shoulder to shoulder; feet to feet

Reasons why the Muslims are not successful today

2011-09-14T05:37:00.000-07:00

By Dr Tawfique Chowdhury:

1. Laziness and incompetency – you give them (your children) every form of luxury in the world which makes them lazy. You should teach your children archery (training focus and concentration), horse riding (to develop character to control bigger creatures and to be a leader), and swimming (to cope under pressure).

2. Fear – because of this we do not travel, we do not try new things (try new business ideas), we are afraid to try and begin new ventures. We should always remember Allah that He will provide for us, fear only Allah, there is nothing else to fear, overcome the fear of the world. “Rich dad, poor dad” – read the book before leaving your current job.

3. Love for this world and this life before death – beware the magic of this world, for it is worse than the magic of harut and marut who used black magic to separate the union of a husband and wife. Indeed this love for the world is a distraction. We are afraid to get out of our comfort zone. We are contented and do not wish to struggle. If you cannot sacrifice then you will not be able to achieve greatness. Strike when the iron is hot, never delay.

How to become self sufficient:

2011-09-14T05:30:00.000-07:00

Ask yourself "How will I meet Allah, in what state "
To have a clear goal on how our relationship is with our family
How wealthy I need to be, know how much money you need to feel content
Prioritise your priorities – cut out things that are wasting time. 20/80 principle – find 20% things which are giving 80% productivity and increase its consistency.
Empower yourself with the skills – leadership, time management, budgeting, asset and liability
Focus on making money through something which you are passionate about – lol – every single Muslim dreams about having a pizza/kebab shop. Do what you love, money will follow. Drugs, girls, dawah* - Dawah! – How? Never keep wealth in your heart, be generous and give it away in the cause of Allah.

Allah will not give the non-believers an upper hand over the believers.

As heard from a seminar from mercymission.tv

By Dr Tawfique Chowdhury

Tentative Eid 1432H menu - Our first together

2011-08-30T07:40:00.000-07:00

Breakfast:

Sheer
Chapli kebabs
Chana cholay

Snacks:

Homemade cookies
Chai
Chicken meatballs
Iranian bread

Lunch:

Chicken biryani
Roasted chicken with stuffing
Fruit salad
Orange juice

Teatime:

Chana cholay
Chapli kebab
Cookies
Chai

Dinner:

Chicken biryani
Roasted chicken
Potato and mushroom rice curry

Dessert:

Sheer
Ice cream

Hopefully will be able to make all of them

List of Dishes:

Chicken biryani
Roasted chicken with rice stuffing
Chapli kebab
Chana cholay
Mushroom and potato curry rice
Peanut butter cookies
Butter cookies
Namak para
Sheer
Fruit salad

:)) Happy Eid!
Will post photos soon! InshaAllah

30th Ramadan (Tues) - The last Fast - Eid Mubarak 1432H

2011-08-30T07:25:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Rice with fish pie, fried eggs and chicken patty, water.
Iftaar - Dates, water, sweet rice, sheer!! (yummy and homemade), onion pakoray and fried chicken, chai (jaanu).
Dinner - Chicken Sindhi Biryani! :)

Feeling paricularly tired today. Did wash up of the necessary things for Eid - two rounds of the washing machine, cleaned the kitchen and doors and preparing for dinner and Eid dishes.
Good thing we cooked sheer last night, thinking that Eid would be today! We used 4 litres of whole milk, cooked it down till 2.5 litres with dried dates, almonds, vermicilli and coconut slices with kewra water and a few strands of saffron. Smells gorgeous! Made preparations for chapli kebabs - all ready to fry tonight. Marinated whole chicken for Eid Lunch - YUM! which will be - Baked chicken stuffed with potato and mushroom rice curry.Okaaayyy.... feeling very hungry already.
Tonight we will be having chicken biryani, inshaAllah it will turn out good....

Went out with jaanu today at noon time - post office matters and returned goods bought.... this all left me rather run-down.... the pregnancy and fasting is taking a toll now. Alhamdulillah all will be well, inshaAllah.

Eid Mubarak!

29th Ramadan (Mon) - Is it 1st Shawal yet??

2011-08-30T07:14:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Water
Iftaar - Dates, water, orange juice, keema samosa, banana dumplings, fried chicken, meatballs and left-over tamarind fruit salad.
Dinner - Bits and pieces of honey melon, fried chicken, sweet rice and grapes.

We were in a state of confusion today after Maghrib. Eid was declared by the Central Mosque of London to be on the 30th of August (Tuesday) so as in Saudi Arabia which means they kept 29 days of fast. Interestingly, there were mixed responses by a few mosques in Yorkshire area. In Chesterfield itself there were two mosques giving differing statements. In the end after much discussion with friends here and at home, we decided to keep 30 days of fast. Apparently according to the Ahli Sunnah it was not possible to see the new moon due to bad weather across europe and the middle east, therefore strict schools of thought decided to keep Eid on Wednesday the 31st of August. This statement was also confirmed by the main mosque in Sheffield - Madina Masjid Sheffield, a main masjid we are closest to and the Newbold Muslim Welfare Association Chesterfield, the venue where we participate in Ishk and terawih prayers.

Eid Mubarak to those celebrating Eid on Tuesday!

28th Ramadan (Sun) - TLC : Discipline : Friendship

2011-08-28T07:31:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Dates, water, milk+horlicks (me), toast with peanut butter (me), toast with fruit jam (jaanu), chai (jaanu), grapes, banana, left-over potato wedges, a keema samosa (jaanu) and sheer (vermicilli in think condensed milk with coconut and raisins).
Iftaar - Dates, water then keema samosa, banana dumplings, saag pakora, water melon and tamarind fruit chaat.
Dinner - Rice with haddock fish bake.

The al-kauthar institute did it again! They usually have the best seminars relevant to family and life. This time aired by Ramadan TV (which will be aired througout the year now at www.mercymission.tv after Ramadan 1432H). I was listening to a talk given by one Sheikh I-forgot-his-name (!!) on good family relationships and thought this one was very relevant to us at the moment when we are expecting our first born early next year, inshaAllah.
He was saying in the 1st 7 years (birth - 7 years) of your child's life make sure you give him/her all the tender loving care you can, then during the 2nd 7 years (7-14 years) make sure you introduce discipline and manners, and all the good Islamic values, traditions and practices (i.e. salat, manners, adab...etc.) then in the 3rd 7 years of their lives (14-21 years) make sure you be their friend, their very best friend.

Allahuallam

27th Ramadan (Sat) - Eid Shopping at Meadowhall Sheffield

2011-08-28T07:20:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Almonds, dates, water, plums, and grapes, milk (me), chai (jaanu)
Iftaar - Nandos extra hot chicken, Fanta orange juice, corn on cob, fries, mash potato, garlic bread.
Dinner - as above, grapes, water.

We decided to go out today. Just after zohr prayers we got into the car and drove about 40 min to Sheffield Meadowhall shopping centre and became about £60.00 poorer from clothes shopping and dinner.
We managed to do our Asr and maghrib solat at a nearby Islamic centre (postcode S9 3TA) about 5 min drive from Sheffield centretainment valley where we had iftaar at Nandos which is halal! It is so difficult to find a halal Nandos here but thank God there is one even if it is about 40 min away.

So we had our fill, did Maghrib, then straight for home where we did Ishk and terawih at Newbold Muslim Welfare Centre. By the time we reached home it was nearly 12 midnight and were really sleepy.
It was a good day, there were so many Muslims also doing their Eid shopping and it was simply exciting to see so many Muslim families getting out and about at one place shopping for clothes for their little ones.

26th Ramadan (Fri) - The last Friday of Ramadan-Vigil on the Night of Power

2011-08-26T05:14:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Almonds, dates, water, Swiss Muesli with banana and milk with honey, jaanu had toasts with fruit jam and butter with chai and a plum.
Iftaar - Dates, water, keema samosas, banana dumplings, saag pakora, potato chips, cucumber sticks, orange juice.
Dinner - Fruits. Chai for jaanu.

Tonight is the 27th terawih prayers. Traditionally the imam hafiz will try to finish the Quran tonight and many will stay back in the masjid for a vigil on the night of power - lailatul Qadr - the night when the Holy Quran was 1st sent down to the Prophet (saw). A night better than a thousand months.

