Thoughts of a Hijaabi

My little brother showed me this video today. I’ve never seen it before but when I watched it I began to cry. Watch it, you’ll understand:

Lyrics:

Today, upon a bus,
I saw a girl with golden hair.
And wished I was as fair.
When suddenly she rose to leave,
I saw her hobble down the aisle.
She had one leg and wore a crutch.
But as she passed, she smiled.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two legs the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I `d go.
With eyes to see the sunset’s glow.
With ears to hear what I’d know.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine.
I have blessed indeed, the world is mine.

I stopped to buy some candy.
The lad who sold it had such charm.
I talked with him, he seemed so glad.
If I were late, it `d do no harm.
And as I left, he said to me,
“I thank you, you’ve been so kind.
You see,” he said, “I `m blind”
Oh God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two eyes the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I `d go.
With eyes to see the sunset’s glow.
With ears to hear what I’d know.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine.
I have blessed indeed, the world is mine.

I saw a child with eyes of blue.
He stood and watched the others play.
He did not know what to do.
I stopped a moment and then I said,
“Why don’t you join the others, dear?”
He looked ahead without a word.
And then I knew. He couldn’t hear.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine.
I have two ears the world is mine.

With feet to take me where I `d go.
With eyes to see the sunset’s glow.
With ears to hear what I’d know.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine.
I have blessed indeed, the world is mine

Look at the way we live today, we shouldn’t go a a day without asking for forgiveness. Our beloved Prophet(SAW) and Sahaba’s(RA) used to make so much istighfaar and us, well as Ahmed Bukhatir talks about in the song, we are very good at whining.

May Allah forgive us and give blessings and reward those who have or are facing any difficulties.

Take care and make lots of du’aa inshaAllah.

-radf

Take care and make lots of du’aa inshaAllah.

-radf

I really don’t like Peter King:

King calls for scrutiny of nation’s mosques

Martin C. Evans
Newsday
September 20, 2007

King told a Washington political newspaper that there are “too many mosques in this country, there’s too many people who are sympathetic to radical Islam.

“We should be looking at them more carefully, we should be finding out how we can infiltrate, we should be much more aggressive in law enforcement,” King said during a video interview carried on the Politico Web site.

Asked to comment, King said he did not mean to convey that there should be fewer mosques.

“What I am saying very strongly is too many mosques in this country are not cooperating with law enforcement and too many have been taken over or are heavily influenced by extremists,” said King (R-Seaford).

He said as many as 85 percent of Islamic houses of worship in America, including some on Long Island, have radical leadership. King said he got that information from a Muslim leader, Sheik Muhammad Hisham Kabbani, although other Muslims have criticized that estimate.

The president of the Council of Mosques of Long Island, Dr. Hafiz Rehman, dismissed King’s comments as irresponsible, saying there is no indication radicalism has taken hold in any area mosque.

King, the ranking Republican on the House Committee on Homeland Security, has frequently accused Muslim communities of harboring potentially violent extremism.

He said several mosques on Long Island are under law enforcement surveillance, but he declined to identify them.

A Nassau police spokesman said he was unaware of any special investigations of mosques. Suffolk police had no one available to comment.

Staff writer  contributed to this story.

He’s making all Muslim’s sound like criminals. King’s one of those people that makes statements and then when he’s asked to prove it he’s got nothing to back himself up. He needs to learn how to get his facts straight and stop picking on us Muslims, and now he’s picking on Long Island, what did we ever do that’s making us look sketchy? I could go on but I am sure that I should definitely stop before my anger and frustration reaches an all time high and after all it is Ramadhaan. Way to go Peter King, you made me get angry during Ramadhaan; I’ll pray for you, who knows maybe it’s possible that someone like Peter King can get a little sense knocked into him.

Anyway, I hope you are all enjoying your Ramadhaan, Take care and make lots of du’aa inshaAllah.

-radf

I found this poem on Under Cover Pearls and thought it was very nice:
Dhikr of the eyes, which consists in weeping
Dhikr of the ears, which consists in listening
Dhikr of the tongue, which consists in praise
Dhikr of the hands, which consists in giving
Dhikr of the body, which consists in loyalty
Dhikr of the heart, which consists in fear and hope
Dhikr of the spirit, which consists of utter submission and acceptance.
-Aashiq-E-Mustapha

Hamdulillah yesterday was the first Taraweeh Today is the first day of fasting And no school too Here are some notes to help you this Ramadhaan, some are from my old post, and some may be new but I hope they benefit you inshaAllah:

(Note: the following information was mostly taken form Faza’il-e-A’maal and some random lectures, any mistakes made is my own fault/misunderstanding of the context and may Allah(SWT) forgive me, InshaAllah.)

