Thoughts of a Hijaabi

Features, Character and Qualities:

Hazrat Saudah(RA) was the tallest of all the the wives of the Holy Prophet(SAW) and put on flesh. She was most obedient of all wives. Hazrat Aisha(RA) was so much impressed by her obedient conduct towards the Holy Prophet that she praised her in the following words: “Except Saudah, I have never seen a women to desires that my should have been in her body.” Five traditions of the Holy Prophet(SAW) have been mentioned on her authority by the companions Hazrat Abbad, Hazrat Ibn-e-Zubair and Yahya Bin Abdul Rehman Bin As’ad Bin Zararah.

She was meticulous in the obedience of the Holy Prophet(SAW) in word and spirit. On the occasion of the Last Pilgrimage, the Holy Prophet(SAW) had desired that his wives stay in their homes after his death, Hazrat Saudah(RA) obeyed this order to the extent that she did not leave her home even for another Haj saying “I have already performed Haj and Umrah both and hence I shall stay on in my home as per orders of God and His Prophet(SAW).”

In alms-giving and generosity she was above all the wives except Hazrat Aisha(RA). Once Hazrat Umar(RA) sent to her a sac. She asked the courier: “What does it contain?” He replied: “Durhams! [gold coins].” She retorted: “Durham’s are being sent in a sac like dates!” And she hastened to distribute the money among the poor and the needy. She earned magnificently form cleansing of hides and skins and spent lavishly in the way of Allah on deeds of virtue and righteousness.

In the matter of sacrificing her personal rights, she was unique. She was of advanced age when she for into wedlock with the Holy Prophet(SAW). She was closely followed in marriage with Hazrat Aisha(RA) who was younger in age. lest the Holy Prophet(SAW) may divorce her due to her advanced age, she voluntarily surrendered her conjugal rights in favor of Hazrat Aisha(RA) who accepted with pleasure and gratitude. Thus she had the satisfaction of continuous relationship with the Holy Prophet(SAW).

She was rather quick to agitate and Hazrat Aisha(RA) who was ready to appreciate her virtues, said that she was prone to be easily overwhelmed with anger. Once she was going out in the open to answer the call of nature [after the then prevalent system of rustic life] when Hazrat Umar(RA) recognized her and told her in so many words. This agitated her and she complained of it to the Holy Prophet(SAW). After this incident, the verse of veil was revealed to the Holy Prophet(SAW).

She also had good sense of humor. At times she walked in such a way that the Holy Prophet(SAW) was amused. Once she said the Holy Prophet(SAW): “Last bight I prayed in your company but your bowing became so prolonged that I feared my nose has started bleeding and I caught a hold of my nose for a pretty long time.” This amused the Holy Prophet(SAW) and he smiled.

She was very fearful of the Dajjal [Anti christ]. Once she was coming to Hazrat Aisha(RA) and Hazrat Hifsah(RA), both of them knew her weakness ans said to her in a jovial mood: Have you heard that the Dajjal had made his appearance?” She was alarmed and she readily entered a tent where certain people were busy kindling fire. Both the ladies, Hazrat Aisha(RA) and Hazrat Hifsah(RA) came running to the Holy Prophet(SAW) and informed him of the joke they had with Hazrat Saudah. The Holy Prophet(SAW) quietly came to the entrance of the tent and said: “The Dajjal has not yet made his appearance.” On hearing this, Hazrat Saudah(RA) came out of the tent and cleared her garments of the cobweb which had clung to her dress in the tent.”

Taken from: Biographies of the Women Companions of the Holy Prophet(SAW) and The Ways of Their Sacred Lives by Maulana Saeed Ansari Nadvi, Maulana Abdus-Salam Nadvi, and Allama Syed Suleman Nadvi.

