Followers

Friday, April 30, 2010

EEEEKKKKK

Salam!

Bismillah

SubhanAllah I have 100 followers... I really never expected that you know...

When I started this blog, it was mainly a way for me to 1) comment on other blogs I was reading and 2) write something when there wasn't anything else to read.

Alhamdulillah it has come to mean a lot more to me than that and has been so much more useful.

I have met some of my best friends through this blog (love you dear rayyan) and continue to make more and more as the days pass, ALHAMDULILLAH

So thank you all, Jazakum Allah khair, for reading and commenting and keeping me motivated.

much love.

NeverEver

Remember Allah

Salam!

Bismillah

Jum'ah Mubarak ya sadiqaaty

I wanted to share with you one of my FAVORITE hadith.

"I am as My servant thinks I am. I am with him when he makes mention of Me. If he makes mention of Me to himself, I make mention of him to Myself; and if he makes mention of Me in an assembly, I make mention of him in an assembly better than it. And if he draws near to Me an arm's length, I draw near to him a fathom's length. And if he comes to Me walking, I go to him at speed." (Bukhari)

SubhanAllah wa Alhamdulillah

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Procrastination

Salam!

Bismillah

I think I am supposed to learn a lesson about procrastination today.

I have a video presentation that was due about 12 hours ago that I still haven't been able to finish... so many technical difficulties it is ridiculous!

InshaAllah I will get it done though :-) I can be stubborn ya know.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Projects Projects Projects

Salam!

Bismillah

My head is swimming with all of the projects I have to do...

eck

Also my mom broke her arm today, so please make du'a for her.

Alhamdulillah for everything

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

DIY

Salam!

Bismillah

I have been looking for an abaya since mine are getting a bit a lot worn, and I looked around a bunch of websites that you all suggested (thanks so much!!! :-D)


I must just be too picky or something. I couldn't find anything I actually liked... especially not something that I would consider decently priced.

I don't always have enough money to eat something besides ramen (alhamdulillah I really love ramen), so how am I supposed to shell out $40-50 per abaya when I need at least two or three news ones?

My solution:

DIY

Oh yeah, inshaAllah when classes are over I'm going to set about trying to make an abaya/jilbab for myself :-D

I plan to document my progress so inshaAllah I will let you all know how it goes.

Wish me luck!

Monday, April 26, 2010

Barca Barca Baaaaarca!

salam!

Bismillah

Apparently no one thought the "guess my team" thing was as cool as I did (Thanks Rukhpar Mor for participating!!!) lol

Anyway my favorite team is FC Barcelona. They have a game against Inter Milan on Wednesday inshaAllah and it is pretty big, so I'm a little hyped up.

Also this is my last week of classes this semester and my schedule is pretty rough. I will keep updating inshaAllah, but some of the stuff may not be very thought provoking. Just a heads-up :-P

Biltawfeeq inshaAllah to those of you with finals and papers and general stressful things going on.

Much love.

NeverEver

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The Rights of a Sister Over Another

As-salam alaikum

Bismillah

I received this in an e-mail and thought I would pass it on :-)

The Rights of A Sister Over Another Sister

A fundamental principle of sisterhood requires all Muslim women have the same basic understanding of Islam. This understanding should be based solely on the Qur’an and Sunnah of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The Muslim woman must then be aware of her obligations as a Muslim, firstly towards Allah (swt), then the Prophet (pbuh), then her family and peers in the community. She must then do her best to fulfill her expected roles, duties and obligations. As Muslims we have God-given rights over one another.

Six of these rights are outlined in the following hadith: Abu Hurairah (ra) narrated: A Muslim has six rights over another Muslim: when you meet him, offer him greetings; when he invites you to a wedding feast accept it; when he seeks counsel give him; and when he sneezes and says al-hamdulillah: (praise is to Allah), you say yarhamuka’llah (may Allah show mercy to you) and when he is ill visit him; and when he dies follow his bier. (Muslim)

In Islam we also have certain obligations towards and rights over our neighbors. This not only applies to Muslim neighbors but also to those who are non-Muslim. We should maintain good relations with them and keep them safe from our harm and mischief. We must be polite and considerate of their feelings and show sincere concern for their welfare and well-being. We should also try to give them the best of what we have, e.g. food, money or possessions, and ensure that their needs are sufficiently met.

