Murdered by Media

She curses her reflection
and howls at her genealogy
for her wide forehead
and her chunky upper lip
she dyes, not just her hair
so shes beyond
recognition
the blackness in her curls
seeping slowly
into her veins
poisoning her mind
her fragile little heart
suffocating
from the burden of ugly
her body mummified
starved
by the latest diet
and her soul
her poor, poor soul
a prisoner of her woes
little did she know
she had died
long before
died the moment she saw
herself in that mirror
she died for beauty
thinking beautiful she will never be

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Fussing Over the 15th of Sha‘ban

The Humble I

Question: Is marking out the 15th night of Sha‘ban (laylat al-nisf min sha‘ban) for extra prayers and devotion sanctioned by Islam, or is doing so judged to be a reprehensible innovation (bid‘ah)?

Answer: Each year a fair amount of fussing and fighting takes place over the issue. Yet the truth of the matter is that scholars have long held this issue to be one over which there is a valid difference of opinion. The first group considered the night to have no specific virtues over and above any other night of the year, and believed that singling the night out for extra acts of worship is unsanctioned. Another group differed and held that the middle night of Sha‘ban does have special merits and can be earmarked for extra prayers and devotion.

What follows is a discussion about why such a difference has arisen and how each of the two stances has…

View original post 2,037 more words

A little bit of love..

Sometimes all it takes is a deep, deep breath. Sometimes all it takes is a compassionate ear. Sometimes all it takes is thinking twice before letting your tongue fire tiny missiles. Sometimes all it takes is a little bit of love.

A Beautiful Nightmare

It’s was all dark.. All i could see was pitch black

My whole body started shaking, i felt the tiny creatures crawling under my back

My face started to shiver

As one sweating in deadly fever

I tried to reach my hands out but i was blocked

In this sand-filled cover of mine, i was locked

Gradually sinking, Six feet deep down,

Underground

Screaming for help but no one hearing a sound

Crying and crying out loud

Still hoping maybe someone might hear me out

But nothing. I was dead and gone for good

Left my family, friends, and my neighborhood

I was in the wrong

Never did nothing never got along,

With my family

It was always about me, my friends and even my enemies

Never prayed even one salaah

Never made dhikr, didnt obey Allah

Snuck with my friends behind my parents back and

Didnt focus on anything just always slacking

Thinking of each flashback running through my head

I started to scream, “i wish i wasn’t dead!”

Regretting each moment that i didnt thank Allah for

Why did i have to be amongst the wrong doers?

Minutes passed by, i started feeling the grave push in squeezing my ribs

I couldn’t breathe no more, i started to feel the tear in my hips

Crying and crying thinking about everything that i have done wrong

But why am i wasting my tears now? Its all left in the past, its all gone

As i started to feel the darkness getting closer.. I woke up and screamed

Thank Allah this was all just a dream,

Yes, a beautiful nightmare, only cuz it taught me a lesson

From now on its deen over dunyah cause islam is a blessing

To know that one day you will live for eternity

In a life full of peace, beauty and tranquility

This world is nothing but a confusion

A temporary illusion

Were so attached to it that we’ve been putting in our own contributions

Like this music that we’ve been rapping along to

Some kinda game that we’ve been playing along to

These signs are so clear, right infront of our eyes

Yet the truth somehow comes out missing and we can’t realize

These are all of shaytans lies

He’s fooling you

Simply confusing you

Push him out of your life and pray to Allah

Take all your worries out by making Du’a

’cause why wish upon the star when you can pray to its creator

Allah, only He is our Sustainer

So just remember that today the soil is beneath you, but tomorrow it may be above you. You might or might not live for long, so just pray before you are prayed upon.

 -Marwa Mohammad

This too shall pass.

I haven’t been getting much sleep lately and by this morning I felt a massive headache kicking in, kinda like what people often describe as a hangover after getting drunk. For me, the hangover was from a piece of shattering news I received yesterday.

My heart felt constricted under the choking weight of grief like a lump in my throat. But as I finished praying fajr and raised my hands to make du`aa, a little voice inside me reminded me that this too shall pass.. I decided it was upto me: I could either wallow in misery or choose to be happy, do the best I can and continue living.

I chose happiness. For me, happiness = acceptance and being content in the present moment and to continue living with the mantra of never giving up. Its not easy to choose when you’re fighting off overwhelming emotional pain, but it most certainly is liberating.

Life as we know is all about making decisions and choices. For me, the most important daily decision to make is to start my day with renewed faith and making a conscious effort of choosing happiness regardless of my circumstances. And that results into a lighter, more content me.

A Hearty Salad

Mixed Salad with Cranberries & Mango

 

Ingredients:

1 cup of diced sweet and sour mango

2 cups of chopped lettuce

1 cup of chopped spinach

1 cup of diced cucumber

1/2 cup diced red raddish

1/2 cup of dried cranberries

For the dressing:

1/4 cup yogurt

2 limes

1 1/2 tbsp olive oil

salt to taste

• Mix all of the salad ingredients in a bowl.
• For the dressing, mix the olive oil, salt and lime juice in the yogurt and pour it on top of the salad.
• I used almond flakes for garnishing. You can use bits of walnuts and almonds in it for added taste.

 

 

From Father to Daughter..

Imaam Maalik taught his daughter Fatimah the whole of his Muwatta’. Not only did she memorize the whole of the Muwatta’, but she learnt all the ahadeeth her father knew, from him. Az-Zubayr says, “Maalik had a daughter who knew his knowledge (the Muwatta’) by heart, and she used to be behind the door. When the reader made a mistake, she would correct him.”