I usually hate e-mail forwards but every now and then I get one that stands out and is worth sharing. I’ve been teaching at Qur’an classes for about four years now and every now and then there are some students that have no feeling for Deen and are only there because there parents makes them. I think it’s sad and scary that some of the youth of our Ummah are hating our Deen and they don’t even know anything about it. I think it is up to the parents to develop a love for the Deen by teaching their kids about it at a young age, but the fact is that the parents mix up Deen with culture and culture with twhat they want and it all results in a very rebellious child that starts to purposely do anything that they know will upset their parents. Allahu ‘Alam what is in store for our future Ummah but inshaAllah it will get better. I think this article is worth reading:

Walking the Line

For a generation of Muslim American children, the challenge is navigating between the demands of their faith and their desire to fit into the boader local culture. How they cope.

Web Exclusive

By Robina Riccitiello and Karen Breslau

Special to Newsweek

 

Updated: 5:55 p.m. ET July 25, 2007

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July 25, 2007 - Saba Anees fits her observance of Islam seamlessly into her jam-packed teenage schedule. The 16-year-old high-school junior from Sunnyvale, Calif.—an aspiring fashion editor—has tailored her headscarf for tennis practice. She chats with friends online, under the watchful eye of her Pakistani immigrant parents. Anees makes time for her mosque youth group, despite the pressures of classes, homework and social pursuits—in part to please her parents, who work in Silicon Valley’s high-tech industry. Confident and outspoken, she has learned that being Muslim in America often means being an ambassador for the faith, even when the questions are anything but diplomatic. “When I started high school a boy asked, ‘Do you wear that scarf to hide your bruises?’” she says. “People expect you to be abused or something.”

It fell to Anees, then 14, to explain that adhering to Islam’s modest dress code for women “doesn’t mean you’re kept back by men.” Her mother, after all, works as an analytical chemist for a pharmaceutical company and would like to see her daughter become a lawyer someday. But dealing with misconceptions is only part of the challenge for observant Muslim teens. Navigating the risks and temptations of American pop culture—whether racy music, dating or having an account on Facebook—can be far trickier. “Parents who didn’t grow up here aren’t used to teenagers who have their own lives,” says Sarah Azad, a volunteer youth group leader at the Muslim Community Center Association (MCA) of Silicon Valley, where Anees and her family attend. “The No. 1 complaint I hear from parents is not that their children aren’t religious, but that they spend too much time on the computer.”

The lament is hardly unique to Muslim parents. But for a generation of Muslim children, learning to walk the line between the demands of their faith and their desire to fit into the local culture is part of a broader identity search. Each Friday evening, Anees and a group of teenage girls meet at the MCA mosque with Azad, who squeezes time from her grueling schedule as a first-year medical resident, and another counselor to vent—and to give each other support. For the younger generation, Azad says the main complaint is that immigrant parents can’t understand what it means to grow up as a minority in a culture where values are far different from those their parents experienced growing up in India, Pakistan, Syria or Morocco. It’s a dilemma Azad understands well. The daughter of Afghan immigrants, she grew up in St. Louis, answering the same questions about Islam—having the same struggles with her parents, that the girls do now.

Sometimes, the accommodations are easy. Yousur Alhlou, 17, a high-school senior, who was born in Oklahoma, says it’s not hard to find music that won’t offend her—or her Syrian-born parents. She likes Coldplay and sometimes just switches to news radio when she can’t find music she considers appropriate. “Anees convinced her parents to lighten up by downloading a Carrie Underwood song from iTunes. Country music, with its clean lyrics, seems to be a safe middle ground.

But dating, or even mingling unsupervised with boys, is an entirely different matter. Courtship and marriage are considered by many Muslims to be a social negotiation involving families, not just a would-be couple themselves. During high school and college, Muslim girls are expected to socialize with other girls. Alhlou, a 17-year-old senior, has many non-Muslim friends who organize all-girl movie outings so she can join them. The public high school Alhlou attends in San Jose has so many Muslim students that on prom night, organizers rented an extra room so that Muslim girls could have their own dance space—a compromise that allows them to both have fun and remain observant. Alhlou cracks up the group with her story of a classmate who asked if he would have to marry her because he saw her hair come loose from her hijab. “I told him, ‘Yeah.’ The poor guy got so scared.”

