it would make a great discussion topic. We can share tips and encourage each other in our attempts to get closer to Allah Ta'ala. Please share whatever helpful suggestions you may have, insha'Allah, for the benefit of others (for example, I would think perhaps 'weaning' one's self off water during this month in preparation for the next? )

Any and all suggestions are welcome. May it be of benefit to others in similar situations!

Jazakallah khayr!

Sister's question: I am trying to prepare for a successful Ramadan and I heard that I should practice fasting to prepare my body. I have done well fasting from food in the past; however, it is the water part that kills me. I am part camel. I wake up at 7am and by 9am I have a headache if I don't get my water. What should I do? I was advised to store up early in the morning. Do you know of any other tricks that will help me get through the day without? I appreciate any suggestions you have...

--
The punishment of involving yourself in the love of material aspects is the deprivation of true love for Allah Ta'ala

- Ali ibn Abi Talib (ra)

Correction to "white days" of fasting

Assalamualaykum wa Rahmatullah--

Update: Please check local, lunar dates for the 13th, 14th and 15th of Sha'ban. I was told today that our local masjid in Northern California declared Saturday as the 15th of Sha'ban which commences Friday at Maghrib. Thus, the three days of fasting for the 'white days' would be Thursday, Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Please let me know if your local area differs. NOTE: I am referring to local sightings and not Saudi Arabia or other International sightings. I don't intend a debate for this posting, either..

Jazakallah khayr!

ps: I will soon post a reply to "marriage = marring?!" insha'Allah..but I'm still hoping for some (more) insightful responses!