We intend to stay back in the masjid tonight after terawih prayers to offer nafl salat and duas. InshaAllah.

25th Ramadan (Thurs) - The National Zakat Foundation UK

2011-08-25T02:13:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Almonds, toast with omelette and chai (jaanu), toast with fish fillet (me), banana, horlicks, dates and water.
Iftaar - Dates and water, tamarind fruit chaat, orange juice, chai, garlic bread, profiteroles.
Dinner - Rice, salad with left-overs - chicken balti.

I heard this from Ramadan.TV last night and it deeply touched me. I would like to share it with you too. InshaAllah that we may continue giving in many ways not just in cash but always by our actions as charity that it may be beneficial to all.

The National Zakat Foundation in UK

24th Ramadan (Wed) - Between the three evils

2011-08-25T01:49:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Chicken burger, almonds, milk, chai (jaanu), dates, water, grapes and plums.
Iftaar - Dates, water, orange juice, jemput-jemput pisang (fried banana mashed in flour), carrot sticks, grapes, prunes, and kiwi. Followed by chai (milk tea) for jaanu.
Dinner - Fruit chaat and water.

I was watching Huda TV today and heard a story told by the Shaikh regarding the three deadly sins in Islam, or for that matter, in most religions.
A man was asked to choose from the three evils: To kills, to steal or to drink alcohol. The man though he would go for the simplest one which is to drink alcohol. So he drank and drank and after some time he got up from his drunkeness and found that.... while drunk he was able to steal and kill and this happened while he did not know what he was doing. This simply goes to show the deadly effects of alcohol consumption besides destroying the liver in the long run.
Did you know in Arabic, alcohol is called Khamar, very similar to Khimar. Khimar means the covering of the body, something Muslim women wear, while khamar, sounds similar because it is the covering of the mind....which enables man to do things beyond his rational control.

Don't drink and live.

Allahuallam

Marriage

2011-08-23T04:57:00.000-07:00

Fruits of Marriage:

Tranquility
Comfort
Wealth
Hasanat-from charity
Help from Allah
Business continuity - Son/daughters' duas, etc.

Causes of rift in a marriage:

Lack of Patience - Food, snoring,
Being stubborn
Comparisons of spouse with another

Improving marriage and increasing love between spouses:

Increase our patience
Do not be stubborn
Exchanging gifts - small tokens e.g. flowers, cakes
Warm greetings - when spouse comes home, give salam, hugs/ kisses. For a woman to be secured she needs to be touched at least 33 times a day
Praising each other
Don't compare one to another - e.g. wife to his mother/ sister, husband to her brother/ father
Pamper each other with words and actions
Help each other at home
Exchange kind words and smile - say something good/ kind or be quiet
Never argue in front of your children
Talk with one another about things which you are not comfortable with
Fast together
Pray together
Do something together - play with one another
Respect each other
Apologise at time of making mistakes
Suprise each other - break the routine, be creative

As shared by a brother on http://www.ramadan.tv/live_stream.php at 12.30 pm today on Ramadan Reminders programme.

23rd Ramadan (Tues) - Adab = Manners // Madhab = Way by Sheikh Hussein Yee

2011-08-23T03:50:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Toast with butter and fruit jam, almonds, dates, horlicks (me), chai (jaanu) and grapes with water.
Iftaar - Dates, water, cucumber and carrot sticks, garlic bread/pizza, dahi bada, fruit chat
Dinner - Naan and rice with balti chicken.

Adab = manners
Listen to the spoken words, do not look at the speaker
You have no right to humiliate someone openly - Discuss openly, not emotionally if you are in disagreement
Never condemn each other - Honour and respect each other
If you encounter any disputes always return to the Quran and the Sunnah

Madhab = way
If you come across any authentic Hadith from the Prophet (saw), then this is my way (my madhab) - by Imam Ibn Hanifah
Do not become a blind follower, but follow with knowledge
It is not permissible for anyone to accept our opinions if you do not know where it comes from - by Iman Ibn Hanifah
Even I am a human and make mistakes sometimes, take all that agree with the Quran and the Sunnah and leave all that disagree with it - Imam Maliki
When you find in my book (Imam Shafee - Al- Umm & Al -Risalah) that contradicts the saying of our Prophet (saw) then you will have to follow the Prophet (saw) and discard my book and do not quote my name - Imam Shafee
Whoever dares to use the name of the Prophet but do not know the authenticity of a hadith then you put yourself in hell fire - Prophet (saw)
It is haram fo any of my students to follow me blindly, but follow me only with dalil (evidences) - the four Imams

While you are united there will be a lot of Justice, but once the Muslims are disunited over small issues there will be injustices and problems
If you encounter any disputes always return to the Quran and the Sunnah

Surah al-Taubah 100: Tells of the people Allah loves and are pleased with.
Follow the ways of the first generation of Muslims, follow the Prophet (saw). Follow them with good intentions. Intentions can be developed towards the right way towards Allah ta'alla. Intentions can change, therefore you must take care of it. Be prepared to give anything for the sake of Allah, as nothing belongs to us.
Khatijah (the 1st wife of our Prophet s.a.w.) is promised a castle made of pearls because she has given everything for Islam and for Allah.

By Sheikh Hussein Yee as broadcasted on http://www.ramadan.tv/live_stream.php today at 11.15am-11.45am

Pray brothers and sisters for Sheikh Hussein Yee's brothers and sisters that Allah may soften their hearts towards the right path and that they too may receive guidance from Allah ta'allah towards Islam.

Pray too for my parents and my brother for the same... InshaAllah Ameen.

22nd Ramadan (Mon) - Tahajud Prayers and Maaf Zahir & Batin

2011-08-22T07:51:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Almonds, dates, half keema samosa, toast with cheese and peanut butter (me) and fruit jam (jaanu), grapes and half a banana, water, horlicks (me), chai (jaanu).
Iftaar - Dates, water, samosas, dahi bada, grapes, cucumber and carrot sticks and water melon.
Dinner - Mushroom and brocolli fried rice with egg curry, began ka burta (it never finishes!!).

From the 19th of Ramadan onwards we decided to do the Tahajud Sunnah prayers - also called the night prayers which was much practiced by our beloved Prophet (saw). MashaAllah we managed to continue this till today and InshaAllah we hope to continue it till Ramadan ends. InshaAllah. There is much blessings in the night prayers as narrated in the hadiths.
Also, today, wishes were seen on facebook about the coming of Shawal, the month after Ramadan, the 1st and 2nd of Shawal is Eid ul Fitr, a day fasting Muslims have great reason to celebrate and rejoice. Also wishes of Maaf, zahir & batin is also seen. A tradition among muslims to ask for forgiveness before the end of the Holy Ramadan and before they celebrate Eid.
There is no goodness to hold on to pass trespasses and prejudices, there will be no meaning in fasting in Ramadan if we are not forgiven by anyone we had hurt or unintentionally offended.
Allahuallam.
Maaf Zahir and Batin

21st Ramadan (Sun) - Stay-in Sunday!

2011-08-22T07:41:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Almonds, dates, banana, horlicks (me), chai (jaanu) and water.
Iftaar - Date and water, keema and potato samosas, grapes, onion pakoray, chilli egg fried noodles and dahi bada.
Dinner - Mushroom and brocolli fried rice with chilli egg curry and orange juice.

We decided to stay in the entire day today. Other than going out into the garden to water our plants and the neighbour's flowers, we stayed in, did salat, read the Quran and translations, watched many episodes of Friends and chatted to family back home. It was a good restful day. Afterwards went for terawih then back home for dinner and sleep.

20th Ramadan (Sat) - Midnight Shopping post terawih last night

2011-08-22T07:36:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - I forgot... but it could have been toast with peanut butter, honey melon, almonds, dates, a cup of milk (me) and chai (jaanu).
Iftaar - Invited friends over - Dates, water, orange juice, dahi bada, potato samosas, keema samosas, saag pakoray, potato and onion pakoray, garlic bread, fruit chat, chana cholay, lentil salad and chai and biscuits.
Dinner - Rice and balti chicken curry

Last night we did a midnight grocery shopping from Tesco Extra after terawih prayers at Newbold masjid. By the time we had dinner it was 1.30am at friends' place, we reached back exhausted and slept at 2am and got up at 3am for suhoor. Alhamdulillah all was well.