Fitting into American jock culture has proven surprisingly easy. Mounia O’Neal, the daughter of a Moroccan mother and an American father, plays tennis and runs track in her hijab. Others play volleyball and basketball and field hockey in long pants instead of shorts, often laughing at the distraction their headscarves can provoke among opposing players. Saadia Hameed, one of the youth-group leaders, tells the girls how she snorkels and goes scuba-diving wearing a hijab and a modest swim outfit specially designed for Muslim women. Every now and then, someone at her local health club will ask about her getup. “If I’m not running on the treadmill, I’ll explain things—that it’s a sign of modesty,” says Hameed, who plans to become a school psychologist.

The defining moment of their young Muslim lives continues to be 9/11. O’Neal, then a fourth-grader, cried along with her classmates on the day of the attacks. Soon though, she remembers that other children started echoing their parents’ fears and a young Muslim boy running for student council found the word “terrorist”—spelled wrong—written in green crayon all over his campaign posters. Saba Anees says her Muslim elementary school had to shut down for a week because it received so many threats. But, as it did for their parents, the attacks spurred many young people to deepen their commitment to Islam. After 9/11, says O’Neal, 14, “I felt I have more of a duty to be myself and wear a hijab and become more of a Muslim, so I can represent Islam the right way.”

Despite the challenges, for the girls at the MCA mosque, identifying as both Muslim and American has proven easier than for their parents. Saba Anees has spent nearly her whole life in America and worries that she’d feel like a stranger in Pakistan. “I feel like sometimes I can’t connect to the Pakistani culture as much anymore. If I were to go back and try to speak Urdu, they’d be like, ‘What are you doing?’” Visiting their parents’ countries can bring up interesting conflicts, especially when relatives in the home country are not as observant as the American teens. Some of Yousour Alhlou’s relatives in Syria don’t wear a hijab, and they smoke. The relatives assume that the American girls don’t strictly follow Islam. “I get the occasional, ‘So, do you wear a scarf? How many boyfriends do you have?’” Alhlou says. “Some things I do more religiously than they even do. But even if you tell them that, I get doubtful looks and ‘Yeah, right.’ They think we worship Britney Spears!”

As if.

Source: Newsweek

الا قتصا د في النفقة نصف المعيشة و اتود د الي النا س نسف العقل و حسن اسؤ ا ل نسف العلم

The Messenger of Allah(SAW) said: “Moderation in spending is half of [one's] sustenance, friendliness toward people is half of [one's] intelligence, and asking good questions is half of [one's] knowledge.” [Bayhaqi, Shu'ab al-iman]

Here “Moderation in spending…” is best understood by the verse of the Qur’an:”Those who, when they spend, are not extravagant and not miserly, but hold a just balance between the two. (Qur’an 25:67) [The income a person receives is mostly not in one's control, as opposed to the spending of what one possesses, which is nearly always in his control. Hence, regulating what one spends of his wealth can provide half the answer to stability in one's livelihood] “Friendliness towards people…” means that a person’s intelligence is perfected through interaction with others, in that the collaboration of intelligence is perfected through interaction with others in that the collaboration of two minds is better than one. And “Asking good questions is half of one’s knowledge” because knowledge of a particular issue only becomes complete by asking the appropriate questions. (Mirquat al-mafatih 8:795). [A] Also, fully thinking through a questions before seeking an answer provides half the answer to the questioner, as opposed to random questioning.

Taken from Provisions For The Seekers, translation and commentary of Zad al-Talibin by Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn-Yusuf

This looked pretty interesting to me:

Me, Prejudiced? A Game Show Plays Jury

By Mike Hale

Published: July 17, 2007

Twenty-five thousand dollars? As the prize for a new 90-minute game show-reality contest? It seems like a paltry amount, even less than you can win on a charming anachronism like “Jeopardy.” These days, who wants to be anything short of a millionaire?

But $25,000 is the amount at stake in each episode of “Without Prejudice” on the Game Show Network, and it makes sense, because the prize isn’t the point. Having learned something from “American Idol,” another game show that originated in Britain, “Without Prejudice” shifts its focus almost entirely away from the contestants and puts it squarely on the judges.

