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

"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.

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

WOVE, twoo wove

As-salamu alaikum ya sadiqaaty!!

My brother is getting married this weekend inshaAllah.

This is a really rough time for me since EVERYONE there will be non-muslim (except me of course) and most of them don't know that I have converted. inshaAllah khair

Please keep me in your du'a during this time... I really need and appreciate it.

InshaAllah after this weekend I will let you guys know how it goes and maybe take some photos and such.

I've got some ideas for the blog too, but things are just really crazy right now with the wedding and everything.

Anyway, hope everything is well with all you lovely ladies!

<3 NeverEver

Knowledge

السلام عليكم ورحمة الله وبركاته

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Today's post إن شاء الله is about gaining KNOWLEDGE

Names of Allah:
العليم : Al-'Aleem, the All Knowing, Omniscient
الخبير : Al-Khabeer, the All Aware
الحكيم : Al-Hakeem, the Wise
الواجد : Al-Waajid, the Perceiver

From the Qur'an:
(Al-‘Alaq 96:3-5) Read! And your Lord is the Most Generous. Who has taught (the writing) by the pen. He has taught man that which he knew not.

(al-Mujādilah 58:11) Allāh will exalt in degree those of you who believe, and those who have been granted knowledge.

(Ta-Ha 20:114) and say: ‘My Lord! Increase me in knowledge’

(al-Zumar 39:9) Say: ‘Are those who know equal to those who know not?’ It is only men of understanding who will remember (i.e. get a lesson from Allāh’s Signs and Verses)

(al-Imran 3:18) GOD [Himself] proffers evidence - and [so do] the angels and all who are endowed with knowledge - that there is no deity save Him, the Upholder of Equity: there is no deity save Him, the Almighty, the Truly Wise.

(Ta-Ha 20:110) [for] He knows all that lies open before men and all that is hidden from them, whereas they cannot encompass Him with their knowledge.

(An-Nisa 4:113) And but for God's favour upon thee and His grace, some of those [who are false to themselves] would indeed endeavour to lead thee astray; yet none but themselves do they lead astray. Nor can they harm thee in any way, since God has bestowed upon thee from on high this divine writ and [given thee] wisdom, and has imparted unto thee the knowledge of what thou didst not know. And God's favour upon thee is tremendous indeed.

From the Ahadith:

Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 7, Book 69, Number 483:

Narrated Anas:
I heard from Allah's Apostle a narration which none other than I will narrate to you. The Prophet, said, "From among the portents of the Hour are the following: General ignorance (in religious affairs) will prevail, (religious) knowledge will decrease, illegal sexual intercourse will prevail, alcoholic drinks will be drunk (in abundance), men will decrease and women will increase so much so that for every fifty women there will be one man to look after them."

Sahih al-Bukhari Volume 9, Book 89, Number 255:


Narrated 'Abdullah:
Allah's Apostle said, "Do not wish to be like anyone, except in two cases: (1) A man whom Allah has given wealth and he spends it righteously. (2) A man whom Allah has given wisdom (knowledge of the Quran and the Hadith) and he acts according to it and teaches it to others."

Du'a: Ya Rabb, increase us in knowledge!!!!!

Still Busy...

But just wanted to take a minute to say السلام عليكم to you all!

إن شاء الله I will write some more sooooooon.

Plus I am hoping to add another little section/kind of post that I hope you guys like!

جزاك الله خير for stopping by ladies!

Oh and also, would anyone be interested in me sharing some of the stuff I am learning in my Arabic class on here? And if so, what would you like to know?

Thanks!!!!!!!

A Place of My Own

السلام عليك

بسم الله

The other day I was wandering around our student union looking for a place to pray dhuhr. Prayer time started at 12:30 as did my next class, so I was already late but determined to find a spot to pray.

Every door I came to was locked locked locked locked.

But I had a really big need to find a room. I needed to PRAY you guys! "Ya Allah, help me find a place to pray!"

Finally at the end of the hall I found a room that was locked BUT the door was ever so slightly ajar.

I snuck into the room while trying to remember which direction was the qibla (I use the streets of our city to find the qibla as everything is set on N-S E-W directions).

The room was set up for a meeting of some kind and there was only ONE light on in the room. It was lighting up a little niche in the middle of one of the walls which just happened to be conveniently positioned to be facing the qibla!

SUBHANALLAH!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was so excited so I took a picture to show you guys, lol.





The first one is the meeting room and the second is my little niche with the light :-)

alhamdulillah