Smile!

Smile, it’s sunnah I have a friend who always tells me that when I’m feeling down and surprisingly it does get me to smile, hamdulillah Smiling is pretty contagious so from now on juss smile, who cares if you look crazy I mean people look crazy all the time these days-people talking on their blue tooth always looks like they’re talking to themselves, when you actually do LOL etc… I came across this poem on fisaad book, it’s beautiful:

She smiled at a sorrowful stranger.
The smile seemed to make him feel better.

He remembered past kindness of a friend
And wrote him a thank you letter.

The friend was so pleased with the thank you
That he left a large tip after lunch.

The waitress, surprised by the size of the tip,
Gave part to a man on the street.

The man on the street was grateful;
For two days he’d had nothing to eat.

After he finished his dinner,
He left for his small dingy room.

He didn’t know at that moment
that he might be facing his doom.

On the way he picked up a shivering puppy
And took him home to get warm.

The puppy was very grateful
To be in out of the storm.

That night the house caught on fire.
The puppy barked the alarm.

He barked till he woke the whole household
And saved everybody from harm.

One of the boys that he rescued
Grew up to be President.

All this because of a simple smile
That hadn’t cost a cent.

-Anonymous

Take care inshaAllah, and keep every single person in the world in your du’as.

-radf

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

Confused? Didn’t understand something? Click here!

Say What?!?

So a whileee back I made up a post called “Trying to Understand Thoughts of a Hijaabi,” because I guess it is pretty hard to understand me sometimes. I decided that I would make up a page on my blog for that, so it’s finally up! You can find it on the top of the page-you know it goes ‘Home’, ‘About’, and ‘Say What?’ So if you wanna figure out what I’m talking about click on Say What?

That’s it, take care inshaAllah-if you don’t know what that means look it up on my page on the link above or the bottom of this post-see I try so hard to help you guys out

Du’as people, lots and lots of du’as!

-radf

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

Confused? Didn’t understand something? Click here!

Why Are People So Cruel?

Look at the world we live in, isn’t it sad that our youth know words like terrorist/terrorism, suicide bomber, hijack, rape, harassment etc… There are so many different violent words/things that kids these days know and are aware of that I never what they were when I was a kid. We need to make a difference in our world, we’re growing up, but we need to look around and see what we can do, try to do something that will make a difference and help out in order to create a brighter future for our kids. After all, those kids in the future will be our kids. InshaAllah we’ll all do something that will help create a better future inshaAllah. Anyway, all this came up when I read the article below, if you have time read through it:

In a Suburban Gang Land, Young Lives Cut Short

By SARAH GARLAND

Published: June 19, 2009

UNIONDALE, N.Y.

THE phone rang at 4 p.m., just as Francisco Dueñas was leaving his house here on a tidy Long Island block with trimmed hedges. He had no time to talk. He was serving at a wedding reception that started in half an hour, and was already dressed in his tuxedo with the sleeves pulled down over his tattooed arms.

Francisco answered anyway. He recognized the number as belonging to El Niño, a 15-year-old nicknamed for his baby face whom Francisco had taken under his wing the year before, tutoring him in the rules of his gang, Salvadorans With Pride.

“They just stabbed Mikey on the handball court,” the boy said. He sounded panicked.

“Who did?” Francisco asked.

El Niño answered with a curse in Spanish: the slang they used to refer to their rival gang, Mara Salvatrucha.

Mikey — Michael Alguera — was also 15, the younger brother of a friend Francisco had known since middle school. Francisco, now 20, had played hundreds of handball games on the court between Hempstead High School and the Garden City golf course. He usually lost when he was matched up against Mikey, a handball whiz.

The kid was not in a gang, and he was too good-natured to have enemies. Even El Niño was just a wannabe, who aspired to join Francisco’s gang.

Francisco had been seeing the gang less lately, since his family moved to Uniondale from Hempstead. He had dropped out of school after the move — Mara Salvatrucha members controlled the schools in Uniondale. He sometimes wore a balaclava to cover his face when he left the house. Lately, however, Francisco was spending less time on the street, more time in the tuxedo. His girlfriend was pregnant, and he was worried about ending up in jail, or worse.

“Call the homies and go to the park,” Francisco told El Niño that afternoon, Jan. 18, 2008, trying to sound both comforting and authoritative. “I have to go to work.”

At the Sandcastle, a catering hall in Franklin Park where Francisco was serving at a wedding that night, he pushed aside thoughts of Mikey and focused on the promise of good tips. He never mentioned the gang in front of his work friends.

Francisco had become adept at controlling his feelings. Three other friends had been attacked in gang violence since he moved to Long Island from El Salvador in 2001; two had died. Francisco had scars to mark his own close calls: an inch-long swipe across his left eyebrow, a long seam across his right bicep, dents in his shins and over his left knee where he had been sprayed by a pellet gun, a gouge in his lower back dug by an enemy knife.

Mikey died in the hospital early the next morning. That night, Francisco served tables at another wedding. On Sunday, he worked a Sweet 16 party, where his main task was to make sure the white teenagers were not hiding bottles of liquor under the tables. On Monday, he bundled up in a sweatshirt and coat and walked the two miles to Hempstead to find out what had happened to his friend.

Twenty members of Salvadorans With Pride stood around sipping Coronas on the scarred brown grass of a park near the high school. Francisco grabbed a beer.

A few minutes later, as classes let out, 50 others arrived. El Niño was there, and filled Francisco in on details about the attack: There had been about a half-dozen men and they had asked the boys about their gang affiliation, then one had pulled a knife. The S.W.P. members were not certain of the identity of the men, but they had an idea.

S.W.P.’s leader, an old-timer in his late 20s, ordered them to stay vigilant. Mara Salvatrucha was encroaching on their territory, the school grounds. They ended the meeting with the gang’s prayer.

“Sometimes I wonder how I will die, by the bullet wound or a knife in my side,” Francisco chanted along with the others. “Give my heart peace so I won’t have to fight. Heavenly father, please hear me tonight.”

The prayer soothed Francisco when he felt scared. He kept the text on a folded square of paper tucked in his wallet.

FRANCISCO arrived in Hempstead, a decaying inner-ring suburb in Nassau County, nine years after his mother. She had come ahead in the early 1990s, as the Salvadoran civil war was ending, leaving Francisco in the care of an aunt until she could save $5,000 to pay a smuggler to ferry him across the border to join her. Francisco was 12 when he crossed from Tijuana to San Diego in 2001, stuffed in the trunk of a Honda next to several strangers. The trip was terrifying, but later he would say it had toughened him for life on Long Island.

Many of the new classmates he met that year at Alverta B. Gray Schultz Middle School came the same way. They left behind grandmothers and aunts who served as surrogate parents and reunited with mothers and fathers they remembered only from photographs. Their parents believed that the American suburbs offered a better chance at education and jobs than the violent countries they had left behind. In 2002, the Immigration and Naturalization Service picked up more than 5,000 unaccompanied children trying to enter the United States illegally, more than 80 percent of them from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador; in later years, the number increased to 7,000.

On the first day of school, Francisco sat next to Jaime Alvarenga, who had made the crossing in 2001 through the Arizona desert. By the end of the day, the two boys were best friends. They played soccer after school, passed notes in class and kept watch for the bullies who picked on the newcomers. But they lived on opposite sides of town and that summer, drifted apart. Jaime lived in Mara Salvatrucha territory. Francisco’s apartment building was controlled by S.W.P.

The two rival gangs had appeared on Long Island around the same time in the mid-1990s, after the last of the white residents who built Hempstead into a bustling retail hub half a century earlier moved away and Hispanics filled the void. Mara Salvatrucha was formed by a group of older men, some of them veterans of the Salvadoran civil war, who were often victims of the village’s African-American gangs. They adopted the name from a gang gaining a reputation for ruthlessness in Los Angeles and Central America.

Salvadorans With Pride started as a civic organization, also with the intention of protecting members of Hempstead’s growing Hispanic population. The good intentions disintegrated when some of its members — most of them American-born — clashed with Mara Salvatrucha.

Nationally, Mara Salvatrucha was drawing the attention of the Justice Department and the F.B.I., which compared the gang to the Mafia and created a special task force to track it. In Hempstead, the police cracked down and alternated between arresting leaders of each group. The gangs always seemed to grow back: The Hempstead police estimate there are some 1,000 gang members, most of them black or Hispanic, in and around their village of 52,000; the Nassau police count 3,000 in the county.

Francisco had never encountered gangs in El Salvador, but he joined Salvadorans With Pride the summer after his first year on Long Island. His new friends promised to end the teasing and bullying, and, like other teenagers, he wanted to fit in. Back at school in the fall, he learned that Jaime had joined Mara Salvatrucha.

The two tried to stay friends. They still passed notes in class. But Jaime was having trouble at home and disappeared from school for days at a time. Francisco had his own problems. He was fighting constantly with his mother, who felt like a stranger after their years apart. When Jaime disappeared for two weeks in December, Francisco worried, but did not go looking for him.

On Jan. 17, 2003, Francisco woke up to a phone call. Jaime, 14, had been stabbed three times by members of 18th Street, a gang affiliated with S.W.P. that had originated in Los Angeles. Jaime had died alone on the steps of the Long Island Rail Road station. Francisco was devastated, but he was too afraid to go to Jaime’s funeral. Instead, he watched the local news for a glimpse of the coffin.