The premise: five people, sequestered in the proverbial green room, reveal tidbits about themselves — their jobs, their beliefs, their love lives — to another five people, who sit in judgment of them along with the show’s host, the psychotherapist Robi Ludwig. All 10 are “ordinary” — no celebrities in sight — though since we’re told nothing about how either group is selected, we can assume that the usual reality-show casting decisions are being made. That would explain the contestant in tonight’s pilot who first admits to being a marine and later adds that he’s now an “adult-film” star.

The wrinkle, such as it is: The contestants don’t have to do anything but be themselves (or whatever version of themselves they’re willing to project on television). It’s up to the panelists to vote them off gradually and eventually pick a winner of that $25,000 check, based solely on their appearances and their answers to questions from the producers and the panel. (The two finalists meet their judges face to face.)

We watch the questioning, and we watch the panelists’ deliberations (guided by Ms. Ludwig), which, in the absence of much solid information about the contestants, are meant to lean heavily on the prejudices the judges bring with them (hence the ironic title).

It’s a bit like “The View” and a bit like “Survivor” — a 90-minute tribal council, on a cheap game show set instead of a romantically tiki-torched beach.

GSN, as the network prefers to be called, has been flogging the show as “controversial and provocative,” and the first episode tries to earn those labels right away: within minutes, one panelist has announced his dislike for a contestant simply because he’s black and, well, the panelist just doesn’t like black people. When is the last time you heard that in public, let alone on television? (From a noncelebrity, that is.) The panelist may indeed be racist, but his declaration of it just plays like a bid for attention.

Tonight’s episode calms down after that, though there’s a bit of a kerfuffle over feelings about gun control, and one panelist can’t stop speculating about which of the contestants might be gay. When it’s all said and done, the final decision appears to have less to do with the contestants’ lives and beliefs than with their Q factors: The winner is the most likable of the five, with the best smile.

Despite its “Weakest Link” music and its structural resemblance to contests like “Survivor,” “Without Prejudice” kept reminding me of an entirely different show: “The Real World,” the original purveyor of rambling all-night conversations about race and sex. The difference with “The Real World” cast members — beyond the fact that they’re often drunk, which gives them a degree of deniability — is that we get to know them, sometimes much better than we’d care to, and eventually we can judge when they’re telling the truth.

On “Without Prejudice,” while we’re told little about the contestants, we’re told even less about the panelists (in the pilot, at least). The entertainment is supposed to come from watching the panelists expose their hidden biases, but it’s hard to care if you don’t know anything about them, and it’s impossible to judge their real feelings.

When it comes down to tonight’s final elimination, each panelist has a reason for his or her choice, but — without giving too much away — it seemed likely that they voted the way they did simply because they were afraid of appearing racist.

We’ve all been in a place like this, where people we didn’t know made judgments and said stupid things about us based on nothing beyond our appearance and our way of speaking. It was called high school, and do we really need to go back?

Source: The New York Times

Watch the video here.

I think making du’a is one of the most important things but something that is under rated and not taken seriously. As Prophet Muhammed(SAW) said:

ا لد عا ء مخ ا لعبا د ة

Ad-du’a u mukh-khul ‘ibaadah

“Du’a [Supplication] is the essence of worship.” [Bukhari]

When I first read this hadith the first thing that popped into my head was, ‘How is du’a worship?’ Nabi(SAW) tells us that by making du’a you are communicating with Allah, Allah actually prefers us to ask. Making du’a is actually fulfilling an obligation. Everyday Allah descends from the first heaven to see if anyone needs anything, to fulfill the du’as of those who ask. We should always make du’a to Allah when we hear, see or find out about other’s who aren’t in the best of state of when we hear about accidents, sicknesses etc…

We must remember that du’as are powerful but not magic. Sometimes when I get incredibly frustrated or when things begin to go wrong or take an ugly turn I think about how I’ve made du’a and then say du’as don’t work. Hey I’m human and my patience sometimes falls apart; but then what helps out more is remembering that Allah probably saved me from something else that might be worst in my future. Allah says, “Don’t rush me!” Du’a is an ibadah, an act of worship and we must keep this in mind when making du’a and when things may or may not turn the way we want them to. We should take the advice that Hazrat Safiya(RA) gave us which was don’t forget to weep in fear of Allah. When you cry in fear of Allah or for the sake of Allah then Allah will be pleased with the humbleness that he sees in us. These tears will help erase the sins. Weeping brings Allah’s mercy full force. The best time is Tahajjud, when it is juss you and Allah.