We invited friends over for break fast today too, it was rather impromtu. We decided at 11.30 am then sent smses out, went fruit shopping till 3pm, came back for zohr prayers, took power nap for 15-20 min then started preparing iftaari. Alhamdulillah it was enough to feed 9 grown ups (7 men and 2 ladies). Jaanu was a huge help. He prepared the fruit chat, the yogurt for the dahi bada, lentil salad and washed the overnight dishes from last night.

19th Ramadan (Fri) - Moon Circling the Kaa'bah

2011-08-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - A slice of toast with butter and marmite and horlicks (me) and fruit jam and chai (jaanu). Almonds and dates and water.
Iftaar - Dates and water then followed by onion pakoras, cheese and onion patty, fruit chat, apple pecan pastry and orange juice and cake.
Dinner - Invited by friend for dinner of naan and lamb stew.

OH BY THE WAY ABOUT PURE MATRIMONY: I was wrong in my other post. Apparently they suspended my account because I registered my sister in law with a faulty email address!! No problems after that. :)

Received in an sms at noon time today from an unknown number:
Tonight at 3.25am Mecca time (GMT+3) (UK time 1.25am), the moon wil circle around the kaa'bah. This will have an effect on the sky. The sky will have a blue light. This will be the time of acceptence of prayers. This happens after 10 million years. Please inform everybody by passing this.

Not sure of the authenticity of this message, tried googling it and another weblog came up with a similar message. http://julgoingthrough.blogspot.com/2011/08/moon-circling-kaabah.html

No harm getting up/ staying up for tahajud especially during this last ten days of the Holy month.

18th Ramadan (Thurs) - We heard the heartbeat!

2011-08-18T05:32:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Toast with jam and butter for jaanu and toast with peanut butter for me. Prune and banana yogurt mix for both. A cup of chai for jaanu and milk for me. Almonds and a date each followed by water.
Iftaar - Dates and water then after Maghrib prayers: cheese and onion patty, fruit chat, carrot & cucumber sticks and prunes. Followed by chai (jaanu).
Dinner - Rice, naan with began ka burta and scrambled egg curry and rendang and followed by ice cream dessert.

Had our second midwife meeting today. She took the blood pressure, checked urine sample and weight and then the baby's heartbeat. All was good, alhamdulillah. This week entered the 4th month (16th week). Yet my weight just increase by half a kg. A little worrying for me but midwife Julie said, that it should be fine, and in the coming weeks should see the tummy getting larger. Therefore, further weight gain. Fasting was ok, as long as I made sure I had enough liquid and proper food during the breakfast. Alhamdulillah all is well.
The exciting part came when she took a little electronic statescope and put it to just under my tummy, that was where the top of the uterus is at this point of time (it will also grow in size and move further upwards towards the navel), and then there was fluttering strong heartbeat sounds from the loud speakers. It was amazing, i cannot wipe the huge smile off my face. Jaanu was in awe :) trying not to peek fro behind the midwife yet listening attentively. Then baby turned and we heard that too! A slight scraping sound as it moved around in the womb. Amazing moments. The heartbeat rate was a good 146/min, ~double that of the mum's. And the heartbeat will increase with activity, and also is influenced by the mum's activity and heartrate. This all seems so new and very 'amazing'. I cannot find the right word at the moment, but one has to experience it to know.

MashaAllah, that is why being a mum is a great blessing too.

The daddy to be is well now and alhamdulillah very expectant too. Our next Ultrasound checkup, called the anomaly scan, will be next month (20th week) at the Royal Hospital, then followed by another midwife check on the 13th of Oct.

Alhamdulillah. May the rest of this blessed month be a mercy and forgiveness and blessing for us and the entire Ummah Muhammad (pbuh).

17th Ramadan (Wed) - Pure Matrimony

2011-08-18T05:15:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Cheese burger for me and chicken burger and chai for husband. Almonds, dates, and pears.
Iftaar - Dates, water then did Maghrib prayers. Continued with sweetcorn, mixed veg pakoray, walnut cake, fruit chat, cheesy garlic toast and milk for me and chai for jaanu.
Dinner - White rice with scrambled egg and mushroom curry.

I made an account for my sister in law on Pure Matrimony website and they can be very strict. After two days, they suspended the account under the grounds (maybe) that one of the attributes I've put in: 'sometimes pray' and from the photos they take that she did not observe proper hijaab. Eventually when i scrutinised it properly i found out that this match making website is only (ONLY) for Muslims who take their religion seriously in every sense, from clothes to words and deeds. So that is probably why the account got suspended.
Then I was thinking about myself, do I consider myself a practicing Muslimah? Do I pray always? Do i observe proper hijab? Alhamdulillah and InshaAllah may Allah always guide me and other muslims. Now I come to realise a stark difference between me and my in laws. And I also think that such a website can be somewhat exclusive and I suppose that is the only way for some very religiously educated men and women may be able to find their compatible match.

Allahuallam.

16th Ramadan (Tues) - Jaanu sneezy

2011-08-16T10:37:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - chicken burger, dates, almonds, water, chai (for husband).
Iftaar - chilli fried noodles (left over), mix fruit (melon,apple,pear and banana), cucumber sticks, kheer, dates and water, hard boiled eggs, scampi and fish fingers.
Dinner - White rice fried in lamb heart curry with dal.

Jaanu isn't feeling too well today. When he returned from work, his nose is running and he has been sneezing profusely. Shall have to give him a cup of vitamin C and some concoction before bedtime.

13th 14th 15th Ramadan - Sat-Sun-Mon: Days are passing very fast indeed

2011-08-16T10:31:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Toast with marmite/ toast with scrambled eggs/ OVERSLEPT! (for 15th Ramadan suhoor)/ dates, almonds, fruits (honey melon, oranges) Milk and honey.
Iftaar - Homemade bread pizza/ onion-potato pakoray/ chilli fried noodles with beef/ kheer/ fruit chat (mix of pear, apple, banana and melon)/ spicy deep fried chicken with homemade chips
Dinner - Lamb heart curry/ matar pilau/ white rice and dal/ chilli fried noodles.

Once overslept through suhoor, did not hear the alarm! now setting two alarms just in case....
We have passed half of Ramadan this year, a few more days to go.

12th Ramadan (Fri) - Mid-Ramadan quickly approaching

2011-08-12T06:01:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Almonds+Swiss muesli+raisins+date+milk with honey+pear+water. Jaanu had Almonds+date+toast with kheer+chai and water.
Iftaar - Kofta+mini pizza buns+cholay+cucumber+dates+water and milk(me) and chai(jaanu).
Dinner - Matar pilau (Rice and greenpeas) with rendang, baked fish fillet, began ka burta and apples.

Yesterday's dinner outside was a break in the norm. Eventually we had to finish the left overs in the fridge today before cooking new dishes. Jaanu bought two pieces of lamb hearts last weekend and I've cleaned it today. It is his favourite; this heart and liver dishes. We might have this for dinner tomorrow.
Following the recent rioting in England over last weekend and earlier this week, four lives have been lost for no good reasons. Three were muslim men: a 21 year old and two other brothers who according to news reports were trying to protect their property when they died. The fourth was British man. May their souls rest in peace.
Al-Jazeerah reported yesterday how a Malaysian student was attacked then robbed in London. He had just arrived in the UK about a month back, a government scholar and was on his was to get food to break his Ramadan fast when thugs (teens of white and black origins) attacked him and then had the cheek to rob him after that. His face was bleeding in the footage uploaded by Al-Jazeerah. The most appaling act any foreigner could expect when they had the impression that the UK is an advanced and well-developed nation. In retrospect, thugs are found everywhere and in this instance they attacked in broad daylight!
Advice is to make sure to travel in pairs and try not to wander alone in deserted or questionable alleys or side roads.

This blessed month of Ramadan is passing. It is almost drawing to the middle of the month now. Also today, a friend's father passed away. May Allah give Sakina Rawther and her family strength during this sad time and faith during their fasting in this holy month. May her father's soul be taken up and may Allah have mercy on him. Ameen. Allahuallam.