Aishah (ra) asked the Prophet (pbuh): “I have two neighbors, to whom shall I send a present?” He asked: “To the one whose door is nearer to yours.” (Bukhari)

Aishah (ra) said, “The Prophet (pbuh) said, “Jibril kept instructing me about obligations towards the neighbor so much so, I imagined that he might be included as one of the heirs with rights to inheritance!” (Bukhari & Muslim)

The Importance of Sisterhood in Islam

According to the Qur’an & the Sunnah

Ruqaiyah Abdullah

Du’a

O Allah! Verily I have done myself a grievous wrong and none forgives the sins but You. So grant forgiveness to me from Yourself and show mercy to me. Verily You are the Most Forgiving and Merciful.

My Sisters’ Charity

Saturday, April 24, 2010

Poll

Salam!

Bismillah

So this will sound pretty random, but I am super interested to see what you guys come up with :-D

I follow a particular football (soccer, futbol, korat al-qadam) team and I am interested to see if you all can guess which one it is




Choices:
  • Manchester United
  • Inter Milan
  • Real Madrid
  • Barcelona
  • Bayern Munich
  • Arsenal
  • AC Milan
  • Olympique Lyon
  • FC Porto
Any guesses?!? :-D

Do you have a favorite sports team?

Friday, April 23, 2010

A Day in the Life

Salam!

Bismillah

I added a group on SistersWhoBlog and I'd like to invite all of you to come join me!!!

It is all about sisters who write about our *incredibly interesting* daily lives and thoughts :-D


Let me know what you guys think inshaAllah

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Abayaat

Salam!

Bismillah

Several sisters gave me abayaat when I converted alhamdulillah, but they are starting to show some wear (i.e. they are starting to fall apart, lol).

Does anyone know a good place to find good quality light weight abayaat on the cheap? I'd like to find some with a bit more color since the ones I have now are all black (though I do love my black ones) maybe brown, navy, white, purple, etc.

Thanks!!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

My Mojo

Salam!

Bismillah

I seem to have lost my mojo.

If anyone has seen it please let me know.

But seriously, I've been really stressed out lately with school and everything and I am feeling a bit low on energy and enthusiasm.

InshaAllah this feeling with pass once school is done, but I think it will be rough the next couple of weeks.

Please make du'a for myself and the rest of our stressed out sisters

Jazakum Allah khair

Low Fat Yogurt

Salam!

Bismillah

I love yogurt. Unfortunately MOST of the (affordable) brands use gelatin. Meaning there could be little piggy parts swimming in my strawberry yogurt. Either I fork over a ridiculous price for the "expensive" kind or forgo my yogurt.

But alhamdulillah the other day I found out that Great Value (Wal-Mart Brand) uses kosher gelatin. Read: no little piggies in my strawberry yogurt!!

YAY!!!!!


Monday, April 19, 2010

Safety Pin

As-salamu alaikum

Bismillah

I'm pretty sure everyone has ruined a favorite scarf with a regular safety pin right?

What to do?!?

I live in a pretty small town so we don't get those fancy "no snag hijab pins" down here, so I decided to get industrious!

This is what I do to save my hijabs from the safety pin monster.






I use a piece of thick fabric to act as a buffer between the safety pin and the cloth of my scarf :-D

What do you guys do to avoid snags?

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Keeping yourself in Check

السلام عليكم

بسم الله

I got this in an e-mail the other day and thought I would share :-D

Daily Checklist for Introspection Self-examination and Self-Rectification

Answer the Following Questions and Improve /rectify your action accordingly

Did I pray five times today?

Did I read Holy Qura’an with understanding today?

Did I sincerely complete my duties and responsibilities today?

Did I Speak lies today?

Did I misbehave today?

Did I tease anyone today?

Did I make fun of someone or laugh at someone’s mistake today?

Did I show off today?

Did I behave arrogantly with anyone today?

Did I backbite today?

Did I get jealous today?

Did I get angry today?

Did I improve in any way today?

Did I waste any time today?

