My sewing project - curtains for bay windows

I love sewing.

As far as I remember, I started sewing when I was 12. Small projects for a start, like making a pencil case, simple table cloth, apron for mom and scarf. When I grew older, my interest in sewing also grew bigger. I started to fancy dress making. My sisters became 'fashion icons' when the dresses I made for them turned out to be so beautiful,  and of course one so many times they also became 'fashion victims' when something went wrong and they have to suffer wearing uncomfortable dresses because I forced them to. hahaha. Everything is made on trial and error basis. I never went to any sewing classes. They were too expensive for me. The good side of it, I have to work hard to improve my sewing skill from time to time. Mom gave encouragement all the way. She bought lovely fabrics for my new project, she let me borrow her sewing machine and the necessary accesories, she did not even interrupt me when I was concentrating with my sewing works.

After several years, mom asked me if I was ready to sew curtains. I said I don't know, because curtains seem like something so huge and heavy and time consuming. Anyhow, one day she bought a beautiful pastel colour fabric with small flower prints and lovely tassles and white tapes and told me to sew a curtain for the living room. To my surprise, the outcome was very nice, though very simple too. Alhamdulillah. Thanks, mom, for giving me a chance to prove myself.

Since then, I started to make curtains. Every year during Eid Mubarak we hanged new curtains that I made. I enjoyed it very much. With my own pocket money, I bought a second-hand sewing machine. One day, Ann, a very good, long time friend came to my house for a visit. We started talking about ourselves and I told her I am mad about sewing. I showed her my work and she was impressed. Very little did I know that Ann is also good at sewing herself. So that day, she taught me how to make scallops for the curtains. Masya-Allah, very beautiful. I will never forget her kindness in teaching me new things in sewing. May Allah grant her more knowledge and grant her happiness in life. Thank you, Ann!

Until now, I never have to buy curtains from the drapers anymore. I made them myself. I sew curtains for mom too. She is one demanding customer, though. hahaha... Must follow exactly what she desires for her curtain or she'll turn sulky! Oh mom! I love you so much!

Last year, my husband bought me a seamlock machine so that I need not go out to the regular tailor to have the edge of my fabrics sewn. That's a pleasant surprise. "For my crazy wife" he said. Well, he knows I am crazy about sewing...Thanks, dear, for understanding me. Alhamdulillah, with the new seamlock machine, my works became much, much easier and I can finish a project within one or two days only.

I attached herewith some pictures of the curtains I sewn myself.

This white and red organza are from last year's Eid Mubarak. It consumed about 40 metres of fabrics. I like the soft flower prints. I doubled it up with plain white organza. Very soft and soothing. I like it very much during windy days when the wind blew each piece of the curtains and they moved as if they were dancing.

To make it more attractive, I use crystal beaded fringe of matching colour.

 
 
 

 
 
At my place, if you go to a draper and ordered for something like this, you might end up paying around RM1,000 to RM3,000 (about USD285 to USD857). I spent less than RM500 (USD143) for the fabrics and accessories. Phew! That's a huge saving!
 
 
 

This year's curtain, I chose something retro for a change - lace fabrics
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

I made the scallops from satin to contrast the lace fabrics. As usual, that was a trial and error kind of thing, but I am glad they complement each other nicely.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
And add up some frills to make it lively. I have to confess, making frill is really taxing, but look at the outcome... trust me, it's worth it!





 
 
 
 
 
 
 
   

The result....Taraaaa...... !

   

 
 
I already have another great idea for the curtains next year, but as for now, that will have to wait. I need to concentrate on my study. And I am also huffing and puffing for air all the time due to my pregnancy. So, I'll let time decide when the new project will actually take place. Insya-Allah, if God wills.... Perhaps next time I'll post on my sofa cover project. That was really a huge makeover for my living room!

p/s: Girls, this is one of the many ways you could fulfill your past time and benefit from it, Insya-Allah. You may say you don't know anything about sewing. I was like that too, but alhamdulillah, the courage I have in me and also strong supports from everyone around me make it easy for me to learn step by step. If you can't sew, then maybe you can cook! Or create some decorative art from recycled waste such as cardboard, bottles or old newspapers. Better still, you can also share your knowledge by giving tutorials or tuition classes to children at your place. All these will be rewarded handsomely by The Almighty, insya-Allah.

Show that you are a talented muslimah! For good cause, Insya-Allah.

Yet another stranger....

Written by Rand Diab

A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.

As I grew up I never questioned his place in our family. In my young mind, each member had a special niche. My brother, Yusuf, five years my senior, was my example. Samya, my younger sister, gave me an opportunity to play ‘big brother’ and develop the art of teasing. My parents were complementary instructors– Mom taught me to love Allah, and Dad taught me to how to obey Him. But the stranger was our storyteller. He could weave the most fascinating tales. Adventures, mysteries and comedies were daily conversations. He could hold our whole family spell-bound for hours each evening. If I wanted to know about politics, history, or science, he knew it.

He knew about the past and seemed to understand the present. The pictures he could draw were so life like that I would often laugh or cry as I watched. He was like a friend to the whole family. He took Dad, Yusuf and me to our first major league baseball game. He was always encouraging us to see the movies and he even made arrangements to introduce us to several famous people.

The stranger was an incessant talker. Dad didn’t seem to mind-but sometimes Mom would quietly get up– while the rest of us were enthralled with one of his stories of faraway places– go to her room, read the Qur’an.

I wonder now if she ever prayed that the stranger would leave. You see, my dad ruled our household with certain moral convictions. But this stranger never felt obligation to honor them. Profanity, for example, was not allowed in our house– not from us, from our friends, or adults. Our longtime visitor, however, used occasional four letter words that burned my ears and made Dad squirm.. To my knowledge, the stranger was never confronted. My dad was a teetotaler who didn’t permit alcohol in his home – not even for cooking.

But the stranger felt like we needed exposure and enlightened us to other ways of life. He offered us beer and other alcoholic beverages often.

He made cigarettes look tasty, cigars manly, and pipes distinguished. He talked freely (probably too much too freely) about sex. His comments were sometimes blatant, sometimes suggestive, and generally embarrassing.

I know now that my early concepts of the man-woman relationship were influenced by the stranger.

