Repentance

السلام عليكم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Today I found some verses and ahadith about *repentance*

InshaAllah they are a helpful reminder!!

Names of Allah:
الرحيم: Ar-Raheem, the Merciful
الغفار: Al-Ghaffaar, the Forgiver
الغفور: Al-Ghaffoor, the All Forgiving
العفو: Al-Afuww, the Pardoner

From the Qur'an:
7:153 (Asad) But as for those who do bad deeds and afterwards repent and [truly] believe-verily, after such repentance [120] thy Sustainer is indeed much forgiving, a dispenser of grace!

9:112 (Asad) [It is a triumph of] those who turn [unto God] in repentance [whenever they have sinned], and who worship and praise [Him], and go on and on [seeking His goodly acceptance], and bow down [before Him] and prostrate themselves in adoration, and enjoin the doing of what is right and forbid the doing of what is wrong, and keep to the bounds set by God. And give thou [O Prophet] the glad tiding [of God's promise] to all believers.

11:3 (Asad) Ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance - [whereupon] He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life [in this world] until a term set [by Him is fulfilled]; and [in the life to come] He will bestow upon everyone possessed of merit [a full reward for] his merit. But if you turn away, then, verily, I dread for you the suffering [which is bound to befall you] on that awesome Day

11:52 (Asad) "Hence, O my people, ask your Sustainer to forgive you your sins, and then turn towards Him in repentance-[whereupon] He will shower upon you heavenly blessings abundant, [76] and will add strength to your strength: only do not turn away [from me] as people lost in sin!"

From the Ahadith:
Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 7, Book 70, Number 577:

Narrated Abu Huraira:
I heard Allah's Apostle saying, "The good deeds of any person will not make him enter Paradise." (i.e., None can enter Paradise through his good deeds.) They (the Prophet's companions) said, 'Not even you, O Allah's Apostle?' He said, "Not even myself, unless Allah bestows His favor and mercy on me." So be moderate in your religious deeds and do the deeds that are within your ability: and none of you should wish for death, for if he is a good doer, he may increase his good deeds, and if he is an evil doer, he may repent to Allah."

Sahih Al-Bukhari, Volume 8, Book 75, Number 321:

Narrated Anas bin Malik:
Allah's Apostle said, "Allah is more pleased with the repentance of His slave than anyone of you is pleased with finding his camel which he had lost in the desert. "

"O our Sustainer!
We have sinned against ourselves -
and unless Thou grant us forgiveness and bestow Thy mercy upon us,
we shall most certainly be lost!" [Qur'an 7:23]

Soccer News: MABROOK!

!!!!!مبروك لمصر




Disclaimer: This is in no way a political or religious post, and really is just a post about my daily life.

Today I watched the soccer game between Algeria and Egypt. It was really exciting!! I got super caught up in it all. I'm a big fan of the underdog and after the last few games between Egypt and Algeria, I was kind of rooting for Egypt to win this time.

I started watching Egypt play in the Confederations Cup down in South Africa (where my bff Rayyan lives ;-) ). The whole time I was like.... wow they were robbed. They played really well the entire time (way better than USA) and yet didn't make it into the final game. Bummer. (The US totally lucked their way into the finals BTW, I know they beat Egypt by 3 in that game, but still... lucky shots. I mean look at how close the game between Egypt and Brazil was! Anyway... rambling, lol)

So then I got all excited when it came time for the World Cup qualifiers. I wanted to see how Egypt would do! They had some reaaaallllyyy heavy competition when they played Algeria and the games were really exciting. Algeria won in the end after a tie breaking game, so Egypt was still my underdog.

So then we come to the African Cup!! Egypt played Camaroon and they did SO WELL, mashaAllah. I'm a Barcelona fan, so I know that Eto'o from Camaroon is really good and so I'm not sure how it is going to go for Egypt, but they win!!

So NOOOOW they are playing in the semi-final against who? Algeria! Woooo it's a rematch. I love rematches for the express purpose of cheering on the one I think might lose, lol. And this game was CRAAAZZZY!!! Red cards everywhere, penalty shots, beautiful goals, dribbling! And Egypt wins!! Ahhhhhhhh my underdog!!!

Anyway, some of the people who *ACTUALLY* know things about sports totally predicted that Egypt would win, but to me they were still the underdog :-P

And that is what this post is about. To say Mabrook to the Egyptian team for the exciting end to an interesting string of games :-D and good luck in the Final.

P.S. I usually watch soccer in Spanish or Arabic, neither of which language I am fluent in LOL. If you haven't tried this before, you should totally do it because Spanish and Arab casters get SO MUCH MORE EXCITED than American casters. Plus you will learn some new words you can throw into a conversation, lol.

