Salam!
Bismillah
Today I started a FOOD blog to house all of my pictures and recipes!!
Cooking Through the Boredom...
I hope you guys enjoy! :-D
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Food Update
Salam!
Bismillah
So I think it will be good if I start making a weekly update of all my fooood. InshaAllah I will try to get on a regular schedule, lol.
So here is my latest food! Once again enjoy, and let me know if you want recipes. You can leave your e-mail or I can post in a blog comment, whatever is easiest for YOU!! :-D
My Flat Bread made with this recipe
Curry Chicken and Rice
Poppyseed Chicken, soooo good and soooo easy
Mini Whole Wheat Pizzas with Chicken
Hummus with ground beef and the bread shown above
Mint Tea
Chicken with thick Soy Sauce and Rice
Filled Rolls
Bismillah
So I think it will be good if I start making a weekly update of all my fooood. InshaAllah I will try to get on a regular schedule, lol.
So here is my latest food! Once again enjoy, and let me know if you want recipes. You can leave your e-mail or I can post in a blog comment, whatever is easiest for YOU!! :-D
My Flat Bread made with this recipe
Curry Chicken and Rice
Poppyseed Chicken, soooo good and soooo easy
Mini Whole Wheat Pizzas with Chicken
Hummus with ground beef and the bread shown above
Mint Tea
Chicken with thick Soy Sauce and Rice
Filled Rolls
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Making Wudu
Salam!
Bismillah
Does anyone else wake up at 4:30am and wish that sleep doesn't invalidate wudu?
Just wondering if I'm alone here...
BUUUT of course alhamdulillah in all circumstances. He knows better than we do. :)
Bismillah
Does anyone else wake up at 4:30am and wish that sleep doesn't invalidate wudu?
Just wondering if I'm alone here...
BUUUT of course alhamdulillah in all circumstances. He knows better than we do. :)
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
An Exercise
Salam!
Bismillah
Today I decided to try something new. Usually during the day (normally after each prayer) I will say subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, and Allahu akbar 33 times each. I realized as I did this that sometimes I was just zooming out and saying the words. I wasn't really thinking about what I was saying.
Sooo I decided to challenge myself and to in turn challenge you all with something.
Think of 33 things that are good things that are praiseworthy while you say subhanAllah.
Think of 33 things that you are thankful to God for while you say alhamdulillah.
Think of 33 ways that God shows you he is the greatest while you say Allahu akbar.
For example:
subhanAllah, the rain falls to nourish us
subhanAllah, He is All Knowing
...
alhamdulillah, I have a home to live in
alhamdulillah, I have a job
...
Allahu akbar, the earth moves around the sun
Allahu akbar, my heart pumps blood to all parts of my body
Really all these things could be said in any category, but try to come up with 99 different things every day!! I think it is a good exercise, especially if you find yourself losing concentration...
Bismillah
Today I decided to try something new. Usually during the day (normally after each prayer) I will say subhanAllah, alhamdulillah, and Allahu akbar 33 times each. I realized as I did this that sometimes I was just zooming out and saying the words. I wasn't really thinking about what I was saying.
Sooo I decided to challenge myself and to in turn challenge you all with something.
Think of 33 things that are good things that are praiseworthy while you say subhanAllah.
Think of 33 things that you are thankful to God for while you say alhamdulillah.
Think of 33 ways that God shows you he is the greatest while you say Allahu akbar.
For example:
subhanAllah, the rain falls to nourish us
subhanAllah, He is All Knowing
...
alhamdulillah, I have a home to live in
alhamdulillah, I have a job
...
Allahu akbar, the earth moves around the sun
Allahu akbar, my heart pumps blood to all parts of my body
Really all these things could be said in any category, but try to come up with 99 different things every day!! I think it is a good exercise, especially if you find yourself losing concentration...
Saturday, July 25, 2009
My Mini Adventure
Salam!
Bismillah
Today I spent a very nice and breezy morning outside in my backyard on a huge blanket reading books and blogs.