As I look back, I believe it was Allah’s Mercy that the stranger did not influence us more. Time after time he opposed the values of my parents. Yet he was seldom rebuked and never asked to leave. More than thirty years have passed since the stranger moved in with the young family on Morningside Drive. He is not nearly so intriguing to my Dad as he was in those early years. But if I were to walk into my parents’ den today, you would still see him sitting over in a corner, waiting for someone to listen to him talk and watch him draw his pictures.

His name you ask?

We called him TV.

  

Masya-Allah, this is a good story to be taken as example. The influence of TV on our younger generation is HUGE. It has changed the lifestyle of millions of people. It is up to us to decide whether it brings more benefits or harm into our lives. Many thanks to Muslimah for allowing me to re-post this on my blog.

A stranger

I went out shopping for some maternity dresses with my husband yesterday at Jusco Mid Valley. It was JCard member's day where discounts were offered up to 80% of the original price. The place was terribly packed with excited shoppers who took the opportunity to get something for themselves or their loved ones.

There was a wide range of such beautiful maternity gowns and blouses and pants and skirts of various colours and the materials are so soft with floral prints and pastel colours and ribbons and laces... Oh my God! I could buy them ALL at once!!!

After two hours of searching and trying and deciding what to buy, I already felt exhausted. We hurriedly paid for the clothes and moved on to the shoes department. This is where my problem lies. I am not a BIGFOOT of course, but I have BIG FOOT... err... big feet, to be exact, because I have two foots (*nuts?*). I can't simply point at any pair of lovely shoes and say "I want that one" and give my size and 5 minutes afterwards pay for it. No, that's just not me. I can only buy 'wide fitting' shoes, and they are of very limited selection here in Malaysia, considering the fact that Malaysians on average have smaller body frame compared to the Americans or Europeans. So, another two devastating hours were spent simply to find a pair of comfortable flat shoes.

By the time we finished shopping and went out, I was huffing and puffing for air and desperately need to rest a while. My husband pointed to a bench nearby and told me to sit there and wait while he go redeem some shopping vouchers. I, together with my shopping bags, headed slowly towards the bench like a tortoise. There was a woman already occupying one side of the bench. She watched me with this sort of funny expression on her face as if thinking..."What is she? A sloth?"... Owh! I really don't care what she thought of me... I am tired I can hardly move my legs!

"Oh you poor girl! Come sit beside me." She got up, took my hand and pull me to the bench.

"Alhamdulillah. Thank you"  I smiled. It felt so good to sit down and relax a bit.

"Where are you from? This lady stranger started the conversation with a wide smile. I gave her a short reply and thought the conversation would end there immediately. I was wrong. She asked me many, many other questions about myself, where I work, how many children I have, what I shop, how many months I am pregnant, and so on. I did not see any harm in telling her everything she wanted to know as long as they are general facts. Soon afterwards I know her as Junainah, a mother of five (all girls) and lives somewhere nearby. We talked for quite a while until my husband appeared in front of us and gave a signal that we should get moving.

I thanked Junainah for accompanying me and for the nice conversation, and grabbed my things and got up on my feet. Before I left, she asked for my mobile number and without thinking twice, I happily gave it to her. My husband was curious but did not say anything until we reached home.

Kuala Lumpur - a city crowded with strangers of all kinds

"You are one straight forward kind of person" he scolded. "Anyone with evil intention could cheat you easily"

"But I don't see any harm in her. She looks like an honest person" I tried to defend myself.

"How do you know she is not a bad person?" He asked back.

"I don't know, really. But she's a mother too, just like me. How bad can she be?"

"Listen. I never say that she IS a bad person. All I am trying to say is, we can't simply trust anyone we know only after 2 or 3 minutes of conversation. You need to be more careful next time. Don't give away personal details to strangers".

I nodded softly. He is right. I was such a fool to have given away my mobile number to someone I hardly know. I promised him I will not repeat the same mistake again in future.

Later when we were having dinner, I received an sms. It was from Junainah, the stranger. She asked me what time I reached home, whether I have had my dinner, and some other things. To my surprise, she also asked for my home address, saying that she wanted to visit me one day. She was a bit pushy this time.

"See! I told you! Now we have a stalker!" My husband got heated up when I showed him the sms. He told me not to reply to the sms, so I didn't.

Early this morning, around 7.20am,  my mobile phone rang. I rushed to the bedside to fetch the phone only to find out that the caller was Junainah. Again? An eerie feeling crept in me. What did she want from me?

"Don't answer her. She may try call you again later. Don't answer her!"  My husband warned me. He sounded so angry.

"I won't. She scares me. I am sorry things turned out this way unexpectedly"

"It's okay. Take care of yourself." He kissed me and left for work.

At the moment as I write this, I kept asking myself, how did all this happen? Was it wrong to show some politeness and smile a bit to strangers? I don't simply do this to everyone. The stranger is only a lady of much smaller size than me. Can she harm me in any way? Perhaps she is lonely and sad and is in need of a friend to talk to. But then I am myself a stranger to her. It is simply not right for her to trust me easily.

Perhaps she has good intention from the beginning. Perhaps she is a salesperson. Yes, that makes sense. She tried to sell something to me, that's why she contacted me. Insurance, maybe. But even if this is true, she approached me the wrong way. She scares me off.

Something to think about...

Many thanks to Durriyah Sharifah Hasan Adli of University of Malaya for sharing this with me. Now I share this with all of you because I think this is very true, if not all, at least to most of us.

Original posting taken from:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/04/AR2007040401721.html

THE SITUATION

In Washington , DC , at a Metro Station, on a cold January morning in 2007, this man with a violin played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, approximately 2,000 people went through the station, most of them on their way to work. After about 3 minutes, a middle-aged man noticed that there was a musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds, and then he hurried on to meet his schedule.

After 4 minutes of playing:
The violinist received his first dollar. A woman threw money in the hat and, without stopping, continued to walk.


At 6 minutes:
A young man leaned against the wall to listen to him, then looked at his watch and started to walk again.


At 10 minutes:
 3-year old boy stopped, but his mother tugged him along hurriedly. The kid stopped to look at the violinist again, but the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk, turning his head the whole time. This action was repeated by several other children, but every parent - without exception - forced their children to move on quickly.


At 45 minutes:
The musician played continuously. Only 6 people stopped and listened for a short while. About 20 gave money but continued to walk at their normal pace. The man collected a total of $32.