• In Ramadan fasting is Fard by day, and Taraweeh is Sunnah by night.
• In Ramadan performing a Nafl act is equivalent to the reward of Fard act.
• In Ramadan performing a Fard act is equivalent to 70 Fard acts any other time.
• This is the month of patience.
• Show sympathy to one another.
• The first 10 days of Ramadan bring’s Allah’s mercy.
• The next 10 days of Ramdan bring’s Allah’s forgiveness.
• The Last 10 days brings emancipation from the fire of Jahanam.
• Allah turns to us and sends us his special mercy.
• Allah forgives our faults, accepts our prayers.
• Allah boasts to his Malaa’ikah about us.
• Try to recite Kalima Tayyiba.
• Try to think of Ramadhaan as a month of purification.
• Make Istighfar (to please Allah)
• Beg for entry into Jannah.
• Seek refuge in Allah from Jahanum (these we can not do with out)
• The fish in the sea seek forgiveness for the fasting person on their behalf until the person breaks their fast.
• The smell from the mouth of a fasting person is sweeter to Allah than the smell of musk.
• Allah prepares and decorates a special garden in Jannah everyday and says to it “The time is near when faithful servants cast aside the greatest trials of the world and come to you.”
• Angel Jibrael said to Prophet Muhammed(صلى الله عليه و سل)”Woe to him who found the blessed month of Ramadan and let it pass without gaining forgiveness,” and Prophet Muhammed(صلى الله عليه و سل) said “Ameen!”
• The du’aa of a fasting person is not rejected until he breaks his fast.
• Allah and his Malaa’ikah send mercy upon those who eat suhoor.
• Daily recitation of the Qur’aan is encouraged.
• Great time for Dawah.
• Make sure you pay your Zakah.
• Try to stay in Wudhu at all times.
• Respect to all Adults(***especially children to parents***)
• Fasting is a protective covering for a man as long as he does not tear that protection.
• Try to think of this month as your last month of Ramadhaan.
• Try to be in continous Istighfaar. (Think, if the Sahaba and our beloved Nabi(SAW) made so much Istighfaar how many times a day should we be making Istighfaar?)
• Think of Ramadhaan as the month of training. Shaytaan is locked up, if you want to become a better person start now and do it continuously for 30 days, so when Ramdhaan is over it will not be as hard for you to continue throughout the year. (***Sisters this is a great time to start practicing Hijaab ***)
• Don’t waste a minute of your time, always make du’aa, or ask for forgiveness, or make du’aa for our Ummah, not everyone is as blessed as we are so think of our Ummah and keep them in your hearts and ask Allah to have some ease on the ones who are suffering!
• If you watch T.V. try to keep it off during the month of Ramadhaan (Not trying to criticize, I watch T.V. sometimes but during Ramdhaan I keep it off.)
• If you listen to music try to say goodbye to it for a month (I have the occassional Outlandish song but during Ramdhaan it is good bye to Outlandish as well.)
• If you find tha tyou have nothing better to do simply pick up a Mushaf and start reading the Qur’an. If you don’t know how to read the Qur’an ask your fellow brother or sister to shed some light on to you, there’s no better time to learn than now and the blessing for reading Qur’an in Ramdhaan is tremendous.
• Husbands shouldn’t keep there wives stuck in the kitchen. If you are married try to help your wives out in the kitchen or by not throwing a lot of crazy iftaar parties (Doesn’t that sound off to you? Can you belive we ahve things called iftaar parties, Allah…)
• Make sure to help whoever is always in the kitchen with the coking and cleaning whether it be your mother, wife,sister etc…
• Also remember that during Ramadhaan you see peopl that you normally don’t always see, try to get to know a couple of new brothers and sisters (***Note: No I am not trying to promote male and female interaction, I mean brothers get to know a couple of new brothers and sisters try to get ot know a couple of new sisters, you never know who you may effect for the better inshaAllah***)

Suhr:

• Waking up at a certain time before Fajr to eat.
• Make sure you wake up for Suhr because there is great barakah in Suhr.
• Allah and the Angels are giving blessings to those who make Suhr.
• The difference between a Muslims and Ahlay Kitaab is waking up for Suhr.

Also, Perform Salat-tu-Tasbeeh, this Salah can be reported once a day, every Friday, once a month, once a year, or at least once in a life time(Its been reported that the reward for this Salah is forgiveness for all sins,whether committed knowingly or unknowingly, minor or major.) I know that many people that tell me that they aren’t familiar with Salat-ut-Tasbeeh so here’s juss some quick notes about how to perform it:

• Make niyyah for 4 rakaats Nafl Salat-ut-Tasbeeh.
• After Takbeer Tahrima recite Thana.
• Recite the 3rd kalima 25 times.
• Recite Surah Fatiha.
• Go into ruku and recite the 3rd kalima 10 times (while in ruku)
• In qaumah recite the 3rd kalima 10 times.
• First sajdah read 3rd kalima 10 times, repeat for second sajdah.
• Continue above steps, when you are done the 3rd kalima will have been read 300 times, Alhamdulillah

May Allah give us all a beneficial Ramadhaan. May Allah make us all come out of Ramadhaan as a better person. May Allah keep us all preoccupied with countless forms of Dhikr. May Allah accept all of our Salah’s, du’aas, Fasting, etc… May Allah protect us from Adhaaban-Naar and put us in a higher level of Jannah by the end of the month. InshaAllah.

Ramdhaan Mubarak everyone!

-radf

So being new with all of this college stuff I’ve actually liked it so far. Hamdulillah there are some really nice perople in my school, a MSA, a Salah room, food, and yeah that’s kind of all I need. [Oh and yeah there are some pretty good professors.] So I have to take a requirement class called Ethics of Engagement and it is a little interesting-the only part that I hate about it is that it’s from 6:30pm-8:10pm and during Ramadan it’s going to kill me. So I was reading my homework from this book called College Knowledge 101 Tips [written by David Schoem], and yes I know it does sound corny but it actually has some good stuff in it. As I finished my reading the very last paragraph made me smile to myself [and made the people sitting around me think I'm crazy because I was smiling to myself]. It was Tip #10: Remember That Tomorrow Will Be Even Better than Today [I already liked to title] and the last paragraph said this:

Take it one day at a time and cherish each moment (except for the forgettable ones-learn from those moments and then forget them forever.) Keep a diary, take pictures, store the best experiences in your permanent memory bank. Write down your best ideas for tomorrow and for the long term. Tomorrow will be here before you know it. Trust that you’ll quickly get past the trying moment. Make the good days last a lifetime, as your smile, laughter, and food ideas make the world a better place for all of us. [page 27]

I don’t know what it was but sometimes there are juss those moments where something clicks and makes me feel hapy so I decided to to share it