Did I feel proud or superior today?

Did I spend money extravagantly today?

Did I do my Hijab today?

Did I see any vulgar/obscene program today?

Did I disrespect my parents today?

Are my family members happy with me today?

Did I thank Allah for everything today?

Did I disobey any commandments of Allah today?

Did I ask forgiveness of Allah today?

Saturday, April 17, 2010

الكلام بالعربية

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته


بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم


أريد أن أتكلم بالعربية كل الوقت ولكن أعرف قليل من الكلمات فقط. أشعر بالخجل عندما لا أفهم كل شيء و لا يمكني أقول ما أريد القول دائماً
I get frustrated sometimes and it is difficult to ask someone to practice with me when I probably wont understand most of what they are saying...
Well إن شاء الله I will improve.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Paintings

Salam!

Bismillah

Did you know that the world's top 5 most expensive paintings were bought for a total of $712.2 million US?

How much food could that have bought? That is almost 1,800,000,000 lb (830,000,000 kilo) rice from the Sam's club down the street from my house. That is about 8,180,000,000 servings of rice.















Was it worth it?

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Freerice.com

Salam!

Bismillah

Freerice.com is a website that combines studying your GRE or GMAT vocabulary with charity!!! For every right answer you have, freerice will donate 10 grains of rice to the needy, so spend some time studying your English vocab and feeding hungry people, inshaAllah!

Mission Statement of FreeRice: PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!!

About FreeRice

FreeRice is a non-profit website run by the United Nations World Food Program. Our partner is the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard University.

FreeRice has two goals:

  1. Provide education to everyone for free.
  2. Help end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free.

This is made possible by the generosity of the sponsors who advertise on this site.

Whether you are CEO of a large corporation or a street child in a poor country, improving your education can improve your life. It is a great investment in yourself.

Perhaps even greater is the investment your donated rice makes in hungry human beings, enabling them to function and be productive. Somewhere in the world, a person is eating rice that you helped provide. Thank you.

here!!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Sisterswhoblog Network

Salam

Bismillah!

Amber Misk at Sisters who Blog just posted a link to a new networking site. It looks really cool mashaAllah and I encourage all of you to join so that inshaAllah it is easier for other women who are just starting to blog or be interested in what we do/say/think/etc to find us :-)

Here is the link

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Ugh

Salam!

Bismillah

I was on the bus today riding to class and this is what they were playing over the loudspeakers:


"American Made" Oakridge Boys

Seems everything I buy these days
has got a foreign name
From the kind of car I drive
to my video game
I`ve got a Nikon camera,
a Sony color T.V.
But the one that I love is from
the "U.S.A." and standing next to me.

My baby is "American Made"
Born and bred in the "U.S.A."
From her silky long hair to her sexy long legs
My baby is "American Made"

She looks good in her tight blue jeans
she bought in Mexico
And she loves wearing French perfume
everywhere we go
But when it comes to the lovin` heart
one thing is true
My Baby`s genuine "U.S.A."
red white and blue.

My baby is "American Made"
Born and bred in the "U.S.A."
From her silky long hair to her sexy long legs
My baby is "American Made"


It is amazing how much sexist and ethnocentric sentiments can be crammed into such a simple and repetitive song...

I wanted to vomit.

I still want to, but I'm refraining.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Cooking :-)

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته


بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم


I have been doing a bunch of cooking lately and just loaded some new recipes/how to's/food observations on my food blog.

Stop by and check it out!!

HERE!!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Authenticity

As-salamu alaikum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuh

Bismillah ar-rahman ar-raheem

I went to a lecture today about authenticity. Specifically it was about African American literature and how it is affected by the need to establish "authenticity" and "keep it real" while at the same time is no longer able to define African American culture with such strict limitations. It talked about authenticity as a mask that conceals as much as it reveals and how just because you are born into the African American community does not mean that you fit into the "New Black Aesthetic."

It was a great lecture and it got me thinking so much about Muslims and how we deal with a lot of the same "authenticity" issues. Who are the real authentic Muslims? We argue about this all the time. Sunni/Shi'ah, Arab/Non-Arab, Born/Convert, Fundamentalist/Liberal.