After 1 hour:
He finished playing and silence took over. No one noticed and no one applauded. There was no recognition at all.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the greatest musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written, with a violin worth $3.5 million dollars. Two days before, Joshua Bell sold-out a theater in Boston where the seats averaged $100 each to sit and listen to him play the same music.

This is a true story. Joshua Bell, playing incognito in the D.C. Metro Station, was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and people's priorities.

This experiment raised several questions:

*In a common-place environment / at an inappropriate hour, do we perceive beauty / appreciate exceptional talent?

*If so, do we stop to appreciate it? Do we acknowledge it?

*Do we recognize talent in an unexpected context?

One possible conclusion reached from this experiment could be this:
If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world, playing some of the finest music ever written, with one of the most beautiful instruments ever made . . .

How many other things are we missing as we rush through life?

How many things in life are not recognized because they are not positioned in the right places?

For the sake of fashion...

"Why are you dressed like that?"

"What? This?"

"Yeah, that!"

"What's wrong with it? Don't you like it? It's the hottest trend at the moment.  Nice, isn't it?"

The "wow" trend nowadays: volumised hijabs like the hump of a camel,
exposed neck area, thin & see-through fabrics, tight-fitting clothes
that revealed the shape of body, make-ups and heavy accessories 

I feel terribly frustrated. The world has changed a lot in the past ten years. This so-called "hottest trend" is slowly poisoning the new generation's mind and lifestyle. What are they thinking? Why are they willing to go against Allah for the sake of fashion? Is it worth it?

Women in Islam are special. They are highly ranked and respected in the society. Do not degrade and humiliate yourself by wearing inappropriate clothes. What you wear and how you behave will really tell something about you. Do you remember Julia Robert playing hooker in "Pretty Woman"? How was she treated by the retailers when she wanted to buy some 'respected' clothes with all the people surrounding her looked at her like she's one dirty bi*ch? You see, even in a society that legalise prostitution and pornography, women wearing skimpy clothes are "cheap sale".  So why would you, born as a Muslim, want to be just like them? How do you value your dignity then?



How can you claim that you are a muslim when you dress like this?
This is not fashion, this is a disgrace!

 



Wearing a hijab that resemble the hump (back) of a camel is strictly forbidden in Islam,
but sadly this is the trend that is spreading fast like rapid fire amongst muslimahs.

.Abu Hurairah narrated that the Messenger of Allah (peace be on him) said. "I will not be a witness for two types of people who are destined for the Fire: people with whips, like the tails of cows, who beat the people (ie, tyrannical rulers who are the enmies of their own people), and women who, although clothed, are yet naked, seducing and being seduced, their hair styled like the tilted humps of camels. These will not enter the Garden nor will its fragrance even reach them, although its fragrance reaches a very great distance. (Reported by Muslim).

Astaghfirullah! Dear parents, take care of your children and don't let them go astray.
How could you stay silent and just let your children drag you into the fire of hell?

O! Muslimah! We have been reminded now and then by the ayahs in the holy Quran about the importance of wearing modest clothings and covering ourselves with hijabs. We know of the consequences for disobeying Allah. Let's look ourselves again in the mirror. Are we properly covered up?



The unthinkable incident

When you see these pictures, what would you think of these monkeys?

Cute? Adorable?

Playful? Loveable?

Unless we see a huge figure with thick furs and sharp teeth and red eyes and great roar.... I suppose everyone would say monkeys are not a big threat to mankind, really. As a matter of fact, we are so used to see monkeys play some important characters in films, circuses, magic shows, or street performances. In Malaysia, especially at the East Coast, monkeys are trained by villagers to pluck coconuts from the trees. Generally, the existence of monkeys could be beneficial to men.

Because of such perception in mind, it is of course terribly shocking to read this morning’s news headline:

Macaque abducts, bites and drops baby from roof

The baby girl was only 4 days old when she was snatched from the living room and taken up to the roof of the house. The mother, V. Revathy left the baby only for a few second to use the toilet but later frantically searched all over the house for her but found only her body covered in blood lying outside the house. Her face and neck were badly bitten by the macaque, thinking that the newborn was food.

When the monkey released the baby, it fell to the ground and died.

The newspaper further cited:

The baby’s father, lorry driver V. Neru, 29, who was not at home when the incident occurred, said he could not believe that such a thing could have happened.


“I rushed to the hospital only to be told that she was gone.


“She was our bundle of joy and we were looking forward to spending many happy years with her ... I just cannot believe she’s gone,” he said.

Negri Sembilan Wildlife and National Parks, with the help from the Fire and Rescue Department and the father of the baby set off to look for the macaque. They found it in some bushes several metres from the house and shot it dead when it began to act aggressively.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So do you still think monkeys are adorable and playful?

I am not sure about this. It is unfair that I change my perception just because of one isolated case like this. I'll stick to my opinion that the species is harmless to mankind at most of the time but could pose a threat when they are into something that attracts their attention.  Perhaps it's a matter of survival that led them to behave dangerously. Yet, wild animals will still be wild animals. I don't believe in taming them to live amongst human.

To the grieving parents, I am so sorry for the lost of your baby. It's hard to accept that such incident could happen nowadays. Please be strong. I believe the baby is in good hands right now.

Images googled from the net.

He has the best solution...

My husband has been listening with interest when I told him about my annoying waffles-smelling office. At one time he looked up to the ceiling as if thinking about something, at other times he would simply gaze at the floor. I can't decide whether he's concerned with my condition or the yummy waffles. When I've finished talking he looked at me with sparkling eyes and said,

"You have three options to solve your problem"

I got excited. Can't wait to hear what he's going to say.

"First option, you change your place of study. I propose you go to the library and study there."

"No, I can't do that. The air-conditioning is too cold for me I'll be shivering to death. On top of that, the library is too far away from my office." That's my reply. For a few seconds there was silence everywhere. He looked at me as if he wanted to swallow me alive.

"Then go for the second option" he slowly smiled.

"What's the second option?"

"You go straight to the person-in-charge or business owner at the student lounge and tell that person to stop making waffles immediately."

"Noooo...! I can't do that either! They must have signed an agreement or contract with the faculty that allows them to run their business there. I can't simply interrupt the business just because I can't stand the smell"

By now my lips have pouted.

"Then you have no choice but to go for the third solution."

"You'd better be serious this time!"

"I am serious!"

"Okay, what's the solution?"

He paused for a while before saying this...