The best du’as are in Arabic but the best way to personalize du’as are to make them in your own native tongue, or whatever language you are comfortable in; it’s up to you whether you want to say it out loud or quietly.

Some Du’as:

الحمد لله رب ا لعلمين و الصلوة والسلا م على اشرف الا نبياء والمر سلين سيد نا محمد و على اله و اصحا به اجمعين

Al-hamdulillahi rabil aalameen was-salaam ‘alaa ashrafil anbiyaai walmursaleen. Say-yidi naa muhammadiw-wa ‘alaa aalihee wa ashaabihee ajmaeen

“All praises are due to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds. Blessings and salutations be on the best of the prophets, our Master, [Hazrat] Muhammed(SAW), his descendants and all his companions.”

ربنا اتنا فى الد نيا حسنتة و فى الا خرة حسنة و قنا عذا ب النا ر

Rab-banaa aatinaa fid-dunyaa hasanataw-wafilaakhirati hasanataw-wa kinaa ‘adhaaban-naar

“Our Lord! Give us good in this world and good in the Hereafter, and save us from the punishment of the fire.”

ربنا لا تز غ قلو بنا بعد اذ هد يتنا و هب لنا من لد نك رحمة انك انت الو ها ب

Rab-banaa laa tuzighu kulubanaa ba’da idh hadaytanaa wahab lanaa mil-ladunka rahmatan in-naka antalwah-haab

“Our Lord! do not turn our hearts away after You have guided us and grant us [special] mercy from You. Verily You are the Giver.”

الهم انا نسءلك من كل خير ما سا لك منه نبيك محمد صلى الله عليه و سلم و نعوذ بك من كل شر ما استعا ذ ك منه نبيك محمد صلى الله عليه و سلم

Allahumma in-na nasaluka min kulli khayri ma sa alaka minhu nabiy-yuka muhammad sal-lalaahu ‘alayhi wa sal-lima wa na’udhu bika min kulli sharri masta’aa dhaka minhu nabiy-yuka muhammad salalaahu ‘alayhi wa salam.

“O Allah! we seek from You the best of which Your prophet, Muhammed(SAW) sought, and we seek Your protection from the worst of which Your Prophet Muhammed(SAW) sought protection.”

ربنا تقبل منا انك انت اسميع العليم و تب علينا انك انت التوب الرحيم

Rab-banaa takab-ba; min-naa in-naka antas-sameeyul’aleem wa tub ‘alaynaa in-nakaa antat-taw-waabur-rahime.

“O Allah- our Lord! accept from us our request. Surely, You are All-hearing, All-knowing. Accept our repentance. Surely, You are Oft-returning, most Merciful.”

سبحان ربك رب العزة عما يصفون وسلام على المر سلين والحمد الله رب العلمين

Subhaana rabbika rabil’iz-zati ‘am-maa yasifuna wa salaamun ‘alaalmursaleena walhamdu lillahi rabil ‘alameen.

“Perfect is Your Lord- the Lord of Honor-from what the [the Mushrikeen] ascribe to him. And peace be on the prophets. And all praise are due to Allah, the Lord of the universe.”

I found this on HAhmed.com, the video speaks for itself. Personally when I saw it I was actually juss shocked, I mean I went to one of the whitest schools on Long Island that had barely any Muslims but they allowed my brother and I to pray whenever we had a free period. This video made me angry and happy. It’s nice to see that our Deen is strong in the younger generations of our Ummah, that they’re not ashamed to say that they are Muslim or practice Islam in public But the anger came whenever Cheri Jacobus opened her mouth, I especially got frustrated when she said, “This is special treatment.” Special treatment?!?!? If you think Muslims have it so easy, that Muslims have special treatment, you walk in our shoes for a day and see how it is, then you can make your claims. But as Laura Flanders put it, “There’s nothing easier to whip up into a frenzy with the word “Muslim” in it.” Couldn’t have agreed more, so you watch it and voice your own opinion(s):

I later found another video:

US House Votes for Troop Pullout 

The United States House of Representatives has voted in favour of pulling most combat troops out of Iraq by April next year.