The next year, Francisco enrolled at Hempstead High, a struggling 1,700-student school. Its graduation rate hovered around 40 percent, and in a village that was more than 80 percent minority, it had a student population that was 99 percent black or Hispanic. He was involved in fights every other day as gangs vied for control over the school.

In November of 2004, Francisco ended up in a group fight with one of his old soccer buddies, Olman Herrera, who was associated with Mara Salvatrucha. As the high school security guards broke up the fight, Olman escaped. Moments later he was found across the street, stabbed to death. The police later charged two older teenagers linked to Salvadorans With Pride in the attack.

Francisco nearly lost another friend in the summer of 2007. On a scorching day in August, he had taken the day off from the catering hall to join friends at the beach. Afterward, they had gone to one of their favorite haunts, Taco Bell, in a dilapidated strip a block from Hempstead High.

It was S.W.P. territory, but Mara Salvatrucha often lurked around the auto body shops across the street. The group lingered over tacos. When it was time to go home, Francisco walked ahead with his arm draped across his girlfriend’s shoulders.

A movement across the street caught Francisco’s eye. He looked back to see a mass of people crossing toward them — Mara Salvatrucha. At least a dozen. Francisco ran, pushing his girlfriend ahead and scrambling to pull open the zipper of his backpack. He felt for the cold metal of his gun and turned around.

He was too late. One of his friends — who was not a member of either gang — lay crumpled on the ground, blood dribbling out of his neck and back. The men who had stabbed him were already running away. Francisco hailed a cab and tried to stop the bleeding as they sped across the highway overpass to Mercy Hospital.

That night Francisco kept a panicked vigil in the waiting room, leaving only after the doctors said his friend would survive. His voice shook when he recounted the story, but he insisted that, like the border crossing, the experience made him stronger.

ON Jan. 18, 2008, not long before El Niño called Francisco, the phone rang in the Hempstead home of Oscar and Clementina Alguera. It was their middle son, Oscar Jr. Their youngest, Mikey, had been stabbed on the handball court. They needed to hurry.

The couple had met in the 1980s, after Oscar made his way across the border from Costa Rica and Clementina came from Colombia. Work was plentiful on Long Island, and Hispanic immigrants were flocking to join the boom. The couple rented an apartment in a cul-de-sac next to an elementary school, and Clementina quit her job as a manicurist to raise their three boys.

The Algueras were strict — no television until homework was done and no friends the parents did not approve first. Mr. Alguera insisted that his sons graduate from high school so they could find better jobs than his, in construction. School was sacrosanct. When the boys called to say they were staying late that Friday afternoon, Mrs. Alguera said yes without a second thought.

After the phone call, Mr. Alguera dropped the tools he had been packing into the shed after a long day’s work. He drove as his wife frantically dialed the phone. But at the school, police officers held them back. They should not see their son this way.

The principal, Reginald Stroughn, had pushed his way through the underbrush behind the school to the handball court within minutes of the stabbing, the police shortly after him. The boys who had been playing with Mikey said a group of men had jumped the fence around the court and demanded to know which gang the boys belonged to. Mikey answered: none. The boys gave up their cellphones and an MP3 player without a fight, but as the men left, one pulled out a knife and jabbed Mikey in the side.

His brother Oscar held him until the paramedics arrived. Mikey died 12 hours later.

It was the first murder on school grounds in Hempstead, and Mr. Stroughn was stunned. After watching the ambulance drive away, he sat in his office in silence for a half-hour, wondering what he could have done differently.

Hempstead’s schools had once been the pride of Long Island, but they had deteriorated quickly as the village became racially and economically segregated. Besides its lagging test scores, state audits had cited the school district for financial mismanagement and violence.

But Mr. Stroughn, who arrived in the fall of 2003, had transformed the place. He reined in the fights, made an effort to get to know the Hispanic students and divided the school into more intimate academies. The graduation rate rose nearly 20 percentage points by August 2007 — though, at 64 percent, it still lagged far behind the 99 percent at the nearly all-white Garden City High School, three miles away. Mr. Stroughn had learned shortly before Mikey’s death that he was to be named the 2008 principal of the year by the School Administrators Association of New York.

But in the year that followed, the graduation rate dipped again. School administrators were too busy comforting grieving students and frightened parents to push Regents exams and college. Principal Stroughn is retiring this summer.

A year and a half after the murder, the Alguera family is broken. A bottle of maple syrup sits on a shelf in the kitchen, unopened: Mikey was the one who made pancakes every Saturday, and no one had the heart to take over his job.

Oscar Jr. dropped out of high school. He said every wall there reminded him of surreptitious games of handball he had played with his little brother when the teachers weren’t looking. Oscar Sr. was angry — at the school, at the gang, at the paramedics who had been unable to save his son. He began drinking. Clementina asked him to leave the house, and he moved out. She found a job as a crossing guard, shepherding middle school students to and from school.

The police investigation into Mikey’s murder yielded no arrests. Mara Salvatrucha’s influence in Hempstead began to wane, but it was replaced by new gangs that were less well known, but just as violent. Three more of Francisco’s acquaintances were killed in the months after Mikey’s death.

Francisco found a second job at a grocery store to support his baby. He told his gang he was “dropping the flag” — laying down his bandana and leaving the streets. Still, he felt compelled to go to the meetings at the park after each of the murders. He also still kept a pellet gun under the mattress in the room he shared with his girlfriend and his infant son, and the worn slip of paper with the gang’s prayer folded in his wallet.

Source: The New York Times

Take care inshaAllah and keep all in your du’as, we all need some guidance and keeping Allah in our minds helps us get through whatever life throws at us.

-radf

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

Confused? Didn’t understand something? Click here!

Parents Are So Beautiful

So my youngest brother is in soccer-well the season juss ended. It’s kind of like this unwritten tradition in my family, all the boys play in the town’s soccer league. I’ve watched my older play all his games, my younger brother and now my youngest brother-who is 8- and ever since the semester’s been done I have been the substitute soccer mom for him. I take the youngest one, Habib, to his soccer games-it helps my mom out and I love sports so it’s a win win situation hamdulillah. At the final soccer game I saw something very different, something amazing, and simply beautiful! SubhanAllah it brought tears to my eyes and touched my heart. The teams were setting up and getting ready to start their game, everyone was getting ready in their positions and I noticed on the other teams side a father bent down on one knee talking to his son. He placed a cap on his head, checked his laces and the son was hugging and kissing his father, I juss thought ‘hey he must really his father a lot.’ The referee blew the whistle and I was kinda confused to why the father was still on the field, then what happened next reminded me of how we don’t appreciate parents or realize how amazing parents are. The father was holding his sons arms and running around with him giving him words of encouragement and direction. His son had special needs, the details I obviously don’t know, but subhanAllah look at this father. I was notified that he was present at every single practice and every single game and always giving 100% to make sure his son is happy. The father and son played all four quarters, subhanAllah it was so beautiful! Look at how much our parents do for us, look at how much they are willing to do for us. This child is so lucky you know, his father is literally there every step of the way for him, I saw them again at the trophy ceremony and they won 2nd place- my little brother’s team got 3rd this year but it’s good, I don’t want his ego to get too out of control Anyway the father and son were there on stage together receiving the second place trophy. Ya Latif I had never seen this before ever, I think what this father does is so amazing and inspiring, may Allah guide him inshaAllah. Parents who have children with special attention or needs are so beautiful, so inspiring, and they truly are ’super hero parents!’ I’m so glad that I was able to witness such a thing, I was also glad that my younger brother was able to witness such a thing. The kids on the team at first were kind of confused and didn’t really understand, after all they’re juss a bunch of 3rd grade boys that wanna play soccer. But the parents explained it to them, and they all understood. It was pretty amazing to see that these 3rd grade boys could teach adults a thing or two, don’t judge people and give everyone a chance! The whole thing is juss I don’t know, it’s so hard for me to explain but I hope you sort of got a small idea of how moved I was watching this beautiful relationship between a father and son. The length that a father would go to for the happiness of his son, subhanAllah. When I saw this another thought came to my mind, we always talk about how your parents love you so much and how Allah loves you more than than that and then you juss go on talking about other things. SubhanAllah, have you ever seen a new mother or a new father, and the way they look at their child? It’s so beautiful, you can actually see all the love by looking at the parents’ face. I wish everyone was there to experience watching this father and the way he interacted with his father, it was so beautiful watching the the love the father had for the child, no matter what the child would do he would juss smile and keep on saying positive encouraging things to his son, subhanAllah- as we look at these things here in the dunya, look at how amazing they are, how beautiful they are, I can’t even begin to imagine how Allah loves us so much more than this, and then look at the way we behave! SubhanAllah, Allah is so amazing, I can’t even begin to describe or praise Allah but ya Latif, may he be happy with all of us and help us all get closer to him.

Go to your parents and hug them, tightly and then juss sit with them. Sit down and listen to them, whatever they may be saying juss listen to them and even if you don’t exactly know what they’re talking about or if their jokes juss aren’t funny enough juss play along and you know what, you too will inshaAllah see that love on their face that I’m talking about. Except this time it will be for you and that will do nothing but make you wanna melt and spend all the time you can with them.