It was great!!
Alhamdulillah for grass and breezy summers!!!!!!!!!!
Bismillah
Today I spent a very nice and breezy morning outside in my backyard on a huge blanket reading books and blogs.
It was great!!
Alhamdulillah for grass and breezy summers!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Mooore Coooking
Salam!
Bismillah
I've been cooking up a storm lately! School is out and so I spend pretty much all of my time at home these days.
Enjoy, and let me know if you want any recipes.
Chicken Adobo from the Phillipines
Another Salad, Fattoush with Tuna
Marshmallow Fondant, like what you put on cakes
two layer cake with chocolate icing, covered in the marshmallow fondant shown above
Home Made Beef Stew
Blueberry Dump Cake, my grandmother's recipe
Oven Roasted Potatoes
Bismillah
I've been cooking up a storm lately! School is out and so I spend pretty much all of my time at home these days.
Enjoy, and let me know if you want any recipes.
Chicken Adobo from the Phillipines
Another Salad, Fattoush with Tuna
Marshmallow Fondant, like what you put on cakes
two layer cake with chocolate icing, covered in the marshmallow fondant shown above
Home Made Beef Stew
Blueberry Dump Cake, my grandmother's recipe
Oven Roasted Potatoes
Salams
Salam!
Bismillah
Today I recieved my first "salam" from a stranger in my community. I had heard reverts talk about this before, but had never experienced it myself :P
I was in Wal-mart shopping for broccoli and I walked around the corner of the produce section with my mom who has flaming red hair and was wearing a fuscia top with denim shorts, lol. These two guys looked up when I came around and looked me right in the face, which is not a normal reaction to someone in hijab here in the west. They looked at me all covered and said "asalamu alaikum" and I said "wa alaikum asalam" and kept walking. One of them called after me "where are you from?" and I wanted to be like "who cares?" but I said "I'm from here." and the guy said "Oh wow, that is fantastic." haha. That was it. Nothing else happened. But still it made me feel like was part of the community you know? Cool. Although it did make me a smidge uncomfortable when he looked straight at me. I wasn't really expecting that...
Also I saw a lady from the masjid with two of her children at Hobby Lobby. Her daugher is close to my age and attends my university and her son I think is in high school. They are all from Saudi. And let me tell you, mashaAllah her son did such a great job of lowering his gaze when I said salam to his sister and mother. My mom kept an eye on him while I was greeting the ladies, lol.
Anyway, everyone should definitely give salams when they see another muslim around. It feels really cool :-D
Bismillah
Today I recieved my first "salam" from a stranger in my community. I had heard reverts talk about this before, but had never experienced it myself :P
I was in Wal-mart shopping for broccoli and I walked around the corner of the produce section with my mom who has flaming red hair and was wearing a fuscia top with denim shorts, lol. These two guys looked up when I came around and looked me right in the face, which is not a normal reaction to someone in hijab here in the west. They looked at me all covered and said "asalamu alaikum" and I said "wa alaikum asalam" and kept walking. One of them called after me "where are you from?" and I wanted to be like "who cares?" but I said "I'm from here." and the guy said "Oh wow, that is fantastic." haha. That was it. Nothing else happened. But still it made me feel like was part of the community you know? Cool. Although it did make me a smidge uncomfortable when he looked straight at me. I wasn't really expecting that...
Also I saw a lady from the masjid with two of her children at Hobby Lobby. Her daugher is close to my age and attends my university and her son I think is in high school. They are all from Saudi. And let me tell you, mashaAllah her son did such a great job of lowering his gaze when I said salam to his sister and mother. My mom kept an eye on him while I was greeting the ladies, lol.
Anyway, everyone should definitely give salams when they see another muslim around. It feels really cool :-D
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Nationalism
Salam!
