Shop Till You Drop!

You know I hate shopping-so it’s pretty ironic that I work at Macy’s. I started working there in July and lets juss say that everyday is a new adventure.  I work part time and I’m there about 4 times a week and yet I see the same people all the time shopping at the department that I work at. It makes me wonder how these people have time to even come here so much. In the mornings I teach at Qur’an classes, and then at nights I would go to Macy’s. So I haven’t had time to do much lately-hence the lace of posts//blog updates. But  some of these people, and I usually see the same people, are shopping there all the time spending hours and hours at the store-sometimes during closing we have to kick people out because they wont leave. And its not juss the shopping, its the amount that these people spend. It’s so scary to see the prices that people pay. Some of the people that I talk to actually tell me that they are addicted to shopping and they can’t help themselves, and then they say well you now how it is, and I tell them that I really don’t like shopping and then they juss stare at me like I’m an alien- except this time its not because I’m wearing a hijaab and a jilbaab but because I told them that I don’t like shopping. Why is that so weird and hard to grasp? Shopping makes me sick.  When I have to go buy things I go in get what I need and rung out, if I’m there for too long I get crazy headaches and juss leave. I only chose to work at Macy’s because they’re all black dress code goes quite well with my personal hijaab and black jilbaab dress code, and their fitting rooms are very convenient for me to pray Salah in. So I go, do what I have to for the day and leave. Sometimes there are co-workers who are cleaning and picking out clothes for themselves at the same time. Or sometimes they’ll tell me to cover them because they juss saw an outfit thats really cute and they need to try it on. Ya Rubb, we don’t even know what we need anymore.

We live in such a materialistic society, it makes me so sad how we are so obsessed over such little things. People think that brand names are everything. And it’s so sad how much money they spend. For example, I’ll have customers spend $150 for something like a skirt, and this doesn’t meant that it’s some amazing skirt it can actually be quite simple, but they’ll juss buy it because of the company that made the skirt. I juss can’t understand why anyone would spend so much on clothing, especially if you wait like two weeks the prices drop 50% and then continue to drop. Look at our world, look at how much people are suffering everywhere, and yet we’re worried about the newest trends and the hottest companies. Do you know what people in other countries could do with $150, a lot more than purchasing a skirt! We lack compassion, I’m not saying all of us do but most of us do. My parents always taught me to help people out, that’s kind of why my parents, my brothers and I have such a hard time saying no to people. But lately I’ve notice that a lot of people live this life like survivor. They use people, and if they get what they want they’re cool with each other and then that’s it, they’re through. But, if they don’t get what they want they’re through and nasty to each other. Why can’t we help each other out? Muslim, non-Muslim, whatever! We all need to be nicer to each other. We live in such scary times, kids are all so angry all the time and we really need to change ourselves in order to make sure that this world doesn’t combust when they become adults. No one has any patience left, I mean little kids who should be playing around without a care in the world are so impatient and angry and it juss makes no sense. Why are they so angry? Why are we all so impatient? Khayr may Allah help us all and give us all  sabr-patience.

For now, those of us who like shopping a little too much, lets try to stay away from it for a bit. Those of us who can’t stand it- hamdulillah go try to improve in some other area that we may be weak in, perhaps the sabr department is lacking….? I know at times mine can be pretty deficient when dealing with my youngest brother.

Time flies my friends, pretty soon summer will be over, for me this is my last week of summer, Fall semester starts Monday August 25th, 2008. So have you all done something productive this summer? If not, no worries, you can always squeeze something in before it ends. But juss remember- Ramadhaan is juss around the corner!

On jum’ah the khateeb said, “In Rajab you plant the seeds, in Shabaan you water it and in Ramadhaan you pick the fruits so that they can be nice and ripe……some people they plant the seed, water it, and try to pick it within two days and realize the fruit isn’t ready and not ripe.” He was basically saying that we need to prepare for Ramadhaan, we can’t juss wait for Ramadhaan and expect to immediatley change. Like if you want to finish the Qur’an prepare yourself by starting to read a little of it before Ramadhaan starts, or if you wnat to avoid the computer start now by cutting down computer time or whatever it is that you want to do or eliminate this Ramadhaan, start practicing now. We still have time and practice makes perfect so lets make this a good Ramadhaan.

Ok that is all for now, keep myself and the Ummah in your du’as.

Take care inshaAllah.

-radf

Allahumma sali ala sayyidina muhammadin an-Nabbiyil ummiyi Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salim.

Sacred Street Art

I love Art. My brother showed me this video, it’s about a Muslim Artist who made a memorial for the Mougasa and Soumare families. The video is very nice and mashaAllah the mural looks beautiful. I think I’ll go to the city one of these days and go see it for myself, inshaAllah. Khayr life has been very busy these days, please keep me and the Ummah in your du’as. If you have time, watch the video-it may be a little long but its worth it.