11th Ramadan (Thurs) - Heartbeat

2011-08-12T05:42:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Almonds+Swiss Muesli+raisins+milk+dates+bananas+water. Husband had Almonds+buns+fruit jam+dates+chai+water
Iftaar -Dates and water for jaanu and myself dates and water, chocolate milk and a slice of cheese
Dinner - At Zahid restaurant with friends for a farewell dinner. Had chicken with okra curry and mushroom rice. Jaanu had naan with chicken madras.

Heartbeat. Very fast ones too! While resting on the sofa in the afternoon, I felt a tickling sensation in my tummy and then when I placed my palm on it I felt faint but very strong and fast heartbeats. It was racing. It was as if baby had turned its chest upwards againt my tummy and it's heartbeat could be felt just beneath it. Magical.
It was the same sensation i had during the first dating scan at the Royal antenatal clinic. Jaanu was there too, so I am quite sure the feeling was mutual when we both saw baby's heartbeat on the ultrasound scan screen. Magical.
Indeed God is great. What He gives He will care for and what He makes will return to Him in the end.

SubhanAllah.

10th Ramadan (Wed) - MashaAllah Stay Safe during the Riots

2011-08-10T05:44:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Swiss Muesli with milk and dates and water. Husband had jam on toast with rice pudding and dates and water and chai.
Iftaar - Cake, chai, milk and honey, hard boiled eggs, mini bun pizzas, dates, cucumber sticks, honey melon, oranges, water.
Dinner - Rice with beef rendang, lamb herbal soup, began ka burta and oranges.

Riots have been taking place in England. I say England not Britain because nothing has been heard of from Scotland and Wales. What started it as a rioting last Sunday due to a killing of an innocent citizen by a police's bullet in London on Thurday last week became a domino effect which spread all the way up north. Many photos of broken windows and burnt buses etc. was hot on facebook and twitter in London and in Manchester.
There were reports (from the guardian.co.uk) effecting this act of hooliganism from the mismanaged government policies which emphasises the gap between the lower and higher classes in Britain but many also think it is an act of mere irresponsibility from teens during this summer break with nothing to do. Nothing to do, not enough money to go for holidays because of the inflation and increasing prices of services, the increase in University fees from 2012 onwards (which means not many young men and ladies can afford tertiary education on their own), the warm summers, boredom, lack of government-organised activities to keep them busy and entertained, lask of parental attention, lack of proper civic education and a poor sense of logic which leads to lislessness and easily influence by peers for the wrong reasons.

Then again..... thank God this did not sprout from the Ummah of our beloved Muhammad (pbuh) otherwise again there will be bad publicity for our deen.

I noticed that the media seems to hunger for reasons and to quickly find scapegoats for this unrest. This time they are blaming the government. How shameful. It would be probably better from them to go back to the roots and to assess their family system. Perhaps then they can find the cure for most societal ills in the UK.

Allahuallam (God knows best).

8th and 9th Ramadan - one week into fasting - Surah Yusuf and Mariam

2011-08-10T04:11:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Swiss Muesli+nuts+raisins+banana with milk and water. Husband had wholemeal toast with rice pudding and chai. Dates, water and almonds.
Iftaar - Keema samosas, baked meat balls and vegs on skewers, dates, carrot and cucumber sticks, honey melon, spinach pakoras, chai and water.
Dinner - Chicken briyani, lamb chinese herbal soup, began ka burta (fried mash aubergine) and beef rendang.

The above menu were for both days hence the variety and amount!
Was sitting and reading the English translation of both Surahs Yusuf and Maryam. Surah Yusuf narrates the story of Prophet Jacob (Yakob) and his 12 sons, one of whom was also a prophet and the main character in the surah whose name is Joseph (Yusuf). It is a proper story and if anyone asks you to tell a story, this would be a nice one. This is what I did when jaanu asked me to tell him a story at bedtime...it became too long a story for him :)... but it was interesting.
Surah Maryam tells of short excerpts of the different prophets before Jesus (pbuh) and how people treated them. It started with the story of how Zakariah prayed to God for a son and God answered his prayers by giving him a son called John although it was known that he is old and his wife is old and barren. John went on to become a pious and holy child and grew up to be a holy man. Then it went on to tell of the prophets of old (of which i cannot remember at the moment) and then ended by telling how Maryam a pious and chaste virgin was told by the Angel Gabriel (Jibrail) that she would bear a child called Jesus (Isa) although no man will and have touch her. It then narrates how the pregnant Maryam went off by her own into the desert where she gave birth to Jesus in an oasis where God provided for her a palm tree to hold on to and from where ripe dates fell for her to eat. By and by Maryam went back to her village carrying the baby Jesus who defended his mother Maryam by speaking as a baby to the public.

May Allah bless and accept our fast.

7th Ramadan (Sun) - How to survive a 16 hour fast

2011-08-07T08:14:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Oats+raisins+bananas and milk, dates, almonds and half-boiled eggs.
Iftaar - Garlic bread, keema samosas, dates, kheer and orange juice and chai afterwards.
Dinner - Chicken korma and naan and rice.

http://www.productiveramadan.com/how-to-survive-a-16-hour-fast-part-1/

6th Ramadan (Sat) - Care for your parents

2011-08-07T08:11:00.000-07:00

Suhoor - Bananas, hard boiled eggs, almonds, dates and milk and chai.
Iftaar - Humous and salad sandwich, fish fingers, baked potatoes, fried fish and orange juice.
Dinner - Chicken korma and rice with apples.

Jaanu was telling me about a couple of stories told by the Imam at the masjid about the importance of caring for your parents especially the mother then the father. For the way to heaven is at the foot of the mother and the keys through the gates of heaven is from his father. It was really touching especially when he ended up teary eyed at the end of it.

Allah knows best.

5th Ramadan - Fard and Terawih, sleeping for akhirat, sleep cycles and power naps

2011-08-05T03:29:00.000-07:00

Suhoor (2.50am) - Rice and chicken korma and chai (milk tea) for husband. Oats+raisins+banana and milk and two keema samosas for me. Of course with a daily dose of almonds and dates.
Iftaar (9.00pm) - Kheer, dates, bananas and buns with chicken burger and chai (milk tea).
Dinner (12midnight) - Chicken korma and rice and naan.

I was listening to Ramadan TV today. It is very informative! Here's the link: http://www.ramadan.tv/live_stream.php
Definitely the small nuggests of information throughout the day they provide gives us easy and logical tips to make the most of Ramadan.
For instance: On the topic of productivity: They speak of managing our sleep. First point is to make sure we chose the better of the two i.e. sleeping for the world and sleeping for akhirat. By sleeping for the world definitely we may not be able to get up refreshed after suhoor, tahajud or fajar prayers, simply because we may not be getting straight 8 hours of sleep. Therefore sleeping for akhirat is the best choice. By having this intention we should plan our sleep using our sleep cycles. One sleep cycle lasts for 1.5 hours. If we get up after the end of one or a multiple of our sleep cycles, e.g. 1.5 hr or after 3 hrs or 4.5 hr, we will be able to get up refreshed, no matter at what time of the night or how long we have slept. By using this technique we will be able to plan our tahajud prayers and getting up for sahoor and then in the morning for work. Say in the UK if we went to bed at 12 or 12.30midnight and then get up at 2am or 2.30am we would have slept one of our sleep cycles and then this makes getting much easier and refreshed for tahajud and then for sahoor. In the day time, just 20 min of closing our eyes at our work table or just after or before zohr prayers will make up a power nap. After which we should be feeling refreshed throughout the day until iftaar time.

I think this advice is the best so far and perhaps I will practise this for tomorrow.

Yesterday there was a sharing on Huda TV (http://www.huda.tv/huda-tv-programs/watch-live-streaming) on the importance of saying the fard prayers before saying terawih during Ramadan. Before we say our Terawih which is a sunnah we should make sure we have fulfilled all the fard prayers, this is so that our terawih will be, inshaAllah, accepted by Allah taallah.

4th Ramadan - Mercy in the change of weather

2011-08-04T07:32:00.000-07:00

Suhoor (2.50am)- Oats+raisins and dates with milk, almonds and bake beans. Husband had bread with fried beef keema and cucumber sticks and bake beans with milk tea.
Iftaar (9.01pm)- Fried beef keema samosas, dates, hard boiled eggs and milk (myself) tea (husband) with cucumber and carrot sticks with hummous.
Dinner (9.40pm)- Chicken korma with rice (myself) and naan (husband).