Also on a more personal level it made me think: What Am I? Am I an Authentic Anything? What makes a person authentic?

Am I an Authentic American? The government thinks so, but I don't think a lot of other Americans do. I have turned my back on most of the "main stream" American ideals. Does being BORN in America make me authentic American? Or does accepting all the precepts of American society make me authentic American?

Am I an Authentic Muslim? Alhamdulillah Allah thinks I am. But would every Muslim recognize me? Or to some will I always be just American? Someone who might revert to my "old life" at any moment?

I cannot be fully American because I don't fit here, but because I happened to be born here, I'm not sure if I can fit anywhere else.

What do I do?

Friday, April 9, 2010

Video

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

بسم الله

I found this video on youtube and mashaAllah, it gave me goosebumps!!!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Arabic Keyboard

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم


I was thinking that a lot of you might be interested in typing in the Arabic alphabet. You have a couple of options here:

1. Turn on the Arabic keyboard on your computer in the languages part of the control panel. This requires a lot of memorization of where the letters are on the keys, but would probably be beneficial to learn if you plan on doing a lot of writing in Arabic.

2. Find a good online Arabic keyboard. If you just use a few Arabic words here and there or just want to experiment, this is what I would recommend.

The online keyboard that I use is http://www.yamli.com/arabic-keyboard/ . It is a "smart" keyboard and works really well. All you have to do is type what you want to say in the English letters (like "in sha' Allah") and it will pop out the Arabic for you. It is way faster than any other keyboard I've used and is really accurate. It even lets you choose from a list of words just to make sure that you get the right one.

This is also connected to www.yamli.com which is a search engine that searches for the Arabic word along with the English transliteration. It shows them all up on the screen at once which is really great! :-)

Let me know how you all like it إن شاء الله !!!

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

المؤنث

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم


السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته


المؤنث


Nouns in Arabic are all either masculine مذكر or femenine مؤنث . There is no neutered form "it" in Arabic. The easiest way to tell the difference is to pick what word is مؤنث and then all the rest are مذكر .

Rules for Recognizing a Feminine Noun إسم مؤنث
1. Feminine by Form: with a few exceptions, the word ends in a ta marbuTa ة or alif hamza اء or alif maqSura ى

2. City, Non-Arab country names: City names are feminine because they follow the gender of مدينة (city), Some Arab countries are feminine but you would have to learn these by memorization

3. Words referring to Females: Like the word for girl بنت does not end in ة but is feminine because it refers to a female. This includes proper nouns like names of women.

4. Non-human plurals: for example, the word book كتاب is a masculine singular noun. It would take a masculine singular adjective, such as beautiful جميل . However, in the plural form books كتب (pronounced kutub) it would take a feminine singular adjective such as beautiful جميلة .
So beautiful book is كتاب جميل (kitaab jameel)
And beautiful books is كتب جميلة (kutub jameela)

5. Parts of the body that come in pairs: such as hand يد or eye عين

6. Any exceptions that you just have to memorize: like sun شمس or soul نفس

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

العربية

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته


بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم


Hi you guys! I wanted to share a little bit of the Arabic I have learned and help you guys practice (if you are interested! :-))إن شاء الله I will have more of this kind of stuff in the future المستقبل

أنا إسمي نفرايفر وأنا طالبة في الجامعة.
الحمد الله يمكني ادرس العربية في الجامعة أذهب إليها.
أحب اللغة العربية!! أريد أن ادرسكم قليل من الكلمات تعلمت طوال السنة الماضية


Transliteration:
Ana ismee NeverEver wa ana Taaliba fil-jaami3a. Alhamdulillah yumkinny adros al-3arabiyya fil-jaami3a aDhhab alayha. Oheb al-lugha al-3arabiyya!! Oreed an uderrisukum qaleel min al-kalimaat ta3alemtu tiwal as-sena al-maaDiya.

Translation:
My name is NeverEver and I am a university student. Alhamdulillah I am able to study Arabic at the university I go to. I love the Arabic language!! I want to teach you all a few of the words I learned throughout the past year.