Bismillah
Shaykh bin Baz (rahimahullah) said regarding the evils of nationalism, "Indeed, Islaam has forbidden the calls of the Days of Ignorance (jaahiliyyah). There are many textual evidences that forbid all of the characteristics and deeds of these times of Ignorance, except for those (good) practices, which Islaam has condoned. And from that which there is no doubt of, is that the call to NATIONALISM is indeed one of these calls of Jaahiliyyah. This is because nationalism is a call to something other than Islaam and a support for something other than the truth. And how many crimes, evils and severe wars has such calls of Jaahiliyyah brought about upon the people, causing great harm to their souls, their wealth and their possessions. The consequences of such calls was a break in their (Muslim) unity, a harvesting of Enmity and Hatred for one another, in their hearts, and a splitting between them into tribes and nations!" (Taken from one of his beneficial books Naqd Al-Qawmiyyat-ul- ‘Arabiyyah (pp.39-44), which is a treatise refuting Arab nationalism.)
[both of these were taken from taraummomar.blogspot.com]
As a revert from America, I really don't understand the whole Nationalism thing. I mean yeah, America is cool and all, but I wouldn't ever consider someone a higher priority in my life just because they are from here or from my culture.
I see this kind of behavior a lot in Muslims that I have met. They want to marry someone from their "motherland." These people are Pakistani, African, Arab, Indian, you name it we got it. While I understand that it is good to keep your culture intact, I think that our MOST important and COMMON culture should be Islam, right? Isn't Islam what is most important to us all?
If we say that some people aren't eligible for us because they aren't from our culture or nation, isn't this making forbidden what Allah subhanu wa ta'ala made lawful for us? Isn't it true that we can pick spouses from all of the believers and that we are only different in levels of piety?
I think that nationalism is just a poor excuse for racism. A cover up. A sham.
Anyway just a thought...
Bismillah
Shaykh bin Baz (rahimahullah) said regarding the evils of nationalism, "Indeed, Islaam has forbidden the calls of the Days of Ignorance (jaahiliyyah). There are many textual evidences that forbid all of the characteristics and deeds of these times of Ignorance, except for those (good) practices, which Islaam has condoned. And from that which there is no doubt of, is that the call to NATIONALISM is indeed one of these calls of Jaahiliyyah. This is because nationalism is a call to something other than Islaam and a support for something other than the truth. And how many crimes, evils and severe wars has such calls of Jaahiliyyah brought about upon the people, causing great harm to their souls, their wealth and their possessions. The consequences of such calls was a break in their (Muslim) unity, a harvesting of Enmity and Hatred for one another, in their hearts, and a splitting between them into tribes and nations!" (Taken from one of his beneficial books Naqd Al-Qawmiyyat-ul- ‘Arabiyyah (pp.39-44), which is a treatise refuting Arab nationalism.)
[both of these were taken from taraummomar.blogspot.com]
As a revert from America, I really don't understand the whole Nationalism thing. I mean yeah, America is cool and all, but I wouldn't ever consider someone a higher priority in my life just because they are from here or from my culture.
I see this kind of behavior a lot in Muslims that I have met. They want to marry someone from their "motherland." These people are Pakistani, African, Arab, Indian, you name it we got it. While I understand that it is good to keep your culture intact, I think that our MOST important and COMMON culture should be Islam, right? Isn't Islam what is most important to us all?
If we say that some people aren't eligible for us because they aren't from our culture or nation, isn't this making forbidden what Allah subhanu wa ta'ala made lawful for us? Isn't it true that we can pick spouses from all of the believers and that we are only different in levels of piety?
I think that nationalism is just a poor excuse for racism. A cover up. A sham.
Anyway just a thought...
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Ma'amoul it is!
Salam!
Bismillah
So HERE is how I made the ma'amoul. I wasn't completely satisfied with the recipe, so next time I make it I will modify a little, inshaAllah. Traditionally this is made with a really cool wooden mold, but I don't have one so I just shaped them in my hand and decorated with a fork. Oh and you need to start it the night before!!