Today it rained in the night. Alhamdulillah. It has been a very warm and humid week ranging between 27-30C, then it rained :)!! It was easier to fast today. Alhamdulillah.
We also went to view cars today, in case we need to change one for this couple more months we are here in the UK. Instead we decided to give our car for MOT test today and it had to stay overnight at the garage. It meant that we had to walk 30 min to the masjid for Ishk and terawih prayers at 10.10 pm. By the time we reached home it was 12.15am and headed straight to bed.
Jaanu made chicken korma for dinner today, it was really good. He walked a lot and may Allah bless him for his efforts. I made kheer for iftaar tomorrow. It came out alright, should have cooked it longer and made the milk thicken more, anyway, all is good. We ended the 4th day of Ramadan fulfilled and inshaAllah we can do better spiritual wise in the days to come.

3rd Ramadan - Trying to adjust dinner time

2011-08-03T07:40:00.000-07:00

Suhoor (2.50am) - Husband had egg fried rice and fish curry gravy and milk tea instead of Oats. Oats+raisins with milk and almonds and dates and a hard boiled egg.
Iftaar (9.03pm) - Pakoras (onions) and dates, baked sweet potato, sweet corn, orange juice and cucumber sticks.
Dinner (9.45pm) - Fish curry with egg fried rice and bake beans and fried beef keema.
Supper (12.15am) - Kiwi and apples.

Ramadan this year in the UK is tricky. We have about 5 - 6 hours of eating time between 9pm to 3am the next day. Time keeping is essential no doubt. Today we had dinner before terawih prayers and then fruits after that. This timing seems to be just right. Hope to stick to it. Just after maghrib we read the Quran and English translation before feasting on dinner.

1st -2nd Ramadan 1432h - Mon - Tue - Travelling and the Long Summer Days: Our First Ramadan Together

2011-08-03T07:25:00.000-07:00

Mon 1st Ramadan:
2.40am - Sehri (Suhoor) = Oats+Raisins+Mango slices with Milk, Almonds and Dates. Rice with milk and sugar instead of oats and tea for husband.
9.08pm - Iftaar = Pakoras (brinjal,sweet potatoes, diced onions) and dates and orange juice with apple and mango
12midnight (after terawih at 10.30pm-1145pm) - Dinner = Rice and veg.

Tue 2nd Ramadan:
2.45am - Sehri = Oats+raisins with milk, almonds and dates
9.05pm - Iftaar = Pakoras (brinjal, potatoes, green chilli, paneer) and dates, orange juice, mango, kiwi, seafood scampi, fried fish head and sticks of cucumber and carrots with hummous.
12midnight - Dinner = Husband did not have dinner because too full only a spoon of egg fried rice from me. I had a small bowl of eggs fried rice with scampi and tomato ketchup.

It was difficult for both these days because of the long fasting hours and from travelling to and fro from Chesterfield and Manchester. Finally finished up the last of owed laboratory work for Andy, now waiting for analysis of results and paper writing.

I am very impressed and thankful for husband's help in the kitchen. He helped to wash all the dishes and made tamarind chutney and folded and kept away all the clean clothes piled from the day before. He makes it easier for me and for the both of us now after our wedding. Love him. Thank God for him.

Terawih was at Newbold Masjid Muslim Association Chesterfield - a stark reality and difference that no other ladies were there except myself. The sharing/advice given by the Imam was made in Urdu due to the larger Paskistani Muslim attendees. The Imam for the terawih recited the Holy Quran from the 1st Juzuk and he entered the 3rd Juzuk on the 3rd Terawih. On time and recited really fast too.
Alhamdulillah....entering the 2nd trimester, inshaAllah can make a full Ramadan this year. Pray for me and all of us.
Ramadan Mubarak.

Advent of Ramadan 1432 H

2011-07-06T09:14:00.000-07:00

It is less than a month before we celebrate the holy month once more! This time again on British soil, the spirit of the approaching month is lacking somewhat.
Reminishing Sha'ban before Ramadan draws nigh in Malaysia, a great contrast is felt. No only does maghrib comes late in this land during summer time but even the difference between Ishak and Fajar is not distict as back home where the hours of day time and night time never varies and the time for maghrib never run greater than and hour all year round! I miss home. We welcome Ramadan by celebrating Sha'ban with having meals with friends and family by giving treats and inviting each other to our home for dinner. A time to share. Sha'ban usually prepares us for the great brotherhood we celebrate during Ramadan where giving, buying and sharing has no difference.

Nevertheless, in this land, where values also run deep, let Ramadan come and let us make full use of this God-given blessing and may we gain much reward of the good deeds done during this blessed month and beyond.

May I ask you a question...

2011-04-03T05:38:00.000-07:00

While cooking dinner last night, one of the new housemates who is from China started chatting.
One of his first questions were:

"Why do you cover your hair? I see many girls in university also covering their heads, is this a style or cultural or something or is it to do with religion? They call this Muslim?" said he very earnestly too.

Immediately my heart felt for him, imagine if a person like him from China who is doing his PhD does not know about Islam, then isn't it our duty to tell him about it? In reply:

" You must be Tao right? I saw your message on facebook. You came here in January?"

"Yes, yes I am Tao..ahmmm, I came here recently in January, you are right."

"Yes, the girls who cover their hair are Muslims. They practice Islam, it is the religion. Maybe in China you don't see many covering their heads?"

"No, we don't see many covering their heads where I come from, I study in Hong Kong and I am on an exchange programme here untill July. But why do they cover their heads?"

"I see, things must be new to you here! We cover our hair because it is one of the most beautiful parts of our bodies,we also do not want to attract unnecessary attention to ourselves."

"Ok, that is why I noticed here there are many muslims. I saw many wearing black dresses and covering their faces too, so they must be very beautiful of they cover their faces?"

"Yes, there are many muslims here and I suppose you can say that. It is important to see the difference between culture and religion, so sometimes you may see different ways of covering or clothing."

"So, those who cover their faces are practicing their cultures?"

"No, not really, but you can say that most of them who do so come from the middle east."

"Oh, I thought Muslims are from the Middle east only? and you are from...?

"I am from Malaysia, it is in the south east asia region, actually, if you know Indonesia, it has the largest population of Muslims in the world."

"Oh really? and how about Malaysia?"

"We have about 80% muslims in Malaysia and most of the muslim ladies from there wear like me, without covering the face."

"Ok, so now I know. Nice chatting to you, see you later."

"Ok, bye."

How about that? I hope it was clear enough for a first-timer who wants to know more about Islam. Allah knows best!!

Eid ur Fitr that was 1430H

2009-11-20T15:25:00.000-08:00

So, I did not manage to end this year's Ramadan chronicles. It did get busier in the final week. I remember other than planning what to make for Eid, Aysha and I were also busier sharing with other housemates our colourful dishes.

Eid came and went beautifully. The both of us managed to cook and plan Eid dinner for 50 housemates and guests. Everybody were happy and the best part is that they started to ask:

Are you Muslim?
What is Eid?
What is Ramadan?
Why do you fast?

and also:

How did we manage to cook so much?

Alhamdulillah, it was indeed through Allah that we managed the feat and we were happy housemates of the Methodist International House were more aware of Islam and the meaning of Ramadan.

It is a good year. My fourth Ramadan. In Manchester with Aysha.

23 Ramadan 1430h - BBC: Does Islam encourage violence?

2009-09-13T06:30:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Sweet corn, hot ginseng tea and dates
Iftaar: ahmmm.... Warm milk, dates and bread with chicken and leek
Dinner: Baked mackerel and rice with lentil soup.

This morning BBC aired the big questions show and raise a rather not-so-friendly question, for the want of better words.

Does Islam encourage violence?

I think it wasn't the brightest of ideas to raise such a controversial (ahhh... thats the word!...controversial) question on live tv. Apparently they ran out of time before properly concluding it. Rather it is unfair to question muslims like this on tv as we all know the media wants to paint a black picture of Islam and with such a question it is fueling talk amongts ill-informed public. If they want to then at least dedicate a whole hour for intellectual discussions on the topic, sadly only 20 min was given. Anyone in the right mind will know there are many issues on this topic that need clarification.