She would also inform the people regarding the pious traits of her father, for example it is reported that she said, “Maalik would pray every night his portion (hizb), but when it was the night of Friday, he would stay awake all of it.” {Tarteeb al-Madaarik wa-Taqreeb al Masalik by Al Qadi ‘Iyaad}

In the 14th century the most important expert of hadeeth was Amatullah bint al-Imaam ‘Abd al-Ghani al-Dihlawiyyah (d. 1357) in Madinah. She studied with her father, many times over, all the Six Books, as well as many ajzaa’ and thabats (notebooks containing details of one’s narrations or teachers). She also received from him all the Mursalaat. Her father took a lot of interest in her education and obtained high ijaazah’s (licenses) for her from the leading traditionists of that time.32 At her home in Madinah she taught Qudoori as well as books of hadeeth. She was from the last major female scholars of Madinah. {Al-Kattaani, Fihris al-Fahaaris}

For more information on Women Scholars of Islaam, please visit this wonderful website.

My Broken Heart Chocolate Cheesecake!

Was feeling a wee bit down so decided to bake a broken heart chocolate cheesecake. It tasted much better than it looks and definitely made me feel great as ofcourse a mix of chocolate with cheesecake will always bring a silly smile to your face! 😀

Here’s the recipe:

Before you begin, preheat your oven to 350°F.

Chocolate layer:

• I used a boxed cake mix for the chocolate cake as I was short on time. Just follow the instructions on the box [usually, 3 eggs, 1 1/3 cup water – I tend to use 1 cup of milk and 1/3 of water, gives it a better taste – and 1/3 cup oil].

• Grease your baking pan (in my case I used a heart shaped pan) with butter. Make sure to grease the sides so that the cake comes off easily once its ready.

• Pour the chocolate batter into the pan, set aside.

Cheesecake layer:

Ingredients:

• 2 8 ounce packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 eggs

• Beat the above ingredients in a bowl until smooth.

• Carefully spread the cream cheese mixture on top of the chocolate batter in the pan.

• Bake for 30 minutes or just until the center of the cheesecake part is set.

• Let it cool.

• For garnishing, I used a layer of chocolate frosting, almond flakes, and bits & curls of chocolate.

“And for you is an Appointed Time”

خطب عمر بن عبد العزيز
آخر خطبة خطبها فقال فيها

‘Umar ibn ‘Abd al-`Aziz (rahimahullaah) said in his last khutbah:

[يا أيها الناس]

O people,

إنكم لم تخلقوا عبثاً
ولم تتركوا سدىً

Indeed you have not been created for mere play
Nor will you be left in vain

وإن لكم معاداً
ينزل الله فيه للفصل بين عباده

And for you is an appointed time
Wherein Allaah will descend to judge between his servants

فقد خاب وخسر من خرج من رحمة الله
التي وسعت كل شيء

Truly the failure is he who has left the Mercy of Allaah
which has encompassed all things

و حرم جنة عرضها السماوات والأرض

And who has been forbidden from Paradise,
its width as wide as the heavens and the earth

ألا ترون أنكم في أسلاب هالكين

Don’t you see that you are indeed in a destroyed plunder

وسيرثها بعدكم الباقون

And those after you shall inherit it

كذلك حتى ترد إلى خير الوارثين

Like that it will be, until it is returned to the Best of Inheritors (Allaah)

و في كل يوم تشيعون غادياً ورائحاً إلى الله

And everyday you are going back and forth escorting (someone) to Allaah

قد قضى نحبه
و أنقضى أجله

His term has been settled
And his life is over

أتودعونه و تدعونه في صدع من الأرض
غير موسّد ولا ممهّد

Will you then bid him farewell and call him from the rough and unleveled cracks of the earth?

قد خلع الأسباب
و فارق الأحباب
و سكن التراب
و واجه الحساب

He has left all provisions
And left his beloved ones
He has settled to live among dust
And is due to face the reckoning

غني عما خلف
فقير إلى ما أسلف

He is free from what he has left behind
And in dire need of what he has put forth

فاتقوا الله عباد الله
قبل نزول الموت و انقضاء مواقيته

So fear Allaah O servants of Allaah
Before the descent of death and the coming of his time

و إني لأقول لكم هذه المقالة
وما أعلم عند أحد من الذنوب مما أعلم عندي

Indeed, I say this to you
But none knows as much as I do of the sins (I have) earned

ولكني
استغفر الله و أتوب إليه

But I seek the forgiveness of Allaah and repent to Him

ثم رفع طرف ردائه و بكى حتى شهق
ثم نزل فما عاد إلى المنبر حتى مات
رحمة الله عليه

He then lifted the ends of his cloak and weeped…
Then he got down and did not return to the minbar until he passed away

May the Mercy of Allaah be upon him. Ameen
[Translated by sister Farhia]

Those cute fluffy things in the sky..

Have you guys ever tried making out shapes from clouds in the sky? Its fun. Try it sometime, but not while driving!

Clouds have always fascinated me. I love the different shapes, the closeness you feel to them while standing on a mountain.. priceless.

So yeah..below are some amazingly beautiful pictures I came across:

^ Those are known as Mammatus Clouds.

^ Mount Rainier – Washington State – By Scott Hunziker

^ Wave CLouds