May Allah make us all obedient, helpful and always be there for the service of our parents. May Allah grant all of our parents Jannah and reward them for all that they go through for us, no matter how little or big it may be. May Allah inshaAllah grant us obedient Muslim children who will do the same for us and more for our parents [there grandparents].

Take care inshaAllah, and keep every single person in the world in your du’as.

-radf

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

Confused? Didn’t understand something? Click here!

Orphan Child

Lyrics for ‘Orphan Child’

She was just standing there,
little girl all alone
Barely covered head to toe,
barely just twelve years old,
Why is she all alone,
why’s the world just so cold,
Why don’t we play our part,
what has hardened our hearts?
What has hardened our hearts?

Underneath the waterfall,
million dollar shopping mall,
Two boys play their games,
helps to keep them nice and warm,
Thousand people walking by,
feeding their vain desire
Don’t they see, are they blind,
Allah loves the orphan child
Allah loves the orphan child

Like our Beloved Muhammad, Peace be upon Him
He was an orphan and Allah sheltered him
What status is given to these children…children?

Just by the riverside,
right next to that orphan child,
Families come to play,
they don’t see that’s where she stays,
Looking through empty eyes,
who cares that she might die,
O my child, don’t you cry,
Allah loves you more than I,
Allah Loves you more than.

She was just standing there,
barely just twelve years old,
What has hardened our hearts,
why’s the world just so cold

Take care inshaAllah and keep everyone in your du’as.

-radf

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

Confused? Didn’t understand something? Click here!

Christian Hijabi

I found this on HAhmed.com

Covered Life Gives New Perspective

Ana McKenzie

Daily Texan Staff

// Published: Friday, June 5, 2009

Updated: Friday, June 5, 2009

I first noticed Spencer Wall in my religion and society class toward the end of last semester. She wasn’t particularly outspoken, but the shawl that covered her hair, neck and shoulders made her stand out in the large class.

I usually gave her nothing more than a completely unconscious glance. But when she revealed to the class the decision that she made on April 27, I suddenly became aware of the attention I gave her.

Wall, a 20-year-old sociology and English senior, decided to assume the characteristics and attire of a “typical” Muslim woman for a year starting in late April.

She wears the traditional veil, or “hijab,” and loose-fitting clothing everywhere she goes and does not consume pork or alcohol in public. She avoids eye and physical contact with men and has adopted modest habits like walking with her arms glued to her sides or crossed in front of her to hide her chest.

I witnessed the looks Wall gets on a daily basis when we met at Kerbey Lane on the Drag recently.

She’s wearing a hijab splashed with vibrant shades of green and blue. A long-sleeved, black shirt and floor-length aqua skirt reveals only a few inches of skin.

Some who pass us try to be inconspicuous with their intrigue, limiting themselves to quick side glances. But most don’t even try to be candid with their exaggerated double-takes or blatant stares.

She passes by a group waiting to be seated, and all of them stare at the back of her head as she walks away. One guy even rolls his eyes.

“It doesn’t surprise me,” she says when I tell her about the group. “But look around. They’re not the only ones.”

She insists her decision is not a social experiment but more of a personal learning experience. As a white female from a small, West Texas town, Wall says she wanted to know what it would be like to be part of a “noticeable minority.”

“I’m not representing Muslim women or the Muslim community,” she says. “I just want to know what it’s like to walk in their shoes for a while.”

Initially, Wall elaborates on her “learning experience” when people would ask her questions, the most common being “So, where are you from?” She has abandoned these efforts. Now, when people ask about her attire, she simply says she is not Muslim but wears the hijab because she chooses to do so.

This explanation is not entirely untrue, as Wall admits to not being able to leave her home without the clothing.

“I decided a while ago that I was going to try and not wear the hijab for 24 hours,” she says. “I couldn’t even make it for half that.”

Wall says she receives different reactions when she wears the hijab. A man once fell into a display at Wal-Mart because he was staring at her. One day a group of male patrons at the restaurant where she works refused to be served by her. The same group called her derogatory names. But most of the time she said she is just respectfully avoided.

“I wouldn’t say guys don’t hit on me, but they do so in a very different way now,” she says. “It’s more respectful, less forward.”

The experience has taught Wall to pay attention to smaller details that would make a traditional Muslim lifestyle difficult to follow in the United States.

One day at a clothing store, Wall had to ask for a sheet to cover a gap between the floor and dressing room door so she could hide her bare legs as she changed. Her job as a waitress presents one of the most awkward situations as it naturally entails a lot of physical contact with strangers, which is not allowed for Muslim women, she said.

Wall has grown to appreciate this sort of privacy and, in some ways, respect it. Perhaps the most unexpected outcome of the experience is a newfound devotion to her Christian faith. The Islamic faith requires followers to pray five times a day, the first prayer being at 5 a.m. Though Wall has not yet assumed this tradition, she admits she may in the future, and finds herself praying more often.

“You know we live in a society that is very unconscious of daily religious activities,” she said. “Throughout this experience, I have noticed myself becoming much more aware of God.”

Throughout our conversation, I find myself wanting to discuss the most obvious topic, but can’t bring it up without having to continually justify myself. Doesn’t she feel constricted and even oppressed by the practices she is assuming?

Wall’s candidness to discuss such issues validates my impression of her. She constantly reassures me to ask even the most probing questions and to present any debate, illustrating a maturity and intelligence uncommon for a 20-year-old.

“This experience has taught me to respect a woman’s decision to stay home with her children or wear a hijab or go out and become CEOs,” Wall said.

She finishes her sentence, as I notice a young woman staring at the back of Wall’s head.

Her eyes momentarily follow the outline of the brightly colored veil and then quickly move away. Instead of feeling sorry for Wall and assuming that the attention is warranted by feelings of resentment or fear, I soon wonder if the girl is instead intrigued by the hijab.

Wall admits to only showing her hair in the most intimate of settings, and I realize that I’m slightly jealous of someone who respects something I easily take for granted.

Source: The Daily Texan

Take care inshaAllah and keep everyone in your du’as.

-radf

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

Confused? Didn’t understand something? Click here!

Muslims Justice Initiative on Democracy Now

You must must must MUST watch this, if not you’re not allowed to visit my blog page anymore-well not really but please watch it.  Faisal Hashimi [Fahad Hashimi's Brother], Sean Maher [Fahad Hashimi's Lawyer] and Jeanne Theoharis [Fahad Hashimi's Professor] were on Democracy Now today. They are in I think around the last 20 minutes or so but if you have time watch the entire episode its interesting.  Watch the clip here: http://www.democracynow.org/2009/6/5/hashmi

“Guantanamo at Home”: Muslim American Syed Fahad Hashmi Held in 23-Hour Solitary Pretrial Confinement for Over Two Years in Case Resting on Plea-Bargaining Government Informant

“Guantanamo at Home”: Muslim American Syed Fahad Hashimi Held in 23-Hour Solitary Pretrial Confinement for Over Two Years in Case Resting on Plea-Bargaining Government Informant

One day after President Obama trumpeted the achievements and freedoms of Muslim Americans in his celebrated Cairo speech, we look at the case of Syed Fahad Hashmi, a
US citizen who has been held in pretrial twenty-three-hour solitary confinement in a Manhattan federal prison for over two years. Hashmi is charged with providing material support to al-Qaeda in a case that rests on the testimony of Junaid Babar, an old acquaintance of Hashmi’s who turned government informant after his own arrest on terror charges. Hashmi is being prosecuted for a two-week period when Babar stayed at his home carrying rain gear that was allegedly later delivered to al-Qaeda members in Pakistan.
In his first major address to Muslims around the world, President Obama emphasized the importance of Islam in America, while speaking from Cairo on Thursday. He also highlighted the numerous achievements of American Muslims and the multiple freedoms they enjoy and are constitutionally guaranteed in this country.

President Obama.
President Obama also reiterated his promise to close down the Guantanamo Bay prison by next year.
Well today we’ll look at the case of a young Muslim-American citizen who the Village Voice has described as “experiencing the constitution in a cage.” Twenty-eight-year old Syed Fahad Hashmi, known to his family and friends as Fahad, has been held in pre-trial solitary confinement in a federal prison in Manhattan for over two years now.
The Brooklyn College graduate was born in Pakistan but moved to Queens with his family when he was 3 years old. He is charged with providing material support to Al Qaeda and making a contribution of goods or resources to Al Qaeda.
Under the SAMS, or Special Administrative Measures, Hashmi has been held under 23-hour solitary confinement and his communication with anyone inside or outside prison is severely restricted. He is permitted only one immediate family visit every other week and he experiences his single hour of daily recreation inside a cage. Hashmi’s lawyers are also prevented from talking to the media about their contact with him.
Hashmi was initially arrested in London in 2006 as he prepared to board a flight to Pakistan and was then extradited to the United States and has been held in the Manhattan Correctional Center since memorial day weekend of 2007.
Earlier this year a judge denied a pre-trial motion to consider the psychological impact of solitary confinement and ease the conditions of his detention. Hashmi’s trial is set for late September.
For more on his case, we’re joined by three guests here in the firehouse studio. Faisal Hashmi is Fahad Hashmi’s older brother and Jeanne Theoharis advised Fahad while he was a student at Brooklyn College. Jeanne Theoharis is a leading campaigner to free Hashmi and wrote an article about him in the April 20th edition of The Nation magazine titled “Guantanmo at Home.” She holds the endowed chair in women’s studies and is an associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College, CUNY. We’re also joined by Fahad Hashmi’s defense attorney, Sean Maher.