INGREDIENTS
Cookie:
1/2 cup shortening
8 tbsp butter
1 cup flour
2 cup semolina
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (next time I will use a little more)
2 tbsp rose water (next time I will use 1 tbsp rose water, 8 tbsp regular water)
7 tbsp water
(next time I hope to add black seed or mahlab to the dough)
Filling:
1 1/2 cup chopped dates
5 tbsp butter (next time I will use 3 or 3.5 tbsp butter)
(Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes mashing occasionally, cool before filling. Be careful to not cook too long because it makes the dates tough and gives it a kind of *burned* taste when the butter starts to brown.)
This is what it looks like when you start cooking. I did NOT like the amount of butter in this recipe at this point and next time will use only 3 or 3.5 tbsp butter here.
DAY ONE
~melt shortening and butter together and cool a little
~mix flour, semolina, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl
~add melted shortening and butter, mix thoroughly (it should be a little sandy feeling)
~cover with plastic wrap and rest overnight
DAY TWO
~make filling
~add rose water and water mixture to the dough and combine with a fork
~take the filling and make small rolled balls
~mold cookies by wrapping in a layer of the dough and then making marks on top with a fork if you want
~bake at 300-325F until the top is slightly brown (the time varries WIDELY depending on the amount of dough and size of each cookie) If you aren't sure if it's cooked, reach in a squish one. If it is still doughy, it isn't done!
This is what they look like before they go in the oven.
~you can add powdered sugar to the top if you want
DONE! :D
I hope this is clear!! Let me know if you have questions or if you tried it!!!
Bismillah
So HERE is how I made the ma'amoul. I wasn't completely satisfied with the recipe, so next time I make it I will modify a little, inshaAllah. Traditionally this is made with a really cool wooden mold, but I don't have one so I just shaped them in my hand and decorated with a fork. Oh and you need to start it the night before!!
INGREDIENTS
Cookie:
1/2 cup shortening
8 tbsp butter
1 cup flour
2 cup semolina
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar (next time I will use a little more)
2 tbsp rose water (next time I will use 1 tbsp rose water, 8 tbsp regular water)
7 tbsp water
(next time I hope to add black seed or mahlab to the dough)
Filling:
1 1/2 cup chopped dates
5 tbsp butter (next time I will use 3 or 3.5 tbsp butter)
(Cook over low heat for 15-20 minutes mashing occasionally, cool before filling. Be careful to not cook too long because it makes the dates tough and gives it a kind of *burned* taste when the butter starts to brown.)
This is what it looks like when you start cooking. I did NOT like the amount of butter in this recipe at this point and next time will use only 3 or 3.5 tbsp butter here.
DAY ONE
~melt shortening and butter together and cool a little
~mix flour, semolina, salt, baking powder, and sugar in a bowl
~add melted shortening and butter, mix thoroughly (it should be a little sandy feeling)
~cover with plastic wrap and rest overnight
DAY TWO
~make filling
~add rose water and water mixture to the dough and combine with a fork
~take the filling and make small rolled balls
~mold cookies by wrapping in a layer of the dough and then making marks on top with a fork if you want
~bake at 300-325F until the top is slightly brown (the time varries WIDELY depending on the amount of dough and size of each cookie) If you aren't sure if it's cooked, reach in a squish one. If it is still doughy, it isn't done!
This is what they look like before they go in the oven.
~you can add powdered sugar to the top if you want
DONE! :D
I hope this is clear!! Let me know if you have questions or if you tried it!!!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Cooking Lately!
Salam Ladies!!
Bismillah
I've been doing a lot of cooking lately!! I decided to make two goals this summer to keep myself occupied while all my friends are out of the country.
1. Memorize one ayah of Qur'an per day
2. Make one new food per day
Sooo here are some of my food attempts so far. InshaAllah I will post recipes for the stuff that turns out well :-P
Salad with tuna, pepper, cheese, lemon, and cucumber
Ma'amoul with date filling!!
Fattoush!!!! with chicken, half eaten, haha
Cinnamon rolls with no yeast: I would not recommend this method, lol
From scratch fluffy pancakes
A kind of hand worked sugar taffy that interestingly enough can be used as a hair remover, hahaha
Let me know if you want any of these recipes in particular first. InshaAllah I will post some a little later!!