"Wear a gas mask to office. I'll help you find and buy one"

I can't imagine how I would look wearing  gas mask....

Like an elephant, perhaps?

I was stunned to see him rolling on the bedroom floor, laughing hysterically. I didn't know what to say or how to react. I can't believe it!  Later my children came into the room and without knowing what happened, joined their father laughing and rolling on the floor! Owh! How could they do this to me? I turned sulky.

"Oh! No! Dad, now you're in big trouble!"  my son stared at me and kept updating my condition to his father.

"Don't worry, I know just how to reduce tonight's temperature"  the father patted his son (or partner in crime, I shall say) and instructed the children to go to their rooms.

My husband went out to a night market near our house and came back fifteen minutes later with a plastic bag full of yummy boiled sweet corn with butter. Oh well....*sigh*  He simply knows how to reduce hot temperature at night...

We finally made a deal. I'll go to office till end of this week only. Starting from next week, I'll work from home.

Yahoo!

In the mean time, I guess I'll have to keep covering my face with something (but definitely not a gas mask, please!) to avoid the smell.

Even the nicest thing could be annoying...

Just next to my office is the student lounge.

Previously, students came to this place to meet other fellow friends, or to do some revision, or to have short discussions on their on-going projects and assignments, or simply to kill time before the next class come.

But lately things have changed. I don't know when it happened, but now there's a counter set up to sell "bubble" drinks and something that smell like waffles (I have not checked it yet but I think it is waffles). So now and then there's this nice smell penetrating my room and got stuck in my nostrils. If I were not pregnant, the nice smell would have dragged me to the lounge to order one for myself (owh! Waffles with ice-cream toppings from A&W is soooooo yummy!!) But the issue here is, at this point of time, in this kind of situation, I can't stand the smell at all...It made me feel sick. I will puke! I can't go on and live like this!  Just suddenly this room is becoming too stuffy. It's torturing me slowly! I can't breathe! sob! sob! (Wow! look at me. What a drama queen I am!)

Picture from preventmorningsickness.com/

Maybe tonight I should tell my dearie hubby about my plan to work from home. I don't think he would agree, because from my previous pregnancy experience, work from home means sleeping in bed the first half of the day and fully attached to TV programmes in the second half. By the time he came back from work, I haven't even finished writing my name on a clean piece of paper. Lazy me!

But this time I am serious. I need to get out of this office and go somewhere else where the air is fresher. Like the smell of the nature. I could concentrate on my study better when I am away from this room (Yeah! Right!)

Really, I promise this time I will not neglect study.

As for now, all I can do is to keep telling myself that I am a strong person and I can face this tiny-miny smell-sickness issue and that it will be over soon, Insya-Allah.

This I got to share with you...

Assalamualaikum dear friends and readers...

I am back after a long Eid celebration. It was a great one! Allah has granted me lots and lots of hapiness this year by reuniting all family members together.  Syukur alhamdulillah....!

But something is holding me back from my daily activities. I am feeling blue, tired, depressed, sleepy, hungry, lazy, moody and heavy too! Can you guess why? Here's a hint....

Important message to all - Aid for Pakistan

Assalamualaikum;

I am spreading this message by **Spectacular World** to all of you out there (and also for myself, of course) to help our brothers and sisters who are in dire need of our help right now. Let's play our part as muslims, Insya-Allah one day help will come to us in a way we would never expect, when we are in need of it. Please visit her blog for more information on the flood victims of Pakistan. May Allah protect them from harm and danger, may He grant the people with patience and strength. Verily, this is another test for them to increase their iman.

**Spectacular World** said;

Please please give even a single penny if you can, there are millions of the people here who are sitting in open air helpless..

Humanity needs you..Please help us!

Donate

Donate

    Donate....

..every day is a delay.... share your food, money, clothing and love. The people of Pakistan are in dire need ...

ALSO TELL YOUR FRIENDS, BELOVED, FATHER, UNCLES, HUSBAND, BROTHER, SONS...

to take part in this act of kindness...every day is a delay

A/c # 1 1 6 0 3 3 2 UBL PAKISTAN

ALSO by:

WESTERN UNION

DOLLAR EAST

Further contact at: 0092 3340590 3347

identity786@gmail.com

Taking time off for Eid Mubarak

"Allah is the Most Great . O Allah , bring us the new moon with security and Faith, with peace and in Islam, and in harmony with what our Lord loves and what pleases Him. Our Lord and your Lord is Allah."

Reference: At-Tirmithi 5/504, Ad-Darimi 1/336. See also Al-Albani, Sahih At-Tirmithi 3/157

Assalamualaikum warahmatuLlahi wabarakatuh dear friends

Ramadhan is leaving soon.

I am sure most of us feel sad to say goodbye to Ramadhan, the month full of Allah's blessings for His true worshippers. May Allah accept all our ibadah, wipe out all our sins,shield us from the hell fire and grant us Jannah. Ameen.

Let's strive for the last odd night of Ramadhan (29th) for we might still be given the chance to grab Laylatul Qadr. Who knows this might be our last Ramadhan....

"In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. 

Verily, We have sent it down in the Night of Al-Qadr. 

And what will make you know what the Night of Al-Qadr is? 

The Night of Al-Qadr is better than a thousand months. 

Therein descend the angels and the Ruh by their Lord's permission with every matter. 

There is peace until the appearance of dawn."

Al-Qadr (surah 97) 1-5

Eid Mubarak is now on its way. In a few days to come we are going to celebrate our victory against our nafs and evils. This is the time to reward ourselves. Be merry, dear friends, but forget not that Allah is watching us all the time.

picture courtesy of http://resumeweassist.com/blog/

I'll be absent from the blog for a week or two, Insya-Allah will be back online as soon as I can. Please accept my sincere apologies if I ever hurt anyone's feelings through my postings. And to all my dearie sister bloggers, you will always be in my heart and duas. Do take care and enjoy your Eid celebration!

JazakAllahu khairan kathira.

Barakah in food shared with sincere heart

The whole family members have gathered at the dining table, eagerly waiting for the sound of adzhan to break fast. As usual, baby porcupine was the busiest person at the table, walking on chairs from one end of the table to another, tasting food happily and pinching her sister's cheek on the way. My husband looked a bit tired today. He told me there were some errands outside the office that he has to take care of and has been going in and out under the hot sun several times.