In all fairness, if violence is the favourite topic of discussion then all other religions should be brought into this matter. Just so because terrorism points fingers at ill-guided Muslims therefore the entire ummah is being sterotype. We, the ummah, knows that those who profess the faith and yet does violence has taken the holy words of the Quran out of context and have manipulated it to their selfish benefits or desires.

Peace is the tenet of any faith. Peace is indeed the epitome of Islam whether in words or deeds. Many feminist and non-religious and (shamefully) some christian sects still regard Islam as a religion of violence. Where did we go wrong?

They say that it is the fault of misinterpretation of the holy texts. We say it is the fault of mis-guided humans who still have the dignity to call themselves muslims. They say that because Islam is yet to have one governing body to regulate the interpretation of th holy books. We say that we do have a governing body and that is the Quran and the Hadiths (Sunnah).

It is the purely the fault of human desires and man's fruitless invention of religions that gives birth to violence and selfish occupations.

22 Ramadan 1430h - sharing = sadaqah

2009-09-13T06:21:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Toast, milk and dates
Iftaar: Milk and bread with leek and chicken
Dinner: Pakoras, profiterols, baked mackerel and bread and guava juice.

Yes, sharing... I bought profiterols from Asda today and I considered it was cheaper than making them. It was a really good bargain when one gets about 20 cream-filled puffs with two sachets of dark chocolate to pour over. Yummy indeed and the best part it was enough to share with almost ten housemates.

Talking about sharing, sweet corn is the best fast food ever. All one needs to do is to steam it with the leaves still intact for only 15min. The result the sweetest sweet corn ever. I bought 8 sweet corn on the cob and shared it with four housemates. It was indeed fulfilling to see all of them enjoying it. And the best thing is it was less than a quid! Thanks to Lidl: where cheap is quality.

Ok, so it seemed as if I am advertising for both asda and lidl which happens to be rivals in the business. Not so as people know where to get cheap quality food.

I am rambling now. Ran out of words to say. Broke fast with Aisha at home then had a chat with fiance and then had bath then dinner. Ramadan is passing fast.

21 Ramadan 1430h - Iftaar at Falafel and common mistakes during salat

2009-09-11T14:17:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Warm milk and bread with omelette
Iftaar & dinner: Water, dates, kofta curry and briyani with salad

My patience was tested today. I went to the visa application centre the second time with the required documents plus the bank statement they asked the last time. They sent me away again telling me I needed the Aug statement and July cannot be accepted to prove that I have been in the country for more than a year.

This is how i felt. My face flushed. I could feel the blood rising into my neck and face and I was trying not to raise my voice at her. I couldn't bring myself to look at her and I said grudgingly that the last three time I applied for an indian visa there was no problem as such and I was never rejected. If i could get a Japanese visa and even a UK visa i cannot see why not an indian visa when I have no records of rejection!

She just said, that the regulations has been change since last year and that are the requirements. I stomped out of the room with the papers. Took the bus to city centre and tried finding for the bank to get the statement printed. Found it, waited for 30 min and then after getting it tried pacing myself by wandering around awhile window shopping and got myself a pyjama top, two turtle neck shirts and a really nice chuditar-like trousers which matches my new oasis top. I like it. That seemed to cool me off. Bought some fishes - two sea bass and a mackeral for only 5 quids. It was cheap since it was from the farmers' market.

However saw worms wiggling on the plate after cleaning them off their guts. I was a bit disgusted but Sandra was telling me that it signified a good fresh fish. I was still disgusted. I think i would have to cook it for an hour to appease myself. Bake or boil or fry.

Then Aisha came into the kitchen and announced that she finally finished and submitted her dessertation and asked if i would like to go out for iftaar and dinner. So I hurriedly finished up the fish cleaning and changed and we walked to curry mile together and had a nice iftaar at falafel. I think it is a palestinian eatery. We waited for the adhan and broke our fast at 745pm (it should have been 735pm according to the schedule I follow but since it is with other people it is best waiting for everyone to break fast together) with dates and water and continued having dinner. It was tasty and filling, a good break from the constant cooking every evening.

This morning my jaan was reading to me the most common mistakes done during salat and the most prominent mistakes that caught my attention were:

Reciting the al-Fatihah without pausing after each sentence. Correctly we should pause and say it slowly.
Not resting the nose during sajdah. We should rest seven bone on the floor during sajdah/sujood which are the forehead, the nose, the palms, the knees, and the toes.
Counting the tasbih with the fingers of the left hands. It should be done only with fingers of right hands.
Hurrying through the sajdah and ruku. It should be said slowly and uniformedly without hurrying, sentence by sentence with concentration on every word.
Moving hands around during salat. Hands should be kept in their place and movement only restricted to which is for the salat and not other unnecessary gestures.

So that's it.

20 Ramadan 1430h - Shaadi?? in church??

2009-09-10T14:38:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Sweet corn on cob, dates, infusions tea, water
Iftaar: Milk and dates
Dinner: Eggs, cheese and lettuces wrap and leek and chicken stir fry.

I was speaking to Rafia today... and it dawned on me that in order to show we are tolerant we need to have empathy with others. In this context us being Muslims and others being other non-Muslims.

So i was wondering if i can make mum and dad happy by having a church wedding after having the proper nikah in a masjid. Perhaps mum and dad just wanted to feel the wedding celebration of their only daughter and mum wants to see all her relatives and friends gathered together at church and then a reception at home and then followed by a nice wedding dinner at some posh restaurant, or if ever possible, inshallah at some posh hotel. Maybe if I can get my in-laws to be to agree, and my fiance to feel the same like I do about making his in-laws happy ..... and me to speak to the priest so that he can conduct a service without ever mentioning anything to do with the trinity then perhaps..... it may happen..... far fetch, it sounds...

no, it can happen... if the priest agrees to cooperate...yes, it can happen if the priest practices his faith justly... catholics are respectful of other religions, therefore I do not see why he can do it for the sake of the happiness of a few other catholics. Or...if there are double standards. Fishy...

ahmmm...so today, today.... today.....is the start of the lailatulqadr...

19 Ramadan 1430h - "Come to prayer" whispers the conscience

2009-09-09T13:51:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: ~overslept~ (again!!)
Iftaar: Milk and honey, ginger cake
Dinner: Arab bread with chicken patties and potato chicken curry, a slice of cheddar cheese to nibble, some cucumber and carrot slices.

The conscience, if trained, will teach the body to behave.

I was planning to qada' the zohr salat today. Why? because I couldn't find the time to walk all the way to the mosque and back in time for the next presentation. Shameful excuse when my theme is 'the world is my mosque, my prayer mat'....

It was nearly 4pm and I was sitting in the next room of the presentation waiting for it to end so that I can save the file onto my thumb drive, about 45 min to Asr prayer time. I saw a girl in the room, it was empty and she was standing donning a green scarf for the zohr prayer. I have not done mine yet... I felt ashamed. If she can do it here why can't I? I heard my conscience say accusingly and guiltily I agreed. I sat in front of the pc while she finished her prayer and I asked her how she knew it was the qibla' and she said she lives nearby and she roughly knew. She was not a hijabi... just like me. We struck a small conversation and after she left, I took my wudu and did my zohr prayers, it was 20 min to Asr, late. But better late than never.

It was overwhelming, the sight of another in prayer. It became a source of reminder, a source of motivation. It quenched temptation to play truant and almost like a shield to the lapse of prayer. Thank Allah for the reminder, indeed, alhamdulillah.

Yeah, so I overslept again and missed suhoor. It was too tiring yesterday, must try to sleep before midnight today. Must not miss suhoor again, inshallah.

18 Ramadan 1430h - A test of sabr

2009-09-09T13:41:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Milk and two banana and dates muffins
Iftaar: Water and dates
Dinner: Pakoras (carrot, aubergine, potato), arab bread, potato and chicken curry, yogurt and cucumber, corn on cob.

It was a long long day today. Got up at 630am and was at work at 830am till 630pm. Running about from 4th, 3rd and 2nd floors coordinating with presenters of the conference and saving files. The conference organisers offered free food for the helpers and as the IT support people we get free food too. The only difference being that since it's ramadan, I don't get the food..... oh well, at least the smell of it that started the stomach churning. A test of patience indeed while the rest of the team mates drank hot delicious smelling coffee and munching on specialty cookies.