Bismillah
I've been doing a lot of cooking lately!! I decided to make two goals this summer to keep myself occupied while all my friends are out of the country.
1. Memorize one ayah of Qur'an per day
2. Make one new food per day
Sooo here are some of my food attempts so far. InshaAllah I will post recipes for the stuff that turns out well :-P
Salad with tuna, pepper, cheese, lemon, and cucumber
Ma'amoul with date filling!!
Fattoush!!!! with chicken, half eaten, haha
Cinnamon rolls with no yeast: I would not recommend this method, lol
From scratch fluffy pancakes
A kind of hand worked sugar taffy that interestingly enough can be used as a hair remover, hahaha
Let me know if you want any of these recipes in particular first. InshaAllah I will post some a little later!!
Friday, July 10, 2009
A Tag, A Tag!
Salam!!
Bismillah
So I have noticed that there seems to be a tagging frenzy going about, and I totally got tagged. TWICE!! Woooot! First by Nisa from Diary of a Wacky Hijabi and second by Nazia from Canadian Hijabi!! Thanks sisters!!!
So I'm supposed to do the Honest Scrap Tag. To do the Honest Scrap tag... Here's the deal. Tell your readers 10 things about you that they may or may not know, but are true. Tag ten people with the award, and be sure to let them know they've been tagged (a quick comment on their blog will do). Don't forget to link back to the blogger who tagged you.
1. I am a fresh revert to Islam, alhamdulillah. I said my shahadah 2 weeks and 1 day ago!! I'm seriously loving my new life and reveling in the peace I feel. I'm so content knowing that I made the decision to do what is RIGHT and to put ALLAH first in my life.
2. My father and my brother do not know that I am Muslim. My dad knows that I cover full time and he is okay with it, alhamdulillah, but he doesn't know that I'm no longer Christian (though truthfully I haven't been "Christian" for a very long time). My brother is completely out of the loop.
3. I am in the midst of a crazy love affair with Middle Eastern and Indian foods. My favorites are kbsa and biryani. mmmmmm delicious.
4. My best friend who helped me learn about Islam and to convert named me Aya when I said my shahadah. My real name doesn't mean anything bad, but it was suggested that I have a nickname that is easy for English speakers and Non-English speakers to pronounce. (My real name has letters that aren't in the Arabic alphabet, lol)
5. I am a BLOG-O-HOLIC. And my condition is deteriorating. I need more and more exposure to get the same fix now-a-days.
6. I enjoy sewing. Like with a machine, not by hand. I hope to make some scarves/ maybe an abaya soon, inshaAllah. If I do I will post the results here!
7. I LOVE to help clean other people's houses, but I just am not very motivated to clean my own. My room is a wreck right now and instead of cleaning, I'm obsessively checking blog updates... is there something wrong with me?!?
8. Before I reverted, I use to be a part of an organization that did MASSIVE amounts of service in our community. I'm now trying to find a way to get the ladies at my local masjid involved in some of the same kind of activities, but I'm not really sure how to go about it... anybody have ideas?
9. I dream of going to a country where I can hear the adhan on the street. How cool would that be?! I mean seriously... wow. I'm trying really hard not to be envious here...
10. I get a reminder text messaged to me for every prayer because I'm always afraid that I'm goig to miss it... Alhamdulillah I found this free website that will send an sms to your phone either once a day with all of the prayers, or before each indidvidual prayer. (http://praytime.us/)This one only works in the US, but maybe there is something similar for other countries!