Sisters: from an e-mail

السلام عليكم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

SISTERS
A young wife sat on a sofa on a hot humid day,
Drinking iced tea and visiting with her Mother. As
They talked about life, about marriage, about the
Responsibilities of life and the obligations of
Adulthood, the mother clinked the ice cubes in her
Glass thoughtfully and turned a clear, sober glance
Upon her daughter.
'Don't forget your Sisters,' she advised, swirling
The tea leaves to the bottom of her glass. 'They'll
Be more important as you get older. No matter how
Much you love your husband, no matter how much you
Love the children you may have, you are still going
To need Sisters. Remember to go places with them now
And then; do things with them.'

'Remember that 'Sisters' means ALL the women...
Your girlfriends, your daughters, and all your other
Women relatives too. 'You'll need other women. Women
Always do.'

What a funny piece of advice!' the young woman
Thought. Haven't I just gotten married?
Haven't I just joined the couple-world? I'm now a
Married woman, for goodness sake! A grownup! Surely
My husband and the family we may start will be all I
Need to make my life worthwhile!'

But she listened to her Mother. She kept contact
With her Sisters and made more women friends each
Year. As the years tumbled by, one after another,
She gradually came to understand that her Mom really
Knew what she was talking about. As time and nature
Work their changes and their mysteries upon a woman,
Sisters are the mainstays of her life.

After more than 50 years of living in this world,
Here is what I've learned:

THIS SAYS IT ALL:
Time passes.
Life happens.
Distance separates.
Children grow up.
Jobs come and go.
Love waxes and wanes.
Men don't do what they're supposed to do.
Hearts break.
Parents die.
Colleagues forget favors.
Careers end.
BUT.........

Sisters are there, no matter how much time and how
Many miles are
Between you. A girl friend is never farther a way
Than needing her can reach.

When you have to walk that lonesome valley and you
Have to walk it by yourself, the women in your life
Will be on the valley's rim, cheering you on,
Praying for you, pulling for you, intervening on
Your behalf, and waiting with open arms at the
Valley's' end.

Sometimes, they will even break the rules and walk
Beside you...Or come in and carry you out.

Girlfriends , daughters, granddaughters,
Daughters-in-law, sisters, sisters-in-law, Mothers,
Grandmothers, aunties, nieces, cousins, and extended
Family, all bless our life!

The world wouldn't be the same without women. When we began this adventure called
Womanhood, we had no idea of the incredible joys or
Sorrows that lay ahead. Nor did we know how much we
Would need each other.

Dua: May Allah ta'ala bless you all in this life and the next
and give you good women for support and guidance.
Ameen

Patience

السلام عليكم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

This time I will give some words on *Patience*

I'm not sure if I ever told you all this, but my mom use to tell me "NeverEver, don't ask for Patience from God because he will just give you opportunities to practice!" She was being sarcastic of course, because we should definitely ask Allah for patience.

Patience is a virtue, and it is one that we have to STRIVE for. It is hard to be patient. It is a skill to be patient. Patience is something we learn and practice every day and if we accomplish patience, it is a beautiful gift from Allah.

O YOU who have attained to faith! Seek aid in steadfast patience and prayer: for, behold, God is with those who are patient in adversity.- [Qur'an 2:153]

O you who have attained to faith! Be patient in adversity, and vie in patience with one another, and be ever ready [to do what is right], and remain conscious of God, so that you might attain to a happy state!- [Qur'an 3:200]

... And be patient in adversity: for, verily, God is with those who are patient in adversity- [Qur'an 8:46]

And be patient in adversity: for, verily,. God does not fail to requite the doers of good!- [Quran 11:115]

Nay, seek (Allah’s) help with patient perseverance and prayer: It is indeed hard, except to those who bring a lowly spirit, Who bear in mind the certainty that they are to meet their Lord, and that they are to return to Him.- [Quran 2:45-46]

Sahih Bukhari: Volume 2, Book 24, Number 548:

Narrated Abu Said Al-Khudri:

Some Ansari persons asked for (something) from Allah's Apostle (p.b.u.h) and he gave them. They again asked him for (something) and he again gave them. And then they asked him and he gave them again till all that was with him finished. And then he said "If I had anything. I would not keep it away from you. (Remember) Whoever abstains from asking others, Allah will make him contented, and whoever tries to make himself self-sufficient, Allah will make him self-sufficient. And whoever remains patient, Allah will make him patient. Nobody can be given a blessing better and greater than patience."

Sahih Bukhari: Volume 2, Book 23, Number 389:

Narrated Anas:

The Prophet said, "The real patience is at the first stroke of a calamity."

Du'a: Our Lord! Pour out on us patience and constancy
and make us die as those who have
surrendered themselves unto You.- [Qur'an 7:123]

Classes

السلام عليكم

بسم الله

So now that we all know I am in school this semester, you may wonder what classes, eh?