To watch the video click here. Or go to MR’s website.

Source: MR Blog

Take care inshaAllah.

-radf

Muslim Volunteers Help Fight Hunger on Long Island

We made it to the papers

Hamdulillah this really is a great opportunity, it’s such a nice feeling at the end of the day when your tired but its such a nice tired. Read about us in Newsday:

It was Muslim Serve Day at the Mary Brennan soup kitchen in Hempstead.

Wearing a bright smile beneath her white head scarf, volunteer Homa Khowaja, a recent graduate of Stony Brook University, was popping delicate cherry tomatoes and carrot pieces into 400 cups of salad.

Nearby Zamir Hassan, a computer consultant, was tasting the rice cooking in huge cauldrons. Fragrant trays of tandoori chicken, prepared in volunteers’ homes, stood waiting to be served to 400 expected guests. The pace quickened to a feverish pitch as the hour for the guests’ arrival approached.

Khowaja, 22, of Massapequa, and Hassan, 58, and about 25 other volunteers were wearing name tags that identified them as Muslims Against Hunger, an organization founded by Hassan in 2002.Hassan was inspired, he said, when he worked with his son on a school project in a Morristown, soup kitchen and discovered that the New Jersey community, one of the wealthiest in the country, had hidden poverty and hunger.

Through the volunteers the New Jersey resident also learned that there are as many as 259,000 hungry on Long Island, where there is a large Muslim population from which he could recruit volunteers.

The group, which also serves at New Jersey soup kitchens, sponsored its first Long Island charity lunch at the Mary Brennan soup kitchen last fall and has returned four times. Hassan now hopes to expand the charity mission to Suffolk County.

Why they do it

Charity, Hassan noted, is “the third pillar of Islam.” The group’s Web site, muslims againsthunger.org, offers volunteers “an opportunity to support and participate in the ‘Act of Righteousness’” and to “show the greater community the true and compassionate face of the Muslim and Islam.” The Prophet Muhammad directed his followers to “Help the weak among you, Help your neighbor, if he seeks your help, Feed him if he is hungry.”

Hassan had little difficulty recruiting Long Island volunteers, who range from teenage students (16 is the youngest allowed) to retirees in their 60s. Part of his aim, he said, is to “teach Muslim young people about the problems of hunger, poverty and homelessness in our own neighborhoods.”

Khowaja, a psychology graduate, is on her fourth soup-kitchen project. “I love it – it’s a great community service,” she said. She and other young women in head scarves were enjoying each other’s company as they filled the salad cups.

The Interfaith Nutrition Network, which runs soup kitchens across Long Island, welcomes such sponsorship, said communications director Cynthia Sucich. The help is particularly needed when schools are closed and children don’t get the school lunches that families depend on.

“The summer months are especially challenging,” she said.

The nutrition group depends on 2,000 volunteers who regularly help prepare and serve the meals in the 19 soup kitchens, Sucich said. In addition, a number of corporate, church or senior groups come for a day. Some, like the Muslim group, bring in the food, while others come as volunteers to help with the chores. “We need more groups,” she said.

Some companies make it a festive day with T-shirts and hats, Sucich said. “The employees are all enthusiastic and have a great time.” They free up the regular volunteers, like Lesley Thomas, 65, of Hempstead, to sort groceries and clothing and do other chores that they normally wouldn’t have time for.

A sense of community

Hassan agrees that joy should be part of the occasion. “Come to the soup kitchen prepared to have a good time. The volunteers who have fun together help the guests the most,” reads the first lines in his serving instruction sheets. “Most of our guests appreciate your service and will tell you so.”

Volunteers are assigned to different shifts, depending on their work or school schedule. Some can come only for the morning hours or at lunchtime. But some come for the whole thing, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., when they are there for the cleanup.

The menu today is unusually gourmet, featuring the tandoori chicken, a savory recipe from the Punjab region of India and Pakistan. Then there’s the basmati rice pilaf, which, Hassan said, is “a recipe from mom.”

That is another rule, according to Hassan. “You must share your own food. We feed the poor what we feed our friends. The clients are our guests.”

Another bonus for Mary Brennan clients is “they don’t have to stand on line today,” said Robert J. Pape Jr., director of fundraising for Interfaith Nutrition Network. The additional volunteers will serve the guests at the tables instead of buffet-style.

The Muslim group will be back at the Brennan soup kitchen on Sept. 8. Groups or individual volunteers can contact the INN at 516-486-8506, ext. 115; the-inn.org.

What Is Wrong With Educating People About Islam?

I found this video on Chill Yo Islam Yo, Br. Azeem Khan did such a good job mashaAllah. Watch the video, Peter King totally got owned-we need more people like Br. Azeem to speak to the public.

Take care inshaAllah.

-radf

Allahumma sali ala sayyidina muhammadin an-Nabbiyil ummiyi Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi wa salim.