As we waited for adzhan, my mobile phone rang. It was my younger brother. He happened to be working somewhere close to our house and asked if he could join us for break fast. I invited him to come over and he said,

"Actually, I am already in front of your door"

Ah! That is so my brother!

Picture taken from http://www.thechediphuket.com/

To my surprise, when I opened the door, he was not alone. He has friends with him! Oh! No! I panicked. There will not be not enough food for all four of them! And there was not enough time to cook for more food! Nevertheless, I did not reject them. Instead, I invited all to come dine with us at the table. My husband easily detected this worry expression on my face. He told me to stay calm, everything will be fine.

Adzhan was soon on air and we ate. I kept praying that whatever we have on the table will be sufficient for all of us. I could not afford to see disappointed faces... O Allah, help me please!

Alhamdulillah, everything went on just fine, exactly as told by my husband. Everyone was satisfied. There was ample food for everyone. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was over. After maghrib prayer, I asked my husband what made him feel so confident that no one will leave the dining table still feeling hungry.  He smiled, got up, grab a book (contains the story of sahabah) and showed me a page on The Battle of Khandaq: 4th year of Hijrah, 626 AD:


At the end of the battle of Ohud when Abu Sofian was unable to hurt our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), he returned to Makkah after promising that he will come back next year and will take revenge for the defeats of Badr and Ohud. This time it was not only the non-believers of Makkah who were with him. He had also taken the help of the Jews of Madinah to defeat Islam forever. The Jewish tribes of Madinah promised to help in two ways, one to send soldiers to fight in the battlefield and two to create fear among the women and children who were left in the town unprotected.

Picture courtesy of lighthousepatriot.blogspot.com

The Prophet’s companion Salman Farsi suggested that the muslims must dig a moat on the unprotected side of the town. The muslims took this advice and the moat was ready within 3 days in which the Prophet himself took part. When the enemy forces arrived at the scene they were unable to enter the city due to the newly dug moat and they stayed on the outerside.

Jabir bin Abdillah (r.a.), while digging the moat he observed that our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) looked tired and hungry. Concerned about his condition, Jabir hurriedly went back home and told his wife to cook whatever they have in the house for the Prophet. His wife immediately took out the flour and started to knead dough to make bread. Jabir slaughtered a goat and immediately cooked it.

Once ready, he went out to invite our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) to eat at his house. Before he left, his wife whispered to him,

“Please do not embarrass me in front of the muslims. This is the only food we have in the house and it is not enough for everyone out there. Be sure to invite only the Prophet to our house”

Jabir nodded and went off. He met our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and invited him in secrecy with several other sahabahs to his house. To his surprise, suddenly our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) stood up and called everyone to gather around him and said,

“O those who are digging the moat! Jabir has prepared us some food and drinks and invited us all to his house to eat”

Our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) then turned to Jabir and told him to go home and remind his wife not to remove the cooking pot from the stove and not to bake the bread until they arrive.

When he told his wife what the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) instructed them to do, she almost cried,

“This is your fault! I have told you there’s not enough food for everyone!”

Picture taken from www.everyculture.com

Soon after, our Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam) and the muslims flooded the house. The Prophet instructed Jabir to bring before him the bread dough. He tasted the dough and made dua to Allah, seeking for barakah in the food. He then went to the stove, tasted the mutton dish and made dua for barakah. Once done, he instructed Jabir and his wife to get an assistant to prepare the bread and serve the meal for them. But again he reminded Jabir not to remove the pot from the stove. With that, they started the feast.

Later when relating the story, Jabir (r.a.) said,

Picture taken from www.reachinghearts4kids.org

“Masya-Allah! There were three thousand people feasting with the Prophet Muhammad (salallahu ‘alaihi wasallam), all them eat heartily and were fully satisfied. When they left, the bread dough and the mutton dish were still as much as before, as if untouched!”

[Narrated by Bukhari and Muslim]

Virtual visit to Masjidil Haram...everyday!

Assalamualaikum warahmatuLlahi wabarakatuh everyone!

I pray all of you have a blessed Ramadhan so far.

Today I'd like to share something interesting with all of you.

A friend of mine introduced a blog of a Malaysian living in Makkah. He is working at Al-Jewar Royal Orchid hotel, located exactly in front of Masjidil Haram. Masya-Allah, his blog contains lots and lots of beautiful pictures of Al-Haram for everyone to view. He updates his blog regularly, at least twice a day, so readers would know what is happening at Al-Haram from time to time.

Picture courtesy of Manzlie from http://manzlie-makkah.blogspot.com/

If you have been to Makkah either for umrah or hajj, you may virtually come back to this holy land to bring back all the good memories you encountered when you were there. If you have never been to Makkah yet, this is the best opportunity to get to know what's going on over there recently. May you set a goal to be there one day, Insya-Allah.

The blog owner, Manzlie, or better known as CL, loves to take pictures of everything, from the masjid itself, to the various kinds of people visiting this place, animals like pigeons and cats, restaurants and other business centres, construction and development surrounding Al-Haram, the various beautiful pendants in the masjid, its interior design, zam-zam water, cleaners, food, night life, sahoor, taraweeh....etc.

Kaabah at 3.00 a.m. crowded with worshippers!

Enough from me! Go visit and experience it yourself. I guarantee you'll like it. And oh! by the way, the blog is in Malay language. You may need the 'Translate' button to help you. Not much, but at least you can understand what's told behind the story.

Enjoy the view! I do...  Here's the blog.

Lailatul Qadr

“Verily! We have sent it (Al-Quran) down in the night of Al-Qadr (Decree), And what will make you know what the night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is? The night of Al-Qadr (Decree) is better than a thousand months. Therein descend the angels and the Ruh [Jibrael (Gabriel)] by Allah's Permission with all Decrees, Peace! (All that night, there is Peace and Goodness from Allah to His believing slaves) until the appearance of dawn.”

(Al-Qadr 97:1 - 5)

Therefore, worshipping Allah in that night is better than worshipping Him a thousand months! Which is about 83 years and 4 months! This is probably longer then most of us will even live! So which of us will be crazy enough to waste this opportunity?


When is the Night?

Narrated Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her): Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said,

"Search for the Night of Qadr in the odd nights of the last ten days of Ramadan."