Jeanne Theoharis, advised Fahad Hashmi while he was a student at Brooklyn College. She wrote an article about him in the April 20th edition of The Nation magazine, Guantanmo at Home. She holds the endowed chair in women’s studies and is an associate professor of political science at Brooklyn College, CUNY.

Faisal Hashmi, brother of Fahad Hashmi.

Sean Maher, Attorney for Fahad Hashmi.

Source: Democracy Now

Take care inshaAllah and keep everyone in your du’as.

-radf

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

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U.S. Unemployment Rate of 9.4%

Joblessness Hits 9.4%, but Losses Slow

By: JACK HEALY

Published: June 5, 2009

The rate of job losses in the United States slowed significantly in May, the government reported Friday, lifting hopes that the country’s plummeting labor market was on its way to stabilizing.Some 345,000 jobs were lost last month, a stark figure, but one that represented the smallest number of monthly job losses since last September, the Labor Department reported. Economists said the figures showed the government’s efforts to prop up the economy were beginning to have an effect.

But in a sign of the recession’s worsening toll, the unemployment rate climbed to 9.4 percent, its highest point in 26 years. The rate — a measure of jobless people looking for work — rose more than expected, partly because more people were resuming the hunt for a job.

Economists were encouraged that businesses were cutting fewer jobs, but six million jobs have now disappeared since the recession began in December 2007, and 14.5 million people are now unemployed. They warned that job losses were likely to pile up through the rest of the year as the country’s labor market bottomed out.

“These are still terrible numbers,” said Ian Shepherdson, chief United States economist at High Frequency Economics. “We’re a million miles away from a recovery.”

In normal times, the loss of so many jobs in a single month would have been interpreted as a calamity. But 18 months into the longest recession since the 1930s, economists said the milder pace of job losses indicated that the economy was gradually leveling off as government stimulus money trickled out and businesses reined in their budgets and payrolls.

“Things are still getting worse, but the pace of decline has slowed down,” said David Wyss, chief economist at Standard & Poor’s. “Over all, it’s not quite as dire as it looked in the first quarter.”

The economy lost an average of more than 700,000 jobs a month during the first three months of the year as shocks from the credit crisis surged through the broader economy. But the pace of job losses eased to a revised 504,000 in April, a welcome sign that the decline in the job market would not continue forever.

Still, by nearly any measure, workers endured another brutal stretch of layoffs, furloughs and pink slips in May. Even as the broader economy made some halting steps toward recovery, businesses continued to slash their staffs and cut employee hours. Manufacturers cut 156,000 jobs, including big losses for workers who make machinery, cars and car parts and computers. Construction jobs fell by 59,000 — a marked improvement from just a month ago, when there was a net loss of 108,000 jobs in the sector.

Economists were expecting 520,000 job losses in May, and predicted the unemployment rate would reach 9.2 percent.

“There’s no question that the jobless rate is going to continue to rise,” said Bernard Baumohl, managing director of the Economic Outlook Group. “It’s a dismal job market. It’s going to remain awful easily for the balance of this year.”

Just this week, General Motors announced it was closing or idling 14 plants across the country, including several in Michigan, which has the nation’s highest unemployment rate. The closings will affect as many as 20,000 workers, and are just part of a vast reorganization by the automakers G.M. and Chrysler.

Across the country, parts suppliers, dealers and other workers tied to the auto industry are bracing for what comes next.

Some economists, anticipating an additional two million job losses nationwide, say the job market will be a disaster zone even after the economy starts to heal. After months of sharp economic contraction and falling profits, many employers will be reluctant to expand their work forces to meet the first increases in orders and sales.

Instead of hiring full-time workers, many employers will probably hire temporary workers as needed, or have their extant employees work overtime. Economists said the length and severity of this recession will make businesses especially leery about re-inflating their payrolls once growth eventually resumes.

“Growth is going to be very sluggish,” Mr. Baumohl said. “Even when the economy begins to recover, we might be witnessing the mother of all jobless recoveries.”

That could be extremely problematic for people like Dante Whitfield, one of the approximately 24 million people out of work or forced to work part-time in the United States.

Since losing his job as a legal courier in February, Mr. Whitfield, 35, said he has been riding the bus around San Jose, Calif., to go look for jobs, eating from the McDonald’s Value Menu and trying to get by on unemployment checks. He said he has no prospects of well-paying work.

“There’s days I come home in tears,” he said. “You just feel lost. You don’t know what to do.”

Source: The New York Times

Combat Vets in Trouble

SOS from VFW: Combat Vets in Trouble

Posted: 6/2/09

Their stories are legion. The stress behind their stories, stress that combat veterans often hold tight inside, can be painful and destructive.

There was the Marine in Afghanistan who told me he has post-traumatic stress disorder so bad he can’t stand to be safe at home, where he sometimes drops to the floor, thinking a loud noise is an incoming mortar. He keeps volunteering to return to combat, where his hair-trigger reflexes make sense. Where he’s comfortable.

For veterans, telling their stories can be helpful. Having someone listen? Priceless.

With a new generation of veterans returning from combat and military suicides on an alarming rise, listening is the idea behind a global alert from the Veterans of Foreign Wars to its 2.2 million members. Find a vet. Offer to listen.

“The need has overwhelmed the capacity of government and civilian mental health centers,” said VFW Commander Glen M. Gardner, Jr., who served as a Marine in Vietnam.

“I urge every VFW member to get immediately involved by seeking out and extending a hand of friendship and help” to local veterans. “Our government cannot battle this enemy alone, nor should that 22-year-old combat veteran,” Gardner said in a May 29 appeal to his members.

For most combat veterans, the stress of wartime deployment eases over time.

“Whether people have full-blown PTSD or just some of the symptoms, most people do get better over a short period of time with the support of family and friends,” said Dr. Sonja Batten, deputy director of the Pentagon’s Center of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

For returning combat vets, that’s called “beer-pizza-sex-sleep” therapy.

For those whose adjustment difficulties persist, acknowledging the problem and accepting help can be difficult. There is a stigma attached to asking for help, even if it’s self-imposed.

Military people “are trained to be self-sufficient and strong, and the idea of asking for help can feel like it’s going against that training,” said Batten.

In fact, being self-sufficient and strong is critical to success in battle, said Dr. William Nash, a psychiatrist who ran combat stress programs for the Marine Corps. “Stoicism is necessary for survival,” he told me.

“But everybody has a breaking point.”

One night before a combat mission in Afghanistan, Marines were giddy with laughter telling me the story of an Iraqi dog they named Molly who picked up and carried around the leg of a suicide bomber who’d blown himself up at a checkpoint in Ramadi. Laughter was how these hardened combat veterans steeled themselves against the horror of war. “We were going, ‘Bad dog! Put that thing down!”’ one Marine chortled through tears of glee. “Bad dog!”

There was the GI on patrol in South Vietnam. A sudden ‘crack’ and the radioman went down, and the soldier turned to see a young boy with huge brown eyes and a smoking .45 taped to his hand by Viet Cong. Without hesitation, the GI stitched the boy in half with his M-16. The patrol resumed. But the soldier was never the same, and held that awful experience deep inside for decades until I offered to listen.

“Until tonight,” he said over beers at a smoky VFW Hall, “I hadn’t thought about this stuff for 30 years.”

But holding it in can be harmful.

A World War II veteran in his 80s held his terrible secret until it nearly killed him. Landing at Normandy on D-Day he fought his way across the beach, but many of his buddies died in the sand. The next day he was assigned to go back to the beach to collect body parts. He soldiered on across France and Germany, came home after the war, started a family and worked a full career as a firefighter, retiring with honors ‑‑ and grandchildren.

He never talked about his wartime experiences. But one night several years ago he woke up screaming, seeing in his nightmares the broken bodies of his D-Day buddies. The agony continued unabated until he sought help.

VFW Commander Gardner tells the story of a combat veteran who twice weighed suicide before wandering into a VFW hall where a couple of Vietnam vets were standing around the bar. They offered to listen; the Iraq veteran talked – gratefully.

Having fellow veterans listen is special – critical, said Gardner. “We have walked in their shoes,” he said. “We have to look them in the eye and say, ‘Everything is going to be all right.”’

But therapists advise that it’s best to just listen – and not try to “fix” a veteran’s stress.

“Someone who’s always trying to look on the bright side,” said Batten, “can be really annoying.”

Source: Politics Daily

ICNA 2009: The Aftermath

Another year of ICNA, I fall in love with it more and more each year It was moved up earlier this year, but there was still a good amount of people hamdulillah. May Allah bless all the organizers and every single person who helped out in any way possible. So you know the drill, here are some notes/an overview of the convention. (*Please note*If there are any mistakes in the notes below they are my own mistake and may Allah forgive me.)