The new legislation calls for the Pentagon to begin withdrawing combat troops within four months.

The vote comes despite President George W Bush’s threat to veto any timetable.

Both the House and the Senate must pass separate legislation and then reconcile their two versions for a measure to be passed to the president.

Correspondents say the House of Representatives, controlled by the Democrats, is hoping to pressure the Senate to approve a similar timeline.

It is the third time this year the House has voted in favour of legislation to end US military involvement in Iraq.

One previous legislative push was vetoed by Mr Bush, while a second failed when the Senate voted twice against imposing a withdrawal timetable.

The latest attempt would allow some US forces to stay in Iraq to train the Iraqi army and carry out counter-terrorism operations.

“It is time for the president to listen to the American people and do what is necessary to protect this nation,” said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat.

“That means admitting his Iraq policy has failed, working with the Democrats and Republicans in Congress on crafting a new way forward in Iraq and refocusing our collective efforts on defeating al-Qaeda.”

Earlier, President Bush presented an interim report on Iraq which said there had been only limited military and political progress following his decision to send troop reinforcements earlier this year.

The security situation remains “complex and extremely challenging”, the report said.

It added that the economic picture was “uneven” and political reconciliation lagging.

Mixed results

The report said the Iraqi parliament had failed to debate crucial legislation for the country’s oil industry.

It also warned of “tough fighting” during the summer, saying al-Qaeda was likely to “increase its tempo of attacks”.

“The report makes clear that not even the White House can conclude there has been significant progress,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat. “We have already waited too long.”

But Mr Bush rejected calls for a withdrawal of US forces, saying it would be disastrous.

He said troops would only be withdrawn when conditions were right, “not because pollsters say it’ll be good politics”.

The Iraqi ambassador to Washington, Samir Sumaidaie, told the BBC that the US had set an unrealistic timescale to solve Iraq’s problems.

“The Iraqi government is working under extremely difficult conditions, not all of which were created by them. To say that we have failed and we are doomed to fail is defeatist,” he said.

The BBC’s James Coomarasamy in Washington says the most eagerly awaited reaction is yet to come - that of wavering Republicans who could determine whether or not Congress will try to force the president’s hand.

Three Republicans in the Senate have broken ranks with the president and called for a phased troop withdrawal.

Several others have signed on as supporters of a bipartisan bill to implement a series of changes recommended last December by the Iraqi Study Group.

The Democrats will need support from the Republicans if they are to push the legislation through in a final Senate vote expected next week.

Source: BBC News

I juss got back from the ICNA convention and it was great. I think each year I am amazed by the outcome and hamdulillah learn a little bit more. I was usually at the Youth Conference or occasionally at the Bazaar or Starbucks. I think I’ve come to the realization that YM isn’t given the appreciation that it should be given; they do so much and instead of being thanked they get criticized.
    Friday: Well on Friday my brother left for Umrah, so the family drove him to the airport, we all shed a few tears said our salaams and then began our two different journey’s; one to the land of the beloved and the other to Hartford, Connecticut…? [well at least we were learning about the beloved]. Due to the insane traffic, we arrived at the convention pretty late so I mostly juss chilled at my cousins booth in the Bazaar and took a glance at what was at the Bazaar. The Bazaar is juss one of those things that makes me happy, I mean it’s insanely crowded but it makes me feel happy to see all of the Muslims. The books, the jilbaabs, the hijaabs, and the “Uncles” that try talking to you in Urdu as you try explaining to them in English that you do not speak Urdu, yeah I’d have to say that the whole Bazaar experience is always pretty fun. Between staying at the Convention Center late, and fooling around and “exploring” the hotel with cousins, Friday was a pretty long night.