[Saheeh Bukhaari, Volume 3, Book 32, Number 234]

Therefore, it could be 21st, 23rd, 25th, 27th or 29th. Some narrations indicate its on the last seven days and others say 27th. However, its best to seek it on all the odd nights (only 5 days!) and perhaps you will be rewarded for a lifetime!
One thing to note, we start our nights at maghrib. So, say today is the 20th fast. However, the prayer of tonite is the 21st. If you recall, we startd taraweeh the night before fasting. Also, when the moon is sighted at the end, we dont pray taraweeh the night before Eid.

Narrated Aboo Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him): The Prophet (peace be upon him) said,

"Whoever fasted the month of Ramadan out of sincere Faith (i.e. belief) and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his past sins will be forgiven, and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven ."

[Saheeh Bukhaari, Volume 3, Book 32, Number 231]

Make Dua

Remember, ask for whatever you wish, but dont forget to say for forgiveness, because the last place we all want to end up is in Hell.  Just in case you're not sure what to ask for:

• Forgiveness for yourself, your family and the whole muslim nation (ummah)

• Guidance to the straight path

• Purification of mind, body and soul

• Knowledge of the religion

• Wisdom

• The best of the world and the next

• A righteous spouse

• Paradise

Dont ask for worldly things like long life, more money, job promotion, etc because all of this has already been apportioned for you and it cannot be changed.

As for those of who you may not be able to pray, you should recite Quran instead. Quran can be recited in any state, according to the strongest opinion, so don't follow the views of those who dont know! Allah would not restrict the Quran to certain people and certain times only!! So recite Quran, perhaps recite a soorah that you love and read its translation. Or you can read other stuff like islamic articles, or some of the stories of the Prophets, or even ahadeeth. The point is to do something good. and after that, make your Dua sincerely.



Be consistent

Its only 5 nights, don't waste them. Repeat the same thing every night. Anyone and everyone who trys to distract you in these nights, are no doubt soldiers of shaytaan. Any friends who ask you to go out on this night, are the ones that will lead you to Hell. So take heed of your actions and Fear Allah in all you do.

Remember..this might be your last Ramadaan! The last thing you want is to be in your grave, regretting not being a better Muslim in this life. Once you die, your judgment starts and there is no returning back!

JazakAllahu khairan kathira to Imran Ayub for sharing this with me.

London beige his lollibum...

Baby porcupine was singing softly to herself one evening.

"London beige his lollibum...

lollibum...

lollibum...

London beige his lollibum...

Ma fair bebey"

I was stunned at my seat.

 She was singing her very own version of "London bridge"

Hahahahaha.....!

It sounds terribly funny!

And awful!

*sigh and slap forehead*

Precious moment in life...

This was taken 2 years ago. From left at the back row, my brother Mohamad Fadzil, my husband Mohamad Salini, my nephew Mior Azam, his father, Mior Azmi, my brother Mohamad Farid and his wife Najwa. In front of Farid is my son, Muhammad Irfan. Sitting in the middle is my mom. On her left is my sister, Nor Shaida and myself. On mom's right is my sister Norlina and my sis-in-law, Azlina. Front row occupied by happy children, left to right: Aida Amani, Muhammad Amar, Aliya Irdina, Amirah Izzati and Yang Azizah. Sadly, my youngest brother, Muhammad Firdaus was not in the picture. He was working double shift and could not join us. May Allah ease his burden in life. Ameen.

I am so looking forward to meeting my family this coming Eid Mubarak. Masya-Allah! I missed them so much! I pray I'll still be given the opportunity to reunite them this year. Ameen.

A powerful dua

“And remember Dzhu-n-Nun, when he departed in wrath. He imagined that We have no power over him! But he cried through the depths of darkness: “There is no god but You; Glory to You; I was indeed wrong!” (87)

So We listen to him. And delivered him from his distress. And thus do We deliver those who have faith. (88)

SURAH AL-ANBIYA’(21):87-88

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A few days before we welcome the sacred month of Ramadhan, I experienced great pain in my mouth. It was a terrible toothache. At first I thought perhaps there’s food stuck in a hole inside the tooth that caused pain. I’ve tried to remove whatever that I thought was the cause of pain, but yet still it won’t go away. I took some painkiller, but it didn’t work. Since Ramadhan was approaching, I decided to go see our family dentist and let her investigate.

To my surprise, she told me the cause of my severe pain was coming from a wisdom tooth that tried to emerge but did not manage to come out properly in full. In other word, half of the tooth has surfaced, but the other half was still deep inside the gum. Judging from the improper positioning of the tooth, the dentist predicted that it’s going to be a very, very slow process and that I’d be suffering along the way. Ouch! It hurt so much, even to hear the dentist explained that to me. Well, who would have guessed at the age of 38 I still grow tooth??!?

She recommended extraction of the tooth.

Of course I was nervous about it. I can’t sleep. I can’t concentrate on my study. I can’t even smile properly (that’s my husband’s observation on me!). The next appointment was a day before our first fasting. I then made up my mind to get rid of the tooth.

I thought my problem would be solved that very day. Obviously I was wrong. It was a strong, healthy tooth I tried to pull out, so it didn’t even budge a bit! Astaghfirullah hal‘azim!

“Your body is so stiff! If you don’t relax, I’ll never be able to pull out the tooth!!”

What!!! The dentist blamed it on me? Oh! Pity me!

So the first attempt failed. The tooth hurt even more now. I was badly bleeding. The dentist told me to go home. She prescribed a medicine to reduce the swollen gum and set another appointment for me.

I was sad and disappointed. So was my husband. I called my mother and told her about the toothache.

She suggested me a dua to recite continuously.

She said it is a powerful dua.

"La ila ha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimeen"

So what's the story behind this ayat?

Our prophet Muhammad (Salallahu alaihi wasallam) said in the hadith recorded by At-Tirmidzi and others:

“The invocation of my brother Dzhu-n-Nun: None has the right to be worshipped save You; Glory be to You, far removed are You from any imperfection; I have been amongst the wrong-doers. None who is experiencing difficulty employs it except that Allah SWT would relieve him of his difficulty.”