For reference, I am a Physics major and I'm planning to get my Masters in Teaching inshaAllah. I want to teach Physics at a junior high/ high school age level.

Right now I am about 20 to 24 hours away from graduation, so I decided to take 15 hours this semester, and finish at a nice leisurely pace and graduate next December inshaAllah.

So this semester I am taking:
The History of Physics- This class is going to be ridiculous. It sounds easy, but the professor wants us to write two papers and do a presentation. The first paper is 12 pages and the second i s 24 pages... and a lot of the people in our class aren't even science majors and have no idea what concepts we are discussing. The upside of this is that we probably won't have any tests, alhamdulillah.



Arabic II- Our school has an intensive Arabic program, meaning we have class for 6 hours per week, split over five days. We also have homework every day. The class is difficult, but alhamdulillah my Arabic is getting much better.



Architecture Lecture- This class is just a basic introduction to the concepts of historical Architecture. The points come from attendance and tests, so inshaAllah it will help bring up my GPA.



Advanced Composition- This is a writing in the workplace kind of class. It isn't very interesting, but there are also no tests in this class, so InshaAllah if I do the work I will get a good grade.



To turn this into a bit of a *get to know you*, those of you who are in school, what major/level are you and what kinds of classes are you taking?

Sometimes Life is Hard

السلام عليكم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Sometimes things get hard. Like life things. And when they DO, this is what I like to remind myself.

Narrated By Abu Said Al-Khudri and Abu Huraira: The Prophet, salAllahu aleyhi wa salam, said, “No fatigue, nor disease, nor sorrow, nor sadness, nor hurt, nor distress befalls a Muslim, even if it were the prick he receives from a thorn, but that Allah expiates some of his sins for that.” (Sahih Bukhari Vol. 7, Book 70, #545)

Narrated By Abu Huraira: Allah’s Apostle, salAllahu aleyhi wa salam, said, “If Allah wants to do good to somebody, He afflicts him with trials.” (Sahih Bukhari Vol. 7, Book 70, #548)

Every soul shall have a taste of death: and We test you by evil and by good by way of trial. To Us must ye return. [Quran 21:35]

Do men think that they will be left alone on saying, “We believe”, and that they will not be tested? – [Quran 29:2]

On no soul doth Allah Place a burden greater than it can bear – [Quran 2:286]

For truly, with hardship comes ease; truly, with hardship comes ease. [Qur`an, 94:5-6]

InshaAllah I will try more of these *words by topic* things and see how you like them.

Sometimes it is nice to be reminded :-)

I am Boring

Salam!

Bismillah

So it seems I go through these phases of having really cool things to say, then having absolute zilch to show for myself.

Maybe in real life it doesn't matter so much, but for a blog it has got to be pretty ridiculous.

Anyway, I appreciate those of you who stick with me even when I have nothing to say.

Love you all!

NeverEver

Istikhara

Salam!

Bismillah

So I assume that you got from the last post that I prayed istikhara about a subject and it totally worked and I said I would give you guys the update so here it goes inshaAllah! :-P

So a few posts ago, I wrote about whether or not I should go back to school. I asked for advice and some of you said yay, some said nay, and most said pray! (oh wow, I totally didn't mean for it to come out like that... lol awesome)

Anyway, so I'm totally stubborn and just kept right on looking at pros and cons, pros and cons, pros and cons. There were a lot more reasons to not go to school than there were to go, but it got down to the day after classes started (i know... what a procrastinator!) and I still hadn't been able to make my final decision.

So I decided to pray istikhara FINALLY, after all of that. Which obviously I should have done right off the bat.



Anyway, I prayed and I still didn't know what to do until....

The next day my mother calls me at throws a FIT because I'm thinking of delaying graduating a semester. Also she talks about how she doesn't like my abaya and hijab and how I'm only Muslim because my friends are Muslim and I am an "adaptable" kind of person (meaning I just do whatever my friends do).

Anyway it is my job to make my mom happy as long as what she asks isn't against my religion, so I said I would keep my hijab but would sign up for 15 hours at school this semester.

She seems okay with that.

SO THEN, my job still isn't over... Almost every class at my university is FULL FULL FULL and I have only a select number of classes left until I graduate. I thought it was going to be so hard to get classes...

But subhanAllah every class I needed opened up at the exact time I needed it to be open and inshAllah I will be graduating next semester.

So when you ask Allah subhanna wa ta'ala to give you what is best for you and to make it easy for you and facilitate it for you... He will. SUBHANALLAH

istikhara works

Salam!

Bismillah

I just want to remind everyone that istikhara works. Try it.

InshaAllah will give more updates soon, but I just started school :-P