Then by 630pm, the rain came down in torrents supplemented by sheeting gale force winds that rendered umbrellas practically useless. So got splashed by passing buses and partially soaked by the rain. By the time finished getting groceries, was back in room in time for iftaar. Don't know where I found the energy to make pakoras and sit and eat with housemates till 10pm.

17 Ramadan 1430h - Blessings of Suhoor

2009-09-07T11:30:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: ~overslept~
Iftaar: Hot chocolate, dates and curry puffs
Dinner: Lentil rice with potato chicken curry, cucumber plus ginger cake with banana custard.

He has not laid upon you in religion any hardship (Al-Hajj 22: 78).

Allah wishes to lighten the burden for you; for certainly man has been created weak! (An-Nisaa’ 4: 28).

Take suhoor as there is a blessing in it (Saheeh Bukhaari, Volume 3, Book 31, Number 146; Saheeh Muslim, Book 006, Number 2412).

The difference of our fasting and that of the people of the book is eating shortly before dawn (Saheeh Muslim, Book 006, Number 2413; ‘Fasting in Ramadaan’, p. 37).

I missed today's blessings.

16 Ramadan 1430h - Half way, already!

2009-09-06T15:40:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: A banana, peanut butter on toast, dates and warm milk.
Iftaar: Warm milk with honey and dates.
Dinner: Curry puffs, rice and potato chicken curry and aubergine chutney with cucumber, steamed baby corn.

I think they soaked the corn in sugar water before bundling them up for sale! Mashaallah it was so sooo sweet. Asda was selling two sweet corns for half a pound, it is cheap. Usually it would be a pound or more.

Oh yes, I did not go for the bar birthday bash yesterday, I felt better, also because it was 30 min by bus and the way back in the night isn't safe for a lady alone. Actually, instead we had dinner together at home (Rosa, Aisha, Hualin and I).

Made curry puffs today, oh i missed it so much, alhamdulillah it turned out even better than the ones i made the last time, as testified by a housemate who said it was comparable to a restaurants! Wow, I shall one day be a chef if this bioscience route does not pay off.

What did I learn today? hmmm... that half of ramadan has passed and this holy month is fast ending. I feel sad that it always passes too fast, it's like when one gets used to the fast and the generousity of the blessed month then it passes... I suppose it also teaches me to continue sharing and giving as a sign of continual charity not only to be done in the holy month but all through the year.

I spoke to ammi today. It was a surprise. Jaanu comes up with surprises like that. I love him, mashallah, may Allah always bless them all.

I was speaking to one of my housemates today when I asked her the difference between when she was engaged and now when she is married. She explained to me something that I saw mum go through many years ago. She warned that it is dangerous to live with the parents (in-laws or parents) because usually the patience of the wife is usually tested, eventally after about 10 years she exploads and then tension comes between the spouses. I do not ever want that to happen in my family, inshallah. She mentioned that most time when we have children and when we try to discipline them, and if we are living with parents they usually defend the children because they think we are too hard on them but we think that our parents usually spoil our children. Ironically i recalled an occasion when mum was in the process of disciplining me when akung intervened... yes, it is true, it does happen.

Next she mentions something that made me think... 1) husbands hopes and wishes that we treat his parents like our own but when it comes to our parents, it is usually not vice versa. 2) upon getting married, we need to educate our husbands to treat our parents like how he treats his own otherwise he will overlook his responsibilities in difficult times. 3) All men are childish therefore the wife will always have to be the mature partner in coping with relationships be it between themselves or parents.

ahmmmm... food for thought.... indeed.

But I think in a muslim family these things should not come in the way, if they do then the correct muslim values are not being practised and this can cause friction between relations and this is not what Islam preaches.

15 Ramadan 1430h - conform or leave but always share

2009-09-05T09:10:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Two plums, three dates, peanut butter on a slice of bread, a cup of water.
Iftaar: Milk and dates
Dinner: Rice cooked with mysore dhall, olive oil and salt and potato and mince chicken curry.

Just conform to fit in or get out, we don't want you in.

I realized that through the years and what I have gone through, I did enjoy my life during my undergraduate years so much that I missed them dearly.

Thanks to Facebook, I managed to keep in touch with friends, and today I found a long-time friend during school days, or rather she found me. We lost touch ever since leaving school, when she left to pursue medicine in the university of leeds and I continued back home for six long years before pursuing my PhD at the university of manchester last year. We lost touch so much so when I went through her facebook page, her photos reminded me what I enjoyed during my BSc back home especially with the students at church.

That was when I realized also that Muslims are not as inclusive as the christians. Or maybe it is just the age gap. Let's give it the benefit of doubt.

Shared iftaar and dinner today. Aisha just moved in, busy with her masters dissertation, a hijabi... ahmmm... i miss it really. She made some salad with black eyed peas, mixed veg and potatoes.

14 Ramadan 1430h - to go or not to go..to the bar

2009-09-04T17:03:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Two plums, five dates and a cup of chocolate
Iftaar: water, dates
Dinner: paratha and bindi gosh, aubergine-peanut butter chutney, orange juice and a slice of ginger cake and banana custard.

I burnt two naan bread in the oven. Bad...very bad...

Tomorrow is my labmates' birthday celebration, five of them. At a bar. It is after iftaar. Should I or should I not go, that is the question.

I think if this was an ideal muslim community, it would be so much simpler to practice all the tenets and Islamic values, rather effortlessly. I always feel envious of those who are brought up in a good Islamically oriented family and the ladies are free to wear the hijab, they are encouraged by their parents and after a days work outside, they always look forward to going back home. I wished I was in their position.

About going to the bar for the birthday celebration. As a muslim, i should not, especially during this holy month. But as a labmate and to maintain good rapport amongst my friends at work...aught I go? aught I join them to the expense of my spiritual development?

I do not know.

Today has been a rather turmoilous day. The weather was so breezy and it rained intermittently. My umbrella upturned, thankfully it did not break. I got half wet by the time i reached the room, yet I still think there is so much to thank God for. If not for the breeze, how would the trees know autumn is coming and they need to shed their leaves. If not for the rain, how would the temperature change for cooler days are on the way.

To go or not to go?

13 Ramadan 1430h - Share a Mat

2009-09-04T16:53:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: oats in milk and honey and banana and raisins
Iftaar: Milk and dates
Dinner: Naan and bindi gosh/beef, fried rice with claypot chicken and mushrooms

I think I ate too much for dinner. Next time its either or.

Yes, I managed to keep all my nafl prayers and witr too for the pass few days! I am glad, alhamdulillah.

Took zohr at north campus mosque. I entered the mosque into the sisters' prayer area and met a familiar face. I saw her in the morning while walking to lab. The same person. She has a nice demenure about her, a friendly but shy smile wide-eyed. We took wudu together and said our prayers sharing a prayer mat. It was nice. Only the two of us we at the sisters' prayer area, it was 2pm, about an hour after adhan for the zohr prayers. We did not say anything accept for asking if one of us wanted to take wudu first.

Then it dawned on me that we indeed have met before. No wonder the familiar face. We met during a careers workshop and she is an engineering PhD student while I am from life sciences. Okay...I think she did remember me but it was just me who took half the day to recall a face! Oh uh..... old age settling in.

I made a mental note, if I saw her again I will be the first to start the conversation.

12 Ramadan 1430h - the woman and the Quran

2009-09-02T15:16:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Oats in milk with raisin, honey and banana.
Iftaar: Garlic naan, kidney bean in cheese and tomato, aubergine-peanut butter chutney, a cup of milk
Dinner: Chicken fried rice and orange juice

Today is so tiring even though I did not go to lab. Instead I had to go to the visa submission centre and they told me to go back and get a year's bank statement. So i came back said zohr prayers and walked to the bank, ordered a statement. It was raining. Wanted to submit the Urdu language application form, so walked to the LEAP office to find person on holiday and will be back tomorrowm ironically but closing date is...today. Will give LEAP a call tomorrow. A bit puffed up and tired, decided to take bus back, ended up shopping for groceries.