The dua is actually taken from Surah Al-Anbiya’ (21:87). The story behind this powerful ayat is about Prophet Yunus (‘alaihis-salam) who was sent to the people of Nineveh (which was a city where the modern-day Iraqi city of Mosul is). Prophet Yunus preached the message of Allah to these people for a very long time, but they did not respond well to his call. When he felt that his preaching was not going to make them change their ways, he took off in anger. He boarded a ship filled with other passengers. After some time, the ship ran into a storm. The people on the ship cast lots, with the idea that the person whose name shows up should be thrown overboard. The name of Prophet Yunus (alaihis-salam) came up in the drawing three times, after which he threw himself into the sea. Allah commanded a huge fish to swallow Prophet Yunus (alaihis-salam) without hurting him or breaking his bones. Prophet Yunus (alaihis-salam) realized that he had made a mistake by leaving his town and its people without the permission of Allah. This was why he was now imprisoned in this strange way in the belly of a fish in the depths of the ocean.

Upon realizing his error, he repented sincerely to Allah, and called out to his Lord in the following words:

“La ila ha illa anta subhanaka inni kuntu minaz-zalimeen”
(There is no God but You, Glorified be You! Truly, I have been of the wrongdoers).

Allah was so pleased with his repentance that He brought Prophet Yunus (alaihis-salam) out from the darkness of the fish’s belly, and the fish threw Prophet Yunus (alaihis-salam) on a flat and plain shore. The supplication that Prophet Yunus (alaihis-salam) made was loved so much by Allah that it not only earned him his release, but is recorded in the Qur’an and was praised by the last of the Messengers, our Prophet Muhammad (sall-Allahu alaihi wasallam). This is one good example that shows the benefits of repentance (that is, apologizing to Allah about one’s mistake or error) by reciting the dua repetitively.

Sa’d ibn Waqas reported that our Prophet Muhammad (sall-Allahu alaihi wasallam) said,

“The supplication made by the Companion of the Fish (Prophet Yunus) in the belly of the fish was, ‘La ilaha illa anta, subhanaka, inni kuntu minaz-zalimeen (there is no god but You, You are far exalted and above all weaknesses, and I was indeed the wrongdoer). If any Muslim supplicates in these words, his supplication will be accepted.”

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Three days later I came back to see the dentist. From the very moment I left home, I kept reciting the dua of Prophet Yunus (alaihis-salam) non-stop in my heart. I prayed this time the tooth will come out.

Masya-Allah! It took less than half an hour to extract the tooth, painlessly, compared to the first attempt of almost an hour or so.

“That’s how you do it!” the dentist smiled at me when everything was over. I tried to smile back, but it felt awkward with this bulging cheek of mine. In my heart, I kept saying thanks to Allah for making the task easy. Alhamdulillah.

It IS indeed a POWERFUL dua.

Now I am sharing this with all of you. If you are in pain, if you feel hurt, or if you are miserable, stressed up, sad, angry or disappointed, then recite this powerful dua and leave everything in God’s hands. SubhanAllah. He is the Almighty. He will listen to you. Insya-Allah.

Note: For picture and ayats, credits to IslamiCity and Asim Imam. JazakAllahu khairan kathira

Mornin' quickie

Mother's Day is way over, but just thought I'd share this with you. (Credits to the original author, whom I can't trace. JazakAllahu khairan kathira)

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A young child walked up to her mother and stared at her hair.

As mother scrubbed on the dishes, the girl cleared her throat and sweetly asked;

"Why do you have some grey strands in your hair?"

The mother paused and looked at her daughter.

"Every time you disobey, I get one strand of grey hair.

If you want me to stay pretty, you better obey."

The mother quickly returned to her task of washing dishes.

The little girl stood there thinking.

She cleared her throat again.

"Mother?" She sweetly asked again.

"Yes?" her Mother replied.

"Why is Grandma's hair ALL grey?"

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Hahaha...! If you were the mom, what would be your answer then?

Have you called / talked to your mom today?  Have a nice fasting and take care!

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Let's not forget them in our duas

The University of Malaya is organising a talk on "A moment with Palestine" by Associate Professor Dr. Hafidzi Mohd Noor, followed by iftar tomorrow at the madrasah of Academy of Islamic Studies. Alhamdulillah.

In time when we are thinking about what to choose for iftar from massive variety of food available, let us not forget how our brothers and sisters are suffering from hunger and pain and trying to survive in Palestine not only during Ramadhan but at every moment in their lives. Let's make dua for them that Allah protect them from harm and evil and give them strength to continue fighting for their rights. Ameen.

My heart will always be with them.

Missing her dearly...

My husband received a phone call from a relative informing that an auntie of his was admitted to the hospital due to 'unexplained' complication in herself. When asked what sort of complication, he shrugged his shoulder and said, "She talked to herself non-stop".

So we hurriedly went to the hospital to visit her. That was at about 4.30pm and it was raining outside. When we reached the hospital, my husband dropped me off at the lobby and told me to wait for him inside while he find a parking space. There were many people who took shelter from the rain at the lobby. Voices of children crying can be heard amongst the conversations of adults. I proceeded to the elevator area and waited for my husband there.

I waited for about 15 minutes then. I understood it wasn't easy to find an empty space during visiting hours, especially on weekends. Three elevators busily transported commuters to their desired levels. As I watched the people nonchalantly, the elevator in the middle opened its door and people started flowing out. That was when I caught a glimpse of a person very familiar to me. When her eyes met mine, I was dumbfounded. Heat rushed to my face. I felt as if my heart stopped beating for some good few seconds before I struggled for air. She was still standing amongst other people in the elevator, looking at me, when the door closed again. The moment she completely disappeared, tears were falling down my cheek. I couldn't help myself from crying.

"What's wrong?" My husband touched my shoulder. He has just arrived from the parking lot.

"I saw my sister" I tried to hide my face from the public and also from my husband. I didn't want anyone to see me crying.

"Who?"

"Hafiza. I saw Hafiza just now. In the elevator." It was too strange for me to mention her name. As a matter of fact, it was also strange for my husband to hear her name coming out from my mouth. For a while he stood quietly in front of me, not knowing what to do. Later he took my hands and squeezed it gently.

"Let her go, dear. Allah loves her more than we do."

I wiped my redden face with a tissue he gave me, took a deep breath, looked up straight and tried to smile.

"Shall we go now?" I pulled my husband who was still staring at me. He nodded and led the way.

As I walked down the hallway, I didn't dare look at the faces of the people that passed in front of me. I was scared I would meet the familiar gaze again. Hafiza left us all four years ago in February. She was heavily 9 months pregnant when she passed away peacefully in my mother's arms. Until today, we never knew what was the cause of death. She went away with her unborn baby girl, never had the chance to say goodbye to all of us. She was an obedient daughter, my best sister, a faithful wife and a dedicated software engineer. I missed her so much that it hurts inside when I think of her.