Okay now I get to tag 10 people... and I'm pretty positive that most of the people I will tag have already gotten it, but it's okay. I'll just read their posts twice ;-)
1. Stacy from Livin in Layla Land
2. Lisa from A Journey Westward from Tartary
3. Maryam
4. Candice from Exploring Life and Islam
5. The Light of Islam
6. Ellen557 from Steadily Emerging with Grace
7. Majda from Majda Says...
8. Inspired Muslimah
9. Jamilah from Revert Muslimah
10. A Muslim Wife
Bismillah
So I have noticed that there seems to be a tagging frenzy going about, and I totally got tagged. TWICE!! Woooot! First by Nisa from Diary of a Wacky Hijabi and second by Nazia from Canadian Hijabi!! Thanks sisters!!!
So I'm supposed to do the Honest Scrap Tag. To do the Honest Scrap tag... Here's the deal. Tell your readers 10 things about you that they may or may not know, but are true. Tag ten people with the award, and be sure to let them know they've been tagged (a quick comment on their blog will do). Don't forget to link back to the blogger who tagged you.
1. I am a fresh revert to Islam, alhamdulillah. I said my shahadah 2 weeks and 1 day ago!! I'm seriously loving my new life and reveling in the peace I feel. I'm so content knowing that I made the decision to do what is RIGHT and to put ALLAH first in my life.
2. My father and my brother do not know that I am Muslim. My dad knows that I cover full time and he is okay with it, alhamdulillah, but he doesn't know that I'm no longer Christian (though truthfully I haven't been "Christian" for a very long time). My brother is completely out of the loop.
3. I am in the midst of a crazy love affair with Middle Eastern and Indian foods. My favorites are kbsa and biryani. mmmmmm delicious.
4. My best friend who helped me learn about Islam and to convert named me Aya when I said my shahadah. My real name doesn't mean anything bad, but it was suggested that I have a nickname that is easy for English speakers and Non-English speakers to pronounce. (My real name has letters that aren't in the Arabic alphabet, lol)
5. I am a BLOG-O-HOLIC. And my condition is deteriorating. I need more and more exposure to get the same fix now-a-days.
6. I enjoy sewing. Like with a machine, not by hand. I hope to make some scarves/ maybe an abaya soon, inshaAllah. If I do I will post the results here!
7. I LOVE to help clean other people's houses, but I just am not very motivated to clean my own. My room is a wreck right now and instead of cleaning, I'm obsessively checking blog updates... is there something wrong with me?!?
8. Before I reverted, I use to be a part of an organization that did MASSIVE amounts of service in our community. I'm now trying to find a way to get the ladies at my local masjid involved in some of the same kind of activities, but I'm not really sure how to go about it... anybody have ideas?
9. I dream of going to a country where I can hear the adhan on the street. How cool would that be?! I mean seriously... wow. I'm trying really hard not to be envious here...
10. I get a reminder text messaged to me for every prayer because I'm always afraid that I'm goig to miss it... Alhamdulillah I found this free website that will send an sms to your phone either once a day with all of the prayers, or before each indidvidual prayer. (http://praytime.us/)This one only works in the US, but maybe there is something similar for other countries!
Okay now I get to tag 10 people... and I'm pretty positive that most of the people I will tag have already gotten it, but it's okay. I'll just read their posts twice ;-)
1. Stacy from Livin in Layla Land
2. Lisa from A Journey Westward from Tartary
3. Maryam
4. Candice from Exploring Life and Islam
5. The Light of Islam
6. Ellen557 from Steadily Emerging with Grace
7. Majda from Majda Says...
8. Inspired Muslimah
9. Jamilah from Revert Muslimah
10. A Muslim Wife
Where I've Been
Salam!
Bismillah
As mentioned in a previous post, I have never been outisde of the United States. However, I have been fortunate enough to travel to a lot of the United States!
Here is a map of all of the places I have been in my WHOLE life!!
visited 31 states (62%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or jurisdische veraling duits?
Bismillah
As mentioned in a previous post, I have never been outisde of the United States. However, I have been fortunate enough to travel to a lot of the United States!
Here is a map of all of the places I have been in my WHOLE life!!
visited 31 states (62%)
Create your own visited map of The United States or jurisdische veraling duits?