Saturday:

The first session I went to was an YM workshop called Parents: Their Rights, Our Duties. Unfortunately I was late to it so I only caught a little bit of the end.

Shaykh Mohammed Faqih: I walked in when he was telling a story about someone who used to always listen to his mother all the time and his mother never had to repeat herself, and if their was a time where he didn’t hear her correctly he wouldn’t say anything, rather he would sit and ponder what she had asked of him.  He also told us another story of a well known scholar that had students, he was teaching his students one day when his mother called him to go feed the chickens, and he immediately got up and went to go feed them. The speaker asked us to think about how many times we may have said to our parents don’t embarrass me, and this known scholar got up in front of his students to go do what his mother had asked of him, subhanAllah, may Allah make us all obedient to our parents. He told us another story of a boy during the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon him said) time who stayed up all night massaging his mother’s feet, and it was said that this is more liked than Quiyyam. The speaker told us some responsibilities that our parents have over us such as respect them no matter what, take care of them remember that it is your duty to take care of them. He told us that no matter what the circumstances may be you must never abuse your parents whether it is physically, verbally etc…  He told us to honor our parents’ friends, maintain ties and relationships. He told us to pray for them, we must always keep our parents in our du’as. He reminded us that jannah is not cheap, only the people that have worked for jannah will achieve it. It is said that if you have one or both parents around you then you have a good shot at jannah. He told us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him said) that he who gets the opportunity to be with their parent(s) and does not get into jannah is a loser. May Allah grant all of our parents the high ranks of jannah for all the great efforts that they have gone through for us, may Allah create strong bonds between all of us and our parents and increase our love for the sake of Allah.

The next session was YM’s first main session entitled, The Heart of the Matter. The announcer started off with asking us why do we always talk about reviving the heart? Because we need to constantly bring it back to the right path, our hearts need to be pure.

Imam Jawad Ahmed: He talked about how we need to balance ourselves. We have to work on our hearts; if we have a corrupt heart then our whole body will become corrupt. He described the heart as being a pendulum swaying back and forth depending on the circumstances that it is under. The heart can be easily swayed accordingly to your surroundings. He asked how can a heart fear Allah? The answer, by remembering him.  He also asked what is the purpose of the ghayb [the unseen], to incline yourself, your heart, closer towards Allah. He reminded us how Allah chooses who he wants to get closer to him, such as the people who are chosen to go to the convention and to the lectures, or any other event that helps people get closer to Allah. He explained that the heart for the mutaffifeen is very crucial; if it is not protected then it can not come to the deen. A good du’a he said that I like was “Oh Allah chose me for the servitude of Islam“, we should make such du’as so our life can have a purpose to it, a good purpose inshaAllah. He then talked about how anyone can have a good or bad heart; it just depends on how it is molded. Even a murderer/robber can have a good heart if they are correctly approached. He told us to transform our bodies and our mind through the heart. A great example of this was during the Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) time, there were people that would bury baby girls alive. He explained how these fathers changed afterwards, look at how they were able to change their hearts. He said, “It is the heart that gives the encouragement to the mind.” He asked us, “What’s on your mind, why is it on your mind?” When you think and talk about things it is because your heart is on it, thinking about it. He told us that in order to protect your heart you need to prevent sins. He reminded us that all our organs are connected to our heart, and that we must make sure that we have a good input in order to have a good output-he told us that we should make du’a that our input does not have a bad impact on our output. May Allah give us tawfiq to change our hearts and have it full of iman.

Dr. Altaf Hussain: He told us how Allah has willed our presence. When the hearts of the believers align, the nur of their hearts fill the room. He reminded us that evil breed’s evil!  He told us to look around at our world, even the simple things that we do such as playing video games can harm us- if you sit all day in front of a video game playing a game about stealing, killing, taking over the world, do you think that there will be a positive outcome? When you’re on facebook looking at pictures, yes they posted the pictures but that doesn’t mean you have to look at all of them all the time, or whatever it is that you may be doing thinking that it isn’t so bad, imagine-what if your life ends right at that moment? Imagine what state our hearts must be in when we sit around and all we do is talk about each other, other Muslim brothers and sisters, imagine what state we’re in! He told us that what drives you is your soul. He advised us to aspire to reach the state where you see something and your soul says ‘come on, Allah is watching you, how can you do this?’ The greatest severity is having a hardened heart, and the fire of jahannum is made to soften the hard hearts. “If the heart becomes hardened, the eye becomes dry,” there will never be any experiences of remorse. Turn your heart towards Allah; try to reach a state of remorse. He told us to turn towards Allah and make du’a and show remorse, he said that if you have to then pinch yourself! He explained that there are four things that harden the heart:

1. Food: He asked us when was the last time you heard your stomach growl? Reflect on the Sahaabah and how they barely had a meal that filled their stomachs, and look at the way we eat.  We need to use moderations; we’re not gunna die if we skip a meal. He suggested fasting on Monday’s/Thursday’s or both and you can take the money that you would normally spend on lunch or a meal and give sadaqah with that money.

2. Sleep: He told us that there’s no way we can sleep well while we blast music, watch a movie that makes no sense, or T.V. etc… And then you expect not to get nightmares, not to get agitated. And then after that stand for Salah and expect to feel something?  Food and sleep are not against our religion but remember in moderations.

3. Speech: Sitting back and gossiping, thinking you’re better than others etc… He said that your facebook posts not only get published on your facebook wall but they also get recorded in your own books of deeds. He told us how we always talk about others and point out the bad of others; he said that “When you point, those other 3 fingers are pointing back at you.”

4. Sexual Intercourse.

He continued on with the famous excuse of, ‘Well if I’m messing up so badly then maybe that’s what Allah has already decided for me.’ The Prophet (peace and blessing be upon him) said that “Everyone will find it easy to do such deeds that will lead him or her to do what he was created for.” If your heart is in a state of where you don’t care about anything then it is locked- what use is it? He gave the example of imagine you walk along and then you find an i-phone on the floor. Of course you get excited pick it up but then you realized that it is locked, what use will it be for you? It will be of no use at all, it’ll become useless so make sure you heart doesn’t lock you out. Allah said my slave/servant draws upon me on the nawaafil after the fards, sunnahs and waajibs. Make sure that you are consistent in your du’as. An inspiring thing he said was that “you can be the answer to someone’s du’a!”  And remember that you should keep others in your du’as, have preference of others over yourself.

The nest session was a Keynote Session.

Dr. Zahid Bukhari: He started off with saying that you should tell your brothers that you love them, and with that he told Imam Siraj Wahhaj that he loves him. I think I zoned out a bit of something because after this I have my name written down and doodles, I’m sorry….

Imam Jawad Ahmed: He told us what Imam Siraj Wahhaj had told him 15 years ago, that “America is on a crisis like a car going downhill with a blind driver and the Muslim’s are sitting in the backseat.”  He told us how Imam Siraj has inspired him and that he went up to him and asked him if there is hope for him to learn about the deen even after his college studies and he said yes. He told us that Imam Siraj was his inspiration to get involved with the deen and he has made it where he is today because of Imam Siraj. He told us about an Arabic saying that “Whoever teaches one word/letter, you become a slave to them.” He continued talking about an Arab custom that when you love your teacher or mentor, you kiss your teacher’s hand, and with that he asked permission to kiss Imam Siraj’s hand and kissed his hand. SubhanAllah it really was an “awe” moment. He continued talking about how a person can create opportunities when they are inspired! He talked about how the Prophet’s did not give up during the time of crisis, rather they got stronger! He told us to find opportunity in crisis; this is the way of the Prophet’s (peace and blessings be upon all of them). He said “Let the Ummah rise again” (well actually that was in the Sami Yusuf song that was played in the promotional video before he talked) and he said make du’a not juss for yourself but for the entire Ummah and even for the non-Muslims. Make du’a and ask “Oh Allah enlighten them!” He told us to look at what we go through today. The humiliation we get when we walk, the looks we get from people. How should we react? We should make du’a for them; make du’a for those who hurt you. Some du’as he mentioned was “Oh Allah, soften our hearts, molten our hearts, because these hearts have become stiff. Oh Allah join our hearts. Oh Allah use my money for the hikmah of Islam.” Allah gives tawfiq to the insaan. He told us that we should put everything on line for Allah.

Imam Siraj Wahhaj: He started off with talking about his health. He was recently diagnosed with cancer and this was his first appearance since he was diagnosed. He told us that we should always be thankful to Allah for your life. He talked about how no one ever asks to be sick, no one ever makes du’a to get sick. He talked about how he is thankful for all the du’as that everyone made for him, and we should never underestimate the power of du’as. He called himself to be “America’s Imam,” he said “I am a part of you.” He said all the du’a and all the help that everyone made for him and his family has made him a part of us. He gave us another reminder that whatever life may look like, no matter what the situation may be, Allah is always watching and is always there for you. He briefly reminded us of Muhammed Ali [the famous boxer, if you don’t you can ask shaykh google] he told us how he had it all: riches, fame, good looks, and look at the test he went through. He told us that wealth is a more difficult test than poverty. He told us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said the majority of the people of jannah were poor. Back to Muhammad Ali, he said that when people would ask him for his autograph he would give them a card that said “Who is Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him)?” and then he would sign the back and give it to them. SubhanAllah, look at the amount of dawah he made, but then look at his test that Allah gave him. He told us that he has learned three things, 1.Thanks Allah for his life 2. Whatever it looks like, Allah is always there for you and 3. Eat healthy and exercise. He continued talking about how you don’t become brave by not doing anything. Ex: You can’t call yourself generous juss because you say so, you can’t call your self brave juss because you say so, get up and do something and then say so. He told us to aspire to be like Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him). He said, give the best of yourself to Allah when you’re young. He said that the mental health of our nation isn’t so good, we need help and we need to do something to help.