    Saturday: Even though we got pretty much no sleep Friday night hamdulillah my mother made sure we all woke up for Fajr and then tried waking us up to get to the Convention. Well considering that we’re Afghan, we had to uphold the unwritten rules of being Afghan and arrive there late, so I missed to Hadith Intensive which was at 9am. I finally attended something productive ["Use t, or Lose It: Learn how the Prophet(SAW) managed his time"] I think this was my first time listening to Dr. Jamal Badawi. He mentioned how whatever we do has an impact. How we must take the approach of giving answers and reason, how we should take this approach so that we can be respected. He reminded us of how Muslims acted with the Danish cartoons drama. How Muslims portrayed themselves, burning down buildings and rioting; the only thing that we made was make ourselves look bad. He was a pretty good speaker and brought out some points that really gets you thinking.

But the next session ["Becoming Leaders"] was the one I was looking forward to with Br. Nouman Ali Khan ["The Present Norm-Life in the Jahliyya"] and Imam Siraj Wahhaj ["The Current Methodology of Da'wah"], both are incredible speakers that I always look forward to listening to. Br. Nouman told us to imagine the pressure that Nabi(SAW) was under, what he had been through all for the cause of Allah. He reminded us how we give excuses that we are under pressure, but when we think about it our pressure is nothing compared to the sacrifices that our Nabi(SAW) and our Sahaba all went through. Br. Nouman reminded me how thankful we should be for everything that we have. He talked about how when people make statements like, “I wish I was among the Sahaba,” and how we must be mindful when we make such statements. Would we be able to handle it? No car, no cell phone, no TV, no internet, no games, and the list goes on and on. He told us how we need to start loving Nabi(SAW). We all make the claim that we love Nabi(SAW) but the problem is that when you love someone you want to know everything about them. We need to start learning everything that we possibly can learn about Nabi(SAW). How we also need to start developing a new relationship with the Qur’an. For the Sahaba the Qur’an was a way of life, for us it’s a book of knowledge; we must remember that it is a book of counsel, a book of guidance. Finally he told us that the greatest thing to strive for is to strive for what makes you happy.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj is juss one of those people that I could listen to for hours. His enthusiasm and ability to keep the audience listening amazes me. He told us how the real test is not how we act when we are at the Convention surrounded by thousands of Muslims, but when we go back home. He talked about Daw’ah he asked us: “How much of your time is devoted to calling others to Islam?” “How important is it to you to give Daw’ah?” Honestly speaking I was pretty embarrassed with my own personal answers and Daw’ah really isn’t something that I usually think about. He then asked us that if we could make any two people become Muslims who would it be [I chose George Bush and Tony Blair]. He taught us that every human being is a potential Muslim, it is our job to call them to Islam. He told us to think about who we chose, people don’t juss call people to Islam to protect them from Jahanum but to actually help Islam itself. The truth is that sometimes we need people that can help out our Deen. He reminded us that the key to Daw’ah is to have the heart and the mentality.

I think I realized the power of YM when I attended the “Youth Appreciation: A Tribute to Young Muslims.” I saw how the sisters formed this bond it actually made me want to cry. The bond that the sisters had was amazing and powerful. It showed me that sisterhood is real and big it can get. When I later went to the YM booth I saw one of their shirts that had “SISTERHOOD” written on the front and something written on the back that made me smile and feel all warm inside:

The essense of sisterhood

bound not by the ties of blood

daughters, sisters, wives, mothers

but strengthened by the ties of iman

color can not shake us

language can not break us

boundaries can not separate us

across oceans, rivers, and seas

we laugh the same laugh

weep the same tears

struggle the same cause

united by one battle cry

la ilaha illallah muhammadur rasullullah

This year the Entertainment session was a bit different. Last year there was Zain Bhikha and Native Deen. No complaints or anything this years wasn’t bad either, it began with two speeches. The first one was by Dr. Muzammil Siddiqui [Bridging the Gap Between Generations], he talked about how families are deteriorating and we need to get it back. He talked about how we first need to develop a love between the older and younger generations. How families need to take care of each other, spend time with each other. He told us a statistic that I thought was pretty scary, he said that studies show that parents and children speak for less than 15 minutes a week! We need to better our relationships with those of different ages, parents must be good role models and we mustn’t discourage those that are younger when they make mistakes.