May Allah bless her soul. Ameen.

Things to avoid during Ramadhan

These are common  mistakes we normally make in Ramadhan. I post this as a reminder to myself and to all my friends out there. Let's make sure not to repeat the same mistakes again this year, Insya-Allah.

May all our ibadahs be accepted as complete by Allah S.W.T. Ameen.

___________________________________________________________________

Taking Ramadhan as a ritual

Come Ramadhan, we refrain ourselves from food and drink, but we fail to increase our ibadah and dua. We fast only because everyone around us is fasting too. In other words, Ramadhan becomes more of a ritual than a form of ibadah.



Distraction from ibadah

Some of us automatically link up the month of Ramadhan with activities related to food. We spend the day planning, cooking, shopping and thinking about only food, instead of concentrating on prayers, reading Qur’an and other acts of worship. We make sure our tables are full with varieties of food, sweets and drinks. This is the month of mercy and forgiveness. So turn off that stove and turn on your Imaan!

".....and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allah) likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)"

[al-Araaf :31]

Sleeping all day

Some of us spend the entire day (or a major part of it) sleeping. We move less for fear we’ll be exhausted at the end of the day. We miss the purpose of fasting and are slaves to their desires of comfort and ease. If this is how we spend our days in Ramadhan, we get nothing but negligence on our part!


Wasting time

We tend to waste our time watching TV, playing video games or listening to the music, as if this is another ordinary month. The month of Ramadhan is precious, for it is the month of Allah Almighty. Before we know it, this month of mercy and forgiveness will be over. We should try and spend every moment possible in the worship of Allah so that we can make the most of this blessing.


Skipping sahoor

Because we ate too much at iftaar, we feel too exhausted and sleepy, our stomachs are full and therefore reluctant to get out of bed for sahoor.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said: 

"Eat sahoor, for in sahoor there is blessing." (Bukhaari, Muslim).

And he (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"The thing that differentiates between our fasting and the fasting of the People of the Book is eating sahoor." (Muslim)

Not fasting if we missed sahoor

What is the big deal if we missed a few morsels of food? It is not like we are going to die. Remember, obedience to Allah overcomes everything.


Organizing iftaar ceremonies

Although inviting each other for breaking fast is something good and encouraged, we sometimes go too extreme, with lavish Iftaar parties that cause disobedience to Allah, from flirting, mixing of the sexes, hiiab-less women, showing-off and extravagance and music, that we do not regard our prayer and dua seriously.


Delaying breaking fast

Some of us wait until the adhaan finishes or even several minutes after that to break fast. However, the Sunnah is to hasten to break the fast, which means breaking fast whenever the adhaan starts, right after the sun has set.

Aishah (RA) said:

“This is what the Messenger of Allah (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) used to do”. (Muslim)

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"The people will continue to do well so long as they hasten to break the fast." (Bukhaari, Muslim)

Eating too much

Some of us eat too much during sahoor, because we think this way will not make us go hungry during the day. And some of us eat too much at iftaar, as if we’ve not eaten anything at all for months. Why? This is completely against the sunnah of our beloved prophet Muhammad Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam! Eating too much will only distract us from ibadah, makes us feel lazy and heavy and also makes the heart heedless.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach; for the son of Adam a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his back straight. If you must fill it, then one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air." (Tirmidhi, Ibn Maajah. saheeh by al-Albaani).

Eating continuously until the time for Maghrib is up

The sunnah of our Prophet Muhammad (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) was to break his fast with some dates, then hasten to the Maghrib prayer. As for us, we tend to put so much food in our plates when breaking our fast and continue eating, enjoying dessert, sipping nice drinks, and so on until we miss Maghrib. Why can’t we follow the sunnah? Once done with the prayer, we can always go back and eat more as we wish.


Missing the golden chance of having our dua accepted

The prayer of the fasting person is guaranteed to be accepted at the time of breaking fast.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"Three prayers are not rejected: the prayer of a father, the prayer of a fasting person, and the prayer of a traveler." (al-Bayhaqi, saheeh by al-Albaani).

Instead of sitting down and making dua at this precious time, some of us forego this beautiful chance, and are too busy eating, talking, and drinking. Think about it....Is food more important than the chance to have our sins forgiven or the fulfillment of our duas?


Fasting, but not praying

The fasting of one who does not pray WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED because not praying constitutes kufr.

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"Between a man and shirk and kufr there stands his giving up prayer." (Muslim). In fact, NONE of his good deeds will be accepted; rather, they are all annulled.

Fasting but not giving up evil

Why fast when we can’t give up lying, cursing, fighting, backbiting, cheating, stealing, dealing in haram activities, gambling, selling alcohol, fornication, etc. Have we forgotten that the purpose of fasting is to not only stay away from food and drink, rather the main aim behind it is to fear Allah?

The Prophet (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam) said:

"Whoever does not give up false speech and acting upon it, and ignorance, Allah has no need of him giving up his food and drink." (Bukhaari)

Fasting, but not wearing hijab

As we all know, not wearing the hijab is one of the major sins in Islam as it is obligatory for Muslim women. So if we fast but at the same time we do not wear hijab, certainly an enormous reward of fasting will be taken away from us.


Mixing fasting and dieting

Oh dear sisters! DO NOT make the mistake of fasting with the intention to diet. That is one of the biggest mistakes some of us make. Fasting is an act of worship and can only be for the sake of Allah alone.


Wasting the last part of Ramadhan preparing for Eid

This is common all over the world. We tend to waste the last 10 days of Ramadhan preparing for Eid, shopping and frequenting malls, etc. neglecting our ibadah and the Lailatul Qadr. Buy whatever you need for Eid before Ramadhan so that you can utilize the time in Ramadhan to the fullest.

Aishah (RA) said:

“When the (last) ten nights began, the Messenger of Allah (Sal Allahu Alaiyhi wa Sallam)) would tighten his waist-wrapper (i.e., strive hard in worship or refrain from intimacy with his wives), stay awake at night and wake his family.” (Bukhaari and Muslim).

I would like to thank Al-ustaz Adil ibn Manzoor Khan for sharing this with me. JazakAllahu khairan.