Imam Zaid Shakir: I was so excited to hear Imam Zaid speak, this was the first time I ever got to hear him speak live, it was very nice. InshaAllah he’ll be back next year and maybe he’ll bring along more of the Zaytuna gang J Anyway back to the notes! So Imam Zaid started off with stating how we should voice our principles, he said that “we have beautiful principles.” He said that there are four problems in our world today:

1. Collateral Damage- He talked about how Muslims don’t believe in killing anyone and we also look down upon killing to affect political outcomes. He said that there might be Muslims that are doing this but they’re not following Allah and his messenger. He said that [I can’t remember if this was from the Qur’an or Sunnah] “Don’t kill the innocent life that God has created.”
2. Nationalism/Pride- This is self explanatory, when I think of this in my head it goes like this: It makes sense that there is no nationalism in Islam because if you look around and see all the Muslims it’s beautiful how there are so many people from every part of the world, we don’t submit to a single culture or country we submit to Allah and that is what ties us together in a bond much stronger than any other countries sense of nationalism.
3. Economic Inequality- He said that this comes from usury, interest. It comes from the random bonuses that are given to people who don’t really deserve it, the trillions of dollars that are being given to people who don’t deserve it, the ones who have more than enough but figure out how to skip out on taxes. My dad always says, ‘If I could change one thing, it would be to make education tax deductable,’ I like that idea, maybe one day it will work. May Allah make us honest in all of our dealings and prevent us from getting involved in haraam transactions.
4. Unfortunately I missed number four because I had to leave to go catch Maghrib; if anyone has it please let me know inshaAllah.

The next Session was YM’s second main session entitled The Heart: Your Inner Radar.

Dr. Obaidullah Chaudry: He started off by saying, “don’t reveal your moves to your enemy [shaytaan].” He continued on saying that “if you don’t like the way you feel, change the way you think.” He asked us, how do you know if you have a diseased heart? He told us that Allah put it in our nature to submit to him [Allah]. He talked about how people talk about the youth being our future, he said that you [the youth] are not our future but you are our now! In Islam there was never a time where the people said that the “youth” have to wait, we have the potential to be leaders at any age! He told us, “be better than me!” He told us that the disease in our hearts can be burned up with the goodness of Islam. He told us to come to Islam whole heartedly, not part time. He said that success by Allah is taqwa.

Imam Zaid Shakir: He started off by saying “May Allah continue to keep us being enthusiastic about this religion.”  He also reminded us that “the fact that we were created, that we are here, makes us eligible for eternal bliss.” He told us that this life that we have right now is only a platform then we will travel to eternal bliss. He told us that the effects of sin can be eradicated. Allah tells us, “Oh you believers turn to Allah with sincere repentance.” He told us something which kind of made me change my outlooks a little, that the fact that we sin shouldn’t depress us, the only thing that should depress us is when one sins and fails to repent! He told us that “repentance eradicates the effects of sin,” and reminded us that “Surely your Lord will wipe out your sin.” He told us to imagine the beautiful days/scenery we have here and then reflect on the fact that jannah is so much better than that. I love the water, sunsets/rises, the trees and sky when you drive down the high way, and it all looks so beautiful and perfect, I can’t even imagine them better but subhaAllah jannah will be so much better than anything we have on here. Keep those in mind and then make dhikr, I find that to be helpful for myself. He told us to think of any sin that we may have engaged in and express deep remorse and sadness. He told us that if we have hurt someone then ask them for forgiveness, if you have something/used something of theirs tell them and ask to give back the value. He told us that one of the greatest sins is jealousy, and said do not envy one another! He told us that the disease of the nation, diseases that destroy a nation, is jealousy and hatred. We can look around and see examples of this in history and even in people, look at how quickly jealousy can change someone and then lead to other bad actions, may Allah protect us all and clear our hearts of any sign of jealousy and make us all content with all that we are blessed with. He reminded us that Allah said, “If you reject My blessings, then know my punishment is severe.” He told us that “jealousy consumes good deeds like fire consumes wood.” He told us to give thanks and don’t be ungrateful. That the greatest way to reverse sin is repentance, and that this keeps your tongue busy- dhikr preoccupies the tongue. He told us that little things can make a difference, such as shaytaan does not bother people who are in a state of Wudhu, so always try to remain in state of Wudhu. We need to perfect ourselves, stay in prayer, fast, dhikr etc… “Our Lord, perfect our light.”

Imam Mohammed Magid: He told us that shaytaan is arrogant and that humility is key, never feel like you’re better than others or that you’re ‘on top of the world.’ He told us how shaytaan does things in stages, he makes you do the sin and then says that is was all you. That shaytaan gives you false hope, wants you to be friends with wrong people. A good analogy that he gave was, “Don’t let shaytaan use your minutes.” MashaAllah he was a very different and entertaining speaker, his way of speaking was juss so sweet that he was able to capture everyone’s attention and get the message through quickly and simply, May Allah bless him for all he does.

The next session was called Tafseer of the Heart. This was an YM session that was also with Al Mishkat Institue, Al-Maghrib and I think that’s it [?] It was like an intensive workshop, if that made any sense, but you had to sign up for it because there were limited seats. MashaAllah, may Allah bless all the YM organizers, volunteers and anyone else who helped them out. YM continues to amaze me every year with all of their amazing hard work and I really think that they are underestimated. May Allah continue having the youth interested in Islam and continue creating young Muslim leaders inshaAllah. I hate advertising things on my blogs, and never thought I’d do so in my notes but YM deserves a spot on my bog and in my notes. They can’t do this without support, so visit the YM website continuously and make a small contribution if you can. Think of it this way, anything they do you will be a part of, and anyone who gets changed and becomes closer to Allah, you will become a part of J inshaAllah! Now back to the notes…. The speaker started off by saying that our heart is more than juss an organ. He said that in med school, or was it college, they learned about the heart as being “juss a dumb old pump,” this may be true anatomically, but not spiritually. Trying to get the heart to work with you spiritually is a life long process.

Shaykh Ahmed Kobeisy: He told us to read ayah number seven of Al-Imran constantly: “He it is Who has sent down to thee the Book: In it are verses basic or fundamental (of established meaning); they are the foundation of the Book: others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Lord:” and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.” He asked us where is your heart? He told us that Allah said “They have hearts which they do not understand.” Imam Ghazali said that the heart is not juss a pump machine but a “subtle of gift from Allah” [al-Ghazali]. He started talking about diseases of the heart. He talked about how kufaar and munafiq weren’t always at the stage where they are at currently; they slowly got to that stage over time, gradually. But how did they get there? In Surah Mutaffifin ayah number fourteen it says “By no means! but on their hearts is the stain of the (ill) which they do!” When a servant commits a sin there is a dark spot that appears in the heart, if he/she repents, it goes away. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that all hearts come in two categories, clean and pure vs. rusted, upside down. He talked about a ceiling over the heart, “khatama.” In surah Baqarah it says, “Allah sealed over their hearts.” Allah has sealed their faculties for reasoning. Why does he do this? Don’t think that Allah reverts someone out of guidance out of no where or for no reason; Allah seals the heart because there was never any true intention to believe! Ya Latif, this scared me so much, may Allah give us hearts that only beat for his sake! He gave us some reasons for why Allah seals the heart. The first one is the one mentioned before; there was no true intention to believe. Another one is rejection, transgression, trespassing boundaries, or simply not following the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He told us that “there is a reminder for the one who has a heart-a living heart.” During the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) time there was a battle called the Battle of Tabook, and there were men who made excuses and didn’t go, the Prophet excused them but Allah has rights to the people who didn’t go and he sealed their hearts! Another one he mentioned was arguing and debating verses of the Qur’an with out knowledge. The value of the deen of Allah is much more than your own value. He then continued on saying that when one gets heart problems, one goes to the cardiologist. But when one gets spiritual heart problems where should we go? Go to the Qur’an! He said that when you’re heat doesn’t move when hearing the Qur’an then you should say inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji’un, the heart is dead! He told us that Imam Malik wouldn’t give a lot of fatwah’s because he was afraid that he might change his mind and then he would have to answer Allah for the people that started following that ruling. He talked about how sometimes we feel stressed, over whelmed and he mentioned that a man once came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said that “the branches of Islam have come overwhelming for me, can you tell me one thing to help me?” and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said “Keep your tongue busy with the remembrance of Allah,” I love this advice I first heard it from Shaykh Faraz Rabbani who said “Moisten your tongue with the remembrance of Allah”; and honestly it works, juss keep doing dhikr all the time. When you do this it juss makes you so much happier too, sometimes when I can’t pay attention in class I juss start doing simple dhikrs and my friends turn to me and say “Why are smiling?” subhanAllah juss try it out please! He told us that the heart feels the remembrance of Allah; embody it with your tongue! He talked about Surah Kahf which mentions, “Do not listen to those who make your hearts unaware of remembering Allah.” He then talked about the harshness of the heart, being hard hearted. He said that your heart must be connected with Allah, that being said look at Allah’s traits: caring forgiving, loving etc…we must have such traits as well. He said that some people get hearts even harder than rocks! “Woe to those who have hard hearts!” The Qur’an says that real blindness is hearts that are harsh! He said that the matters that we discussed can come and go by starting off to be very small but they can grow to a stage where they can be no return. Ex: being a little jealous of something can incline to becoming blind of all the blessings that Allah has given to you and all you do is continue to become jealous of everything and anything. So how can we help ourselves? The scholars said there are three stages: [sorry guys I missed the third stage again, apparently psychology is wrong for me, most people remember the beginning and the end and miss the middle, apparently I’ve been missing the ends of some of these, khayr] 1. The first stage is Al-Ijaad- the creation and existence. It is he who established you from nothing! 2. Idaad- Allah prepared you to be Muslim. Gave you messengers, his revelations, scholars…. 3. Anyone got it?

Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui: He told us that the longer we wait, the harder it will be to get better, and we are depriving ourselves of goodness. He told us that when you’re alone, you feel the greatness of Allah. He talked about Imam an-Nawwawi, when he was only 7 years old and all he wanted to do was sit down and read the Qur’an instead of playing, the other kids would tease him and he would ignore them and juss sit and read his Qur’an, he chose Qur’an over playing at juss 7, subhanAllah! He told us a very cute story which I will try to re-tell. There once was a fisherman and one day he took his daughter with him. He would catch the fish and give it to his daughter, and his daughter’s job was to put them in the pail or whatever it was that they were going to keep the fish in. So the fishermen was catching all these fish and giving them to his daughter, when he was done he looked down and was surprised to see no fish, the whole time he was giving the fish to his daughter she was throwing them back in the water! The father was surprised and asked his daughter why? She said that I remember you once told me a story that the only fish that are caught are the one that are not in dhikr of Allah and I don’t want to take home a fish that’s not in dhikr of Allah. MashaAllah, once you get through with going aawww, look at how beautiful this little girl’s heart is. He talked about an inner eye, the eye that sees the deep meaning of the things that Allah has created. Our eye of our hearts don’t see very well. Our inner eye sometimes gets distracted by our surroundings and this causes us to not have a very good perception. He said that “we are like donkeys that carry a load of books.” We need to get hearts that can process the knowledge. He asked us, don’t we all have hearts? There is a lesson for those who have inner hearts which spiritually beats. These hearts pump spiritually in the person. It is so difficult for some of us to see the beauty of Salah, it is not a physical object. It is a meaning, feeling, a state. We’re not grasping the true meaning, the true beauty of Salah. He told us not to be close to those who may influence us badly- “Do not obey the one whose heart is oblivious to dhikr.” He told us that the best way to change ourselves is to make dhikr with the heart and this is something that we need to learn. He advised us to get companions that will give us happiness in this dunya and in the akhirah! He told us my favorite thing, “Verily in the remembrance of Allah, hearts find peace!” he told us how this gives tranquility, he compared this to becoming a couch potato. Today when we want to relax we sit down surrounded with junk food, watch T.V./movies continuously and continue eating until we grow into the couch… we’re all guilty. Myself included, if I have a bad day I go straight to ice cream, inshaAllah we’ll all learn that turning towards Allah is much better than clogging our arteries.  He talked about how when one is in a place where Allah is mentioned, ex: in a masjid when people are praying, but one continues about their personal lives that is a lack of adab, he said that perhaps we are lacking something inside. He told us that we must struggle to be obedient towards Allah and his Nabi (peace and blessings be upon him). He told us that anything other than Allah must be exterminated from our hearts. He told us that even our etiquettes with the creatures of Allah must change, do good things externally and do them with good pure intentions.

Shaykh Mohammed Faqih: He started off by talking about the issue of purification of the heart and how it should not be taken lightly. He told us that shaytann has a lot of experience, he’s been around for a while, and shaytaan wants to get through our hearts. So how does a person maintain a pure, healthy state of heart? We were told what will ruin the heart and how we should preserve and protect ourselves. One has to pursue this and it is a lifelong struggle. We don’t realize that simple things can help us out, ex: 5 pillars can make us better people. The best way to purify one’s heart is to be mindful and practice with diligence. A Bedouin once came to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said teach me and he (peace and blessings be upon him) told him the 5 pillars, the Bedouin asked do I have to do any more and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said no unless you’re inclined to do so. The Bedouin said that I will do these and only these and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said that you will be successful if you commit to them. Allah said that “My servant will not get closer to me then doing that which I have obligated.” He reminded us of Imam Siraj Wahhaj, how we give our best of our years to the dunya. The one who connects to Allah at a young age, then at the old age will have a special connection with Allah. He told us to spend our youth pursuing the happiness of Allah. He talked about Salah, it means to pray, supplicate, du’a. Du’a is the essence of ibaadah. No one deserves your heart other than Allah. Allah only accepts that which is pure, so purify your heart and then devout it to Allah. The 5 prayers lead you to more and more! Make sure you get your priorities straight, pray all 5 of your prayers not 2/5 4/5 but 5/5- establish ALL of them and commit to all of them! Allah doesn’t say those who pray, but those who establish Salah-those who are committed, surround themselves and create a culture of Salah. Salah can not be established without: 1. Learn the rulings of Salah: the technicalities are important. Learn the Salah of Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him), “pray as though you have seen me pray.”  Learn the du’as of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), follow his (peace and blessings be upon him) example. 2. Khushur: Humility. We must be inspired, empowered… by Salah. Some people get tired from the speed of praying Salah! Understand what you are saying. Ali (ra) used to tremble when he would make Wudhu, he would say “Do you have the slightest idea who I am going to face?” We don’t, that’s why we don’t feel it when we go to pray. You can’t establish a connection with Allah without Salah! Your secret code should be 2,4,4,3,4! Did you figure it out? MashaAllah, it took me a while, it’s the fardh rakahs of the 5 Salah’s. He asked us, how can you survive without Salah? How can your life be messed up with Salah? There is something missing there, you need to evaluate yourself. He then talked about Saum: fasting. The Sahabah used to prepare themselves 6 months ahead of time spiritually for Ramadhaan. Today we find out a day or two ahead because of all the fighting between the communities on when it will start. He asked us how should we prepare for Ramadhaan? He told us how some of us go raid the super markets and buy almost everything. He said, “It’s not a moth of famine,” we’re juss fasting. He told us that if we spend our nights staying up and praying, remaining in dhikr, you will come out a different and better person. He gave us some tips: 1. No eating or drinking [of course] 2. Refrain your body from haraam, ex: the tongue needs to fast too! your eyes, ears etc… 3. Heart and mind must fast as well!

The next session was a small session about the Qur’an. I came in late because it started when the YM session was still going on and then there was no more chairs left and even the floor was crowded, so the amount of time it took me to finally get settled Shaykh Faraz already started talking.

Shaykh Faraz Rabbani: There are two people that I consider very important to me, Imam Siraj Wahhaj and Shaykh Faraz Rabbani. Both have helped me very much in my deen and both have helped change me for the better. May Allah reward them for everything that they do and may they continue coming to these conventions to help others benefit from them. May Allah preserve them both. Shaykh Faraz was talking about recitation of the Qur’an. He said that before we even begin to recite we should reflect on what you’re going to learn while you will be reciting, this is from the Sunnah of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him). He said that when you read something that is beneficial to you, ask Allah for it and if you read something harmful ask Allah for forgiveness. He told us that we should try to get an interactive recitation going on when we are reading. When you recite the Qur’an don’t make your focus the quantity but the quality. It was said that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once repeated one verse all night because he was reflecting on it. If you pay attention to the quality instead of the quantity, it will make your recitation more meaningful. He told us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said that a good deed is worth 10 folds up to 700 times. He talked about “Qur’an Khanees”-something in the desi tradition where people get together and read Qur’an [I think, correct me if I’m wrong]. He said that he can’t understand how some people read so fast, he said that some of the people can read a page faster than he can turn a page! He told us to have a daily connection with the Qur’an. [I think a good time for this is after Fajr but that’s juss me.] He told us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said to “recite the Qur’an in a month,” but he reminded us that there is a Sunnah of following the Sunnah. You should make a consistent effort and set standards for yourself. He said that “The concern of the righteous is not the quantity of their actions but of their quality.” He told us to listen to the Qur’an, it’s so easy to do that today, whether it be while we drive or while walk or whatever it may be technology has made this so easy for us. He told us that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) once said, “Recite the Qur’an to me,” and the companion said “it was revealed to you” and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said “I like to hear it.” He told us to continue reading so you can improve your accent. He compared this to accents, he said that when people move to the country they don’t juss wake up one day and decide I’m not going to stop having an accent, over time they change, he actually said “that even Guyanese people who have thick accents change their accents”, so we can adapt to the Qur’ans accent as well! I actually also learned some new information about Shayh Faraz in this small session, he grew up in Spain with an English accent and then moved to Canada, that’s pretty cool mashaAllah. May Allah bless him for all he does.