Dr. Altaf Hussein [Engaging the Young People: Mentoring the Youth Workers] was also another speaker that I really haven’t known or heard of but brought up some good points. He told us how we need to respect the insight of young people because they have an insight that elders can not ever see. He asked are we ready to accept and respect the young ones to be our future ‘alims or will we continuously be criticizing them? He talked about how it is the job of the elders to tell the young ones what their “jobs” are. How we need to support the Young Muslims. He also advised us to tie ourselves under the Sunnah of our beloved Nabi(SAW).

The YM promotional videos seemed pretty good to me. Their celebrity Jeopardy was hilarious and very well played out. I had to leave early so I’m not really sure what took place after that but upset that I had to miss it.

    Sunday: When Sunday morning came around I was saddened by the fact that this wonderful weekend had already come to an end. Well once again my Afghaness got the better of me and for the second time I missed the Hadith Intensive. But hamdulillah I caught “1400 Years Ago: Lessons From Our Past.” This was the first time I’ve ever listened to Shaykh Yasir Qadhi and mashallah he’s a great speaker. He told us how we must learn to benefit from Nabi(SAW), how Nabi(SAW) is our role model. He told us that in order to love Nabi(SAW) we must first learn everything we possibly can learn from him. Next we must study his methodology. Third we must look at how much Nabi(SAW) has been through. And finally we must learn about him so that we can uphold his name and defend the Seerah. He reminded us how during Nabi(SAW)’s lifetime there were two super powers: the Roman Empire and the Persian Empire. No one would’ve ever expect a force [Islam] would emerge from Arabia and take down both of these super powers. This was the power of Islam, this was the power of la illaha illallah, most of all this was the power of iman. He encouraged us to get involved in groups, and programs that may not be Muslim groups but groups that have good intentions and good causes; this can also help us in Daw’ah. He explained the stages of Daw’ah during the times of Nabi(SAW). The first stage was a “secret,” he would tell people about Islam that he knew would be interested in it. In the second stage Nabi(SAW) climbed Mount Safa and called the Quraish to Islam. During the third stage there was a military confrontation with only the Quraish. In the fourth stage there was simply open Daw’ah with no confrontation. And then finally in the fifth stage there was the Conquest of Makkah , open Daw’ah with confrontation. We must learn from stage one, we are a minority and we must not rush into things. He also said, “The fruits of your efforts might not work immediately,” we must look at Nabi(SAW) and see how much he’s been through and for how long. When Nabi(SAW) would give Daw’ah he would actually ask for permission, if he could speak to them about Islam. We must plant the seeds of Islam everywhere. You never know what little act will benefit and establish a love for the Deen of Islam.

Arif Hussain: He talked about key events in Nabi(SAW)’s life. The first key event was when the Makkans left Makkah. They left behind everything for the sake of Allah. Look at the love they had for Allah, we must make du’a that we establish such a strong love for Allah. The second key event was the Battle of Badr. He advised us to be active in our communities and to be active in the way of Allah. And finally the last, final, and key event that he told us about was the Death of Nabi(SAW). Nabi(SAW) told us that “whenever you think of something horrible think of my death.” When he started talking about Nabi(SAW)’s death there were tears in my eyes and everything that I’ve learned throughout the weekend began to come together. We must always keep Nabi(SAW) in our thoughts for he would sit and shed tears for us. Today people say so many bad things and give such names to our beloved Prophet(SAW) and what do we do? How many times do we cry for Nabi(SAW)? Nabi(SAW) was the gate of Revelation. To love Nabi(SAW) means to know him, benefit from him, learn everything about him and to be proud of him so we must uphold his name.

Overall the convention was great. From getting to see old friends again, to walking back to the hotel with a huge group of Muslims. From listening to the inspiring speeches to standing together in Salah. The tears that ran down my face from the beautiful recitation and the touching speeches and realizations all made it better. It was a perfect time to reflect upon myself and ask Allah for help and guidance.Can’t wait until next year, and hopefully what the speakers have said have stuck to me and I will change for the better.