Thursday, July 9, 2009
Memorization
Image via Wikipedia
Bismillah
Yesterday I found a great blog called Diary of a Wacky Hijabi by Nisa and she had a post about learning more of the Qur'an this summer. As I have just converted, this topic is particularly interesting to me so I asked how she went about memorizing. I am not so good at memorization, so I thought some tips might be helpful, especially as I am not fluent in Arabic ;-) Alhamdulillah, she wrote back and it got me to thinking....
How do YOU memorize Qur'an? What methods are best for you?? What tricks have you learned that really help you to remember?
I'm really exited to see what you guys have to say and to try out your methods!!!! :-D
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Tuesday, July 7, 2009
One of those Days
Salam Ladies
Have you ever had one of those days where everything makes you cry? Good things, bad things, happy things, sad things. Things that are hard, things that are easy. You laugh so hard you cry and you cry so hard you laugh. And every feeling you have is completely jumbled.
Today is one of those days for me. If you have time, please say a prayer for me.
Thank you
Have you ever had one of those days where everything makes you cry? Good things, bad things, happy things, sad things. Things that are hard, things that are easy. You laugh so hard you cry and you cry so hard you laugh. And every feeling you have is completely jumbled.
Today is one of those days for me. If you have time, please say a prayer for me.
Thank you
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Happy 4th!!
Image by Camera Slayer via Flickr
Salam!
Happy 4th of July everyone!
Please don't burn yourself... and if you light fireworks in your own yard, spray down the launch site with a little water first. :-P
Thin Mint
Salam!
Is it just me, or does it seem like thin people can get away with wearing less fabric but still look incredibly modest...?!? I mean... I have to wear layers and layers and a super wide shayla to get everything covered. I mean alhamdulillah for the body that I have of course, but I think that maybe it would be a little easier to be modest if my body was more cooperating. It is even difficult for me to find a shayla or scarf that is actually wide enough to provide total coverage. And Turkish hijab? I will never be able to wear it... Sometimes I wish I could try other hijab styles, but I pretty much just have to stick to one.
Oh anyways, me just being silly. I like the way layers look and if I wrap the sayla just right I can leave a big chunk hanging down, so really no harm done. :-P
I you are wondering what brought this on... I recieved a hijab as a gift from one of the ladies at the masjid when I converted. MashaAllah she is so very sweet. Anyway, it is a very nice light airy hijab in a dusky pink and I would DEARLY love to wear it, but it just isn't enough to give good coverage... but maybe I will layer it with another scarf or something... inshaAllah I will find a way. :-D
Is it just me, or does it seem like thin people can get away with wearing less fabric but still look incredibly modest...?!? I mean... I have to wear layers and layers and a super wide shayla to get everything covered. I mean alhamdulillah for the body that I have of course, but I think that maybe it would be a little easier to be modest if my body was more cooperating. It is even difficult for me to find a shayla or scarf that is actually wide enough to provide total coverage. And Turkish hijab? I will never be able to wear it... Sometimes I wish I could try other hijab styles, but I pretty much just have to stick to one.
Oh anyways, me just being silly. I like the way layers look and if I wrap the sayla just right I can leave a big chunk hanging down, so really no harm done. :-P
I you are wondering what brought this on... I recieved a hijab as a gift from one of the ladies at the masjid when I converted. MashaAllah she is so very sweet. Anyway, it is a very nice light airy hijab in a dusky pink and I would DEARLY love to wear it, but it just isn't enough to give good coverage... but maybe I will layer it with another scarf or something... inshaAllah I will find a way. :-D
Friday, July 3, 2009
Sleep...
Salam!
I'm trying to adjust my sleep schedule to my five prayers. I'm having a little trouble however... It seems that if I wake up for Fajr, it is almost impossible to stay up until 'Isha. By the time Maghreb comes around I'm about to pass out! Then if I go to sleep after 'Isha, it is really hard to wake up the next morning for Fajr! Of course part of the problem is that I really love to sleep about 12 hours at a time, lol. InshaAllah I will find a scheule that fits me soon.