The next session was YM’s third main session called Diseases and Cures of the Heart.

Shaykh Mohammed Faqih: He started off by talking about how hypocrisy was not around during the Makkan period, you were either Muslim or not. In deen, a hypocrite means that they pretend to believe. There can be hypocrisy in deeds, lifestyle, conducts etc… It is “when someone’s pattern of behavior does not reflect what they truly believe.” He asked us, do your actions and deeds reflect your beliefs? We have to recognize the symptoms and rid ourselves from them. There are over 50 different types and acts that are associated with hypocrisy. The Qur’an helps us recognize and how to get rid of them. The basic sign of hypocrisy is those that know but they don’t act accordingly. Qualities of hypocrisy:

1. Ignorance: no knowledge, no understanding.
2. Double Standards: When they’re with believers they act and blend in with them. When they’re with non-believers or friends that call them to the wrong path they’re juss as bad, sometimes the worse.
3. Lazy when it comes to Salah. Salah is very heavy on them. They’re very lazy when it comes to Salah, it is a huge burden for them. The imam says Allahu-Akbar and they drag their feet. Whenever they can, they try to get away with missing Salah. If a person does not pray Fajr and Esha, during the time of Nabi (peace and blessings be upon him) it was a sign of hypocrisy because at Fajr and Esha time it was very dark and no one would no who wasn’t there. Look at our time, everything is lit up and yet sometimes we still have people missing…
4. Lies
5. Breaks his/her promise: whether it be a promise they make to Allah, themselves or others, especially their family members, they can’t fulfill their promise(s).
6. Conditional Righteousness: They turn to Allah/worship Allah only when they’re in a good state.
7. Betrays Trust

They also make fun of believers, they feel insecure around believers. He also said that hypocrite men and women are of each other, they encourage evil and forbid the good. They have a negative, pessimistic mindset and put others down especially by making fun of believers, Allah, messengers etc… It bothers them when they see believers; it makes them feel “Now you think you’re better than me?” “You think you have more hayah than me?” He told us that believers love other believers. So how do we rid ourselves of hypocrisy?

1. Belief in Allah- hold onto Allah’s path!
2. Be sincere and honest
3. Repent- be grateful and thankful
4. Purify our hearts from all ills of the hearts
5. Du’a- pray

Imam Omer Sulieman: He asked us what is the difference between loving someone and being in love with someone? He talked about how the conditions/standards of love have gone down so much. People say “I love…” all the time and juss like that they always say “I love Allah” and take it lightly. It’s very easy to say you love Allah. There is a form of shirk where you love something as you’re supposed to love Allah. Juss hearing the name of Allah should make you break down and cry. He talked about how the end of Surah Hashr makes Imam’s breakdown and cry. Allah did not and will not shut down the doors in your face. He mentioned the hadith of “When My servant draws close to Me by the span of a palm, I draw close to him by the cubit and when he draws close to Me by the cubit, I draw close to him by the space (covered) by two hands, and when he draws close to Me by the space (covered) by two hands, I go in hurry towards him.” The willingness of Allah to develop this relationship is great, so how does this relationship start? There are people who take anything and they turn it into a form of ibadah. How does it make you feel when someone says something or makes fun of Allah? Or the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him)? What’s the process of falling in love with Allah? Allah says that my servant does not come closer to me with nothing but the faraaidh, we need to fix these first! When people stop communicating, ex: spouses, or a friend that used to be very close, once the communication stops, the relationship is over. Once you start feeling the khushur in your Salah you can’t get enough of it! Once you start tasting the sweetness of Salah you start doing extras! Once you start tasting the sweetness of Saum etc… you will be begin to increase them all on your own.When you do something small and you do it out of love it increases the love in the relationship. He gave an example of a husband bringing home a dozen flowers to his wife, compared to a husband bringing home a single rose everyday- the single rose everyday will be much more meaningful to the wife and it will be a result of the husband remembering his wife and it will increase the love in the relationship as well. He asked us, how honored would you be to get the love of Allah? And he said remember that the door of Allah is still open, that opportunity is still open for us! Allah said in the Qur’an, “And if he asks of me, I will answer him!”  He told us not once, twice but three times, that “It is very easy to fall in love with Allah!” All you have to do is ask and you have someone who will answer you each and every single time. He told us how a believer loves Esha and Fajr so much more because they won’t be seen. He told us a beautiful story that I hope I can re-tell effectively. There once was a servant and there was a time of drought and the servant made du’a saying “Oh Allah I ask you by your love of me to give us water,” and with that it began to rain. I think it was his master that called him and asked him what he said or something of the sort and the servant then made du’a saying “Oh Allah I ask you by your love of me to take me,” and with that the servant died, subhanAllah! He asked us, how bad do you want to meet Allah? Non-Muslims say “live life to the fullest,” and believers feel guilty and try hard to get rid of their bad deeds. He told us that when the believers enter jannah Allah gives the mu’mineen a tour of jannah, and then afterwards he will call the believers to assemble. Once they get assembled he’ll ask them what do you want and they will all discuss and try to figure out what to ask for and they’ll say we are pleased now you be pleased with us. Allah will tell them to return and think of something, once again they will assemble and try to think of something, and this time the believers will say “Oh Allah show us your face so we can start at you!” SubhanAllah! Can you imagine? Ya Latif, may Allah make us amongst those believers! He reminded us again and again that Allah is ready for us to start the relationship; we have to make the effort. He told us how the people of jahanum will not be able to even talk to Allah! Punishments of jahanum are so many, and the kuffar of jahannum will say to the Angels call your Lord so he can lighten the punishment. A person who loves Allah will never miss an opportunity to call Allah! He told us the story of Umar ibn Khatab, before Islam he loved his own honor very much, after Islam he sacrificed his honor for Allah. When you love someone you sacrifice everything for them! He told his son, “Put my head in the dust so when Allah sees me he sees a humble servant!” He told us to make du’a and to ask Allah to guide us while we still can.

The last session I went to was YM’s last main session called Revival of the Heart. Hamdulillah the last session was packed, at least it was on the sister’s side.

Dr. Altaf Hussein: He told us how the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) heart was always inclined towards Allah. He told us to say that “My heart is struggling Allah, guide me!” He told us that the haraam and halal are clear and anything in between should be avoided. I kind of missed the other part because my little brother was with me and apparently he was “dying of thirst” so I had to run out for a bit to get him a drink.

Arif Hussein: He talked about “a time for change.” He talked about how we are always changing and it will either be for good or bad and that we need to constantly keep ourselves in check to make sure that we’re changing for the better! He talked about Hind and how after the Battle of Badr her heart wanted nothing but revenge and seeked nothing else but to kill Hazrat Hamza. She hired a slave to kill him at the Battle of Uhud but still she wasn’t satisfied and full of hatred she then cut him open and chewed on his liver. The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw his uncle and asked who did this and they replied ‘Hind’ and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said let it be known that she is to be put to death if she is found. At the conquest of Makkah, Hind knew that she was wanted dead and she was scared for her life. But the beautiful part of this story was that she saw one of the Sahaabah’s praying Salah and she was so moved when she saw this Sahaabah that she went to her husband and said that I am going to become Muslim. She went to the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and said that she wants to become Muslim and the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) asked her name and she said ‘Hind’ and he (peace and blessings be upon him) said “Welcome Hind.” SubhanAllah look at the change of heart that Hind had and look at the beautiful, compassionate, forgiving heart that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) had. Today if someone makes a little mistake, or remark or something that makes us angry, that’s it! It’s like it’s the end of the world and today some people hold such deep and long grudges that you can begin to see why we all need to purify our hearts. May Allah free all of our hearts from such grudges or any other disease from the heart. Br. Arif Hussein said something beautiful that stuck to me, he told us how when he went on one of the YM retreats he said “I wish I had the hand of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) to take my hand,” ya Latif don’t we all Br. Arif, don’t we all… We need to make niyyah for change in our hearts in order to get us all closer to Allah.

Shaykh Mokhtar Maghraoui: He told us that you are a heart from the beginning and meant to be a heart at the end. We get exposed to others and those hearts that are not pure and then we start to change. Some advice he gave us were:

1. Istighfaar: purifying our hearts spiritually.
2. Prevention [Hinya?] especially our eyes! He told us to lower our gaze, guard your ears and don’t pay attention too much to things that wont benefit you in a positive way. He told us to keep our tongues away from being ‘stained,’ ex: lying, cheating, gossip etc… don’t talk too much. He told us that frequent use of the tongue and frequent laughter makes the heart hard.
3. The Right Type of Companionship: Be mindful and be aware with whom you spend time with. If you’re with non-pure hearts, you will start to lose. Instead of hanging out with T.V., i-pods etc… do dhikr, Salah etc… Then you will know what you’ve been missing out on.
4. Taqwiyyah- Growth: Strengthening the heart. Salah, fast extras, prevent attachment to food, etc… Cleanse your heats!

Take care inshaAllah.

-radf

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