Vocabulary:
1.إسم : ism, name
2.طالبة : Taaliba, female student
3.الجامعة : al-jaami3a, the university
4.يمكن : yumkin, it is possible (with the attached ني it means "it is possible for me")
5.ادرس : adros, I study
6.أذهب : aDhhab, I go
7.أحب : oheb, I love/like
8.قليل من : qaleel min, a few of
9.الكلمات : kalimaat, the words
10.السنة : as-senna, the year

What do you guys want to learn!?!? The letters, vocabulary, grammar? I'm just starting but إن شاء الله I can come up with a lot of stuff to talk about :-D

Monday, April 5, 2010

"Cultural Problems"

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

بسم الله

What does it really mean when people cite "cultural" differences for reasons why two Muslims should not get married?

This phrase gets bandied about quite a bit. I have heard it in my community and online a lot and while it seems pretty unassuming on the face of it, I feel like there is a much deeper meaning.

These are the things I hear when people say cultural differences are the reason a convert from the west should not marry into another culture (since this of course is most applicable to my situation, lol)
1. "She is not our (insert ethnicity here)" > Like when I hear people say "Pakistanis are for Pakistanis, Arabs are for Arabs" etc. or things like "If you dilute the gene-pool, we will lose the physical characteristics that make us *this ethinicity*" (yes I have actually heard that) "Kids will make fun of your children because they look different"

2. "Oh she is from (insert western country here) so she would not be willing to live in our home country" > How totally unfair to make this judgment on every Muslim woman from the west... There are a lot of us who would TOTALLY like to get out of here. Do you think it is comfortable to be asked where you are from when you have lived in the same town your whole life?!?!?

3. "she is a convert, so she may not be able to teach your children everything they need to know" > This can happen in the case of a convert or a born Muslim woman. I know convert women who, mashaAllah, have raised incredibly knowledgeable children.

4. "She will make you choose between us and her." >Ridiculous. Us convert women just want to be part of a Muslim family. khalas, thats all!!!!

5. "We will lose our cultural heritage, your children wont be real (insert nationality here)" > Uh... nope again. Just because a child knows a part of another culture does not mean they will know nothing of their father's culture. Oh and P.S. Nationalism is a characteristic of the Time of Ignorance before Islam, so maybe we should cut that stuff real quick.

There are more but I feel like I am really just ranting now...

This topic really confuses and hurts me a lot, because my prospects for marriage one day are going to be slim to none if this "cultural" idea is in everyone's heads.

Honestly people, our culture is ISLAM. If we don't see eye to eye, ISLAM has a solution, subhanAllah. Are you afraid to let go of your cultural Islam? That us convert women will rebel against the stuff that others have tacked on to Allah's beautiful religion? Maybe all you need is some fresh blood. Allahu alem.

What do you guys think? About inter-racial/cultural couples, about "cultural problems" about anything?

I'm really interested to hear what you have to say :-)

Also if I went too far let me know. I am aware that there are historically problems in inter-cultural couples, but I think that with firm intention and attention to the sunnah, most of that can be worked out. Islam is comprehensive.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Whew... Missed it by *this* much

السلام عليكم

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Wow... what a crazy few weeks it has been subhanAllah.

So update on the wedding proceedings:

I was scared scared scared of the wedding honestly. One side of my family knows about my conversion and the other side doesn't and they were all planning on coming to the wedding (along with my cousin who just looovvveeesss to make situations awkward.) So I was praying and praying in the days leading up to the wedding.

The weather had been around 65 all week, and really beautiful. BUT the day before the wedding the sky opens up and dumps around 14 inches of snow onto our little town, SUBHANALLAH. This is the MOST snow I have ever seen in my whole life. So because of this, most of our family cannot make it into town.

My brother and his wife *giggle* decided to get married anyway and have a ceremony at the place where she works with just some close family and a couple friends (instead of the 75 people who were going to come before). Alhamdulillah they are doing really well and seem really happy to finally be married. And my niece *:-D* calls my brother daddy now all the time (soooo sweet).

The next day ALLL of the snow melted. ALL OF IT. SUBHANALLAH. It was the craziest thing I have ever seen and I know that Allah subhana wa ta'ala does not ever put you in a situation that you can't handle.

ALHAMDULILLAH
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