What is the best sleep schedule that you have found? Is it some combination of sleep and naps or just naps or just sleep? Please let me know!
In the Dictionary
Salam!
Today I thought it would be cool to look up Islamic words in my 1974 paperback Merriam-Webster pocket dictionary.
Here is what I came up with:
Islam: submission (to the will of God): the religious faith of the Muslims; also: the civilization built on this faith
submit: to commit to the discretion or decision of another: to yield or surrender
Muslim: an adherent of the religion founded by the Arab prophet Muhammad [salallahu alleyhi wasalam]
Koran[Al-Qur'an]: a book of writings accepted by Muslims as revelations made to Muhammad [salallahu alleyhi wasalam] by Allah [subhana wa ta'ala] [I would also like to note here that they refer to the Qur'an as a book of writings while they refer to the Bible and Torah as "sacred texts" or "scripture"]
Allah: the supreme being of the Muslims [I think this is by far the most biased definiton. Allah means THE GOD. Same as in English. THE GOD is the supreme being of EVERONE not just Muslims. In ANY language.]
Anyway I just thought it would be interesting to see what they had to say about Islam in 1974. It doesn't really seem a whole lot different than what they have to say today really.
Dictionary.com they define Allah as "the Supreme Being; God." without the qualifying "of the Muslims" I like this definition better :-D
As always the words in [brackets] are my addition.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Join the Club
Salam!
Today, for the first time since I started wearing hijab, I got a negative reaction. Usually it's all smiles and polite words or quickly looking away. But TODAY I went to Harps. Harps is a grocery store. As I was driving up there was a guy in the parking lot with a woman and he stopped right where he was and stared at me... just stared. And it wasn't like unobtrusive staring. He even pivoted on his feet to follow the progress of my car around the parking lot. Then he poked the woman he was with and she turned around and stared at me too. I parked and got out of the car and decided to ignore them. Maybe they were curious or just ignorant, but as long as they didn't say anything to me or take my picture or anything I would be fine, no harm done. They sat in their car and waited until I walked into the store to drive away. The friend that I was with said that they looked scared... scared?? really??? I'm like... barely 5 feet tall. And I was smiling. Seriously... I'm not scary ya'll.
I thought about walking up to them and saying hello, but my friend thought it would be a bad idea and might make them do something stupid, so I didn't. I thought about asking where they were from, because from the looks of them I'd say that I grew up not too far from where they did. We might actually have a lot in common, you never know. But instead I prayed that they would learn enough to not be afraid of everything that they didn't understand.
It's amazing what one extra piece of cloth does to people...
to me on the inside
to the people who understand
to the people who don't understand
SubhanAllah, He works in mysterious ways.
Today, for the first time since I started wearing hijab, I got a negative reaction. Usually it's all smiles and polite words or quickly looking away. But TODAY I went to Harps. Harps is a grocery store. As I was driving up there was a guy in the parking lot with a woman and he stopped right where he was and stared at me... just stared. And it wasn't like unobtrusive staring. He even pivoted on his feet to follow the progress of my car around the parking lot. Then he poked the woman he was with and she turned around and stared at me too. I parked and got out of the car and decided to ignore them. Maybe they were curious or just ignorant, but as long as they didn't say anything to me or take my picture or anything I would be fine, no harm done. They sat in their car and waited until I walked into the store to drive away. The friend that I was with said that they looked scared... scared?? really??? I'm like... barely 5 feet tall. And I was smiling. Seriously... I'm not scary ya'll.
I thought about walking up to them and saying hello, but my friend thought it would be a bad idea and might make them do something stupid, so I didn't. I thought about asking where they were from, because from the looks of them I'd say that I grew up not too far from where they did. We might actually have a lot in common, you never know. But instead I prayed that they would learn enough to not be afraid of everything that they didn't understand.
It's amazing what one extra piece of cloth does to people...
to me on the inside
to the people who understand
to the people who don't understand
SubhanAllah, He works in mysterious ways.
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