On the way back in bus saw a lady, a hijabi... i call a lady who wears the hijab a hijabi...i used to be one... i guess, i may revert back to it one day, inshallah. She was standing waiting for the bus and reading the Quran. It was a sight to ponder on. Not many would one find at the bus stop waiting for the bus reading the Quran especially when it is also raining. She sat next to me in the bus... i was tired, tried reciting the Qunut over and over again at least my thoughts are not empty. Empty thought are the devils playground. So continued reciting some surahs and duas.

I figured... i should be bringing and reading the Quran too especially during this holy month... i felt a tinge of shame. And I felt I missed the hijab.

11 Ramadan 1430h - "Jom Solat"

2009-09-02T15:06:00.000-07:00

Suhoor: Banana chocolate on toast, a cup of hot milk, dates
Iftaar: Water, dates
Dinner: Aubergines-cucumber-tomato-mozzarella-cheddar kebabs, garlic naan, baked haddock.

Struggled to get up this morning, morning after the sun rose that is. part-time sleeping isn't doing any good is getting me up early. Got to lab by 11am, did experiments, had a word with supervisor and as usual... more work.

Invited Hani for Zohr prayers together at north campus mosque. That's the reason for the "Jom Solat", it simply means, "let's pray".

Did some data processing in lab and came back by 7pm-ish...and decided to use up vegies in fridge for something fun to share with housemates during dinner.

It was a fun trial making the vege-kebabs. I marinated the cuts of aubergines, slices of cucumber with lime juice and sunflower oil. arranged them in neat lines on the oiled baking tray, then stacked them up layer upon layer alternating with cheddar and mozzarella cheese, yummy! Then apprently they were a bit tall and shaky so Rosa recommended sticking a tooth pick through them to avoid a vege-earthquake, good idea. Baked at 180C for 20 min and we had a fun time eating together.

10 Ramadan 1430h - The Qunut

2009-08-31T10:28:00.000-07:00

Venue: MIH, Manchester

Suhoor: Oats in milk with raisins and a banana
Iftaar: Warm cup of milk, dates and butter cookies
Dinner: Boiled white rice, claypot ginger sesame chicken with spring onions...yummmy!..and red plums for fruits (we must not forget to have fruits!)

Woaa, ten days has gone! Ramadan is flashing by. Just another 20 days more, mashaallah.

Last night I decided to memorise more short surahs, then I was reminded about the Qunut. I once made a point to memorise it but never did, was repelled by the length of the dua in a language foreign to me. It is a beautiful prayer. A prayer always recited by our Prophet during the last rakaat of witr. The night prayer. I learnt that the Hanafi school of thought considered witr an obligation and the other schools considered it a sunnah mu'akkadah, a strong sunnah. Since my fiance is from the Hanafi school of thought I had better begin memorising this dua first.

So, I have, alhamdullilah. Thanks to Him who made it easy for me in one night.
In essence the Qunut proclaims our love for Allah and that we put our trust in Him alone.

The translation is as follows (pinched from Mutmainaa's website):

O Allah! We seek Your assistance and ask for Your guidance, and we beseech Your forgiveness and return to You in repentance. We cherish faith in You and place our trust in You. We attribute all goodness to You. We are grateful to You and refuse to be ungrateful to You. We abandon and forsake all those who reject You. O Allah, You alone we worship, unto You alone we pray; unto You alone we prostrate, and for You alone we strive. Unto You alone we flee for refuge. We cherish hope in Your mercy and we fear Your retribution. Verily, Your punishment is bound to catch up with those who reject the truth.

and the Arabic in roman alphabets are:

Allahumma inna nasta'inuka wa nastaghfiruka,
wa nu'minu bika, wa natawwakkalu alayika,
wa nusni alayikal khaira,
wa nashkuruka wa la nakforuka
wa nakhla'u wa natruku
manyafjoruk.
Allahumma iyyaka na'budu wa laka nusalli
wa nasjudu wa ilayika nasa wa nahfidu,
wa narju Rahmataka wa nakhsha 'adhzabaka;
inna adhabaka al-jidda
bi al-kuffari mulhiq

and I have done it! and now I can say my witr correctly. oh, yes, I have broken it up into shorter sentences and that actually made it easier to commit to memory.

Yes, I am happy, Alhamdulilah.

09 Ramadan 1430h - Al-Fatihah

2009-08-30T07:42:00.000-07:00

Venue: MIH, Manchester

Suhor: A cup of milk, a slice of bread with chocolate spread, a banana, a date
Iftaar: Dates, water
Dinner: Steamed rice and ginger with spring onions, fried leak and chicken, orange juice

The opening. So I decided to recite the al-Fatihah in my blog, surprisingly, I can't even get to the second line and I forgot it. Imagine, I was thinking, if during the prayer I didn't have a problem reciting it but when I sit in front of the laptop I forget. Oh Allah, protect me from my forgetfulness!

So I went on IslamOnline.net and listened to the al-Fatihah. I decided to memorise 8 more surahs during this ramadan, inshaallah. They are:

94 - al-inshirah / ash-sharh (expansion)
97 - al-Qadr (decree / destiny)
103 - al-Asr (time)
105 - al-Fil (the elephant)
106 - Quraysh (the tribe)
107 - al-Maun (assistance)
110 - an-Nasr (victory)
111 - al-Masad / al-Lahab (fiber / flame)

I plan to concentrate on al-Asr first. Inshaallah, it will be easy.

Mashallah, I recalled which surahs I knew by heart and they are 6, including al-Fatihah. They are:

108 - al-Kawthar
109 - al-Kafirun
112 - al-Ikhlas
113 - al-Falaq
114 - an-Nas

Inshaallah... the rest will be easy for me.

Today, I got up at 12. It is not at all praiseworthy. I wanted the warmth of the bed longer. If I left the bed earlier, my feet will get cold sooner so I decided to lie in. It is not often this happens, I think this is the first for this year. I have no idea why my feet get cold easily, they become icy cold, sometimes I think they may fall off if I did not rub them to get some warmth back.

It is a Sunday, I will stay in. There is no need to cook as so much food from last night was left. Tomorrow is Malaysia's 52nd Independence Day celebration. Yesterday was Manchester City's Pride Festival. I remembered I saw it last year, the parade of semi-naked men, old and young, the celebration of gay rights apparently.

08 Ramadan 1430h - World Food Night

2009-08-30T07:08:00.000-07:00

Venue: Methodist International House, Manchester

Suhor: Oats in milk with raisins and banana, a cup of water
Iftaar: A cup of water, a date
Dinner: Orange juice, lamb curry, shepards pie, chicken kebab, fried dhall, baked butter garlic king prawns, fried rice, japanese aubergines, ice cream with plum apple crumble...yummy!

It was world food night and everyone brought something to share! No wonder the rich variety of dinner dishes. I made two dishes, claypot chicken rice and chicken kebabs, the others made fried noodles, eggs in soy sauce, fried rice, sri lankan fried dhall, lamb curry and briyani, salad, shepards pie, king prawns, japanese aubergines, fried eggs and vegetables, etc. It was MIH's world food night in conjunction with a farewell dinner for some housemates leaving end of September.

I learnt today that being a tutor isn't easy. We have to be fair, mature and to think for the good of all present. The middle man. It happened when the wardens decided to join the little do with their friends who were not known to the rest of the housemates. So there was a tension and one of us was not particularly happy, she almost shed tears and told me she did not know them and it was her party. I failed to see the problem initially as I considered it an open table affair, as long as one had something to share it did not matter who came to table. But evidently it wasn't the case and some last minute introductions were made and we eventually did not share a table for dinner. Fine. Peace was maintained but I guess, the coming year would see more of this sort of problem if one did not mention prior to the event who is actually coming to share in the dinner. I reminded myself that it does not mean if I did not see a problem in it then others too would be the same, it was different. When there are a mix of cultures and people from all over the world sitting in a dining room there would bound to be some kind of misunderstanding. I am almost beside myself and am not sure if I should take the tutor's position at all now.

At least, alhamdulillah I manage to finish my article for Isoc's megazine and emailed it to Khatija and alhamdulillah I managed to say all my prayers including the sunnah and nafl ones at the correct time. Inshallah I hope to continue this and make it a habit eventually even after Ramadan.

07 Ramadan 1430h - Nafilah: a pathway for lovers

2009-08-28T11:56:00.000-07:00

This year 1430h is my fourth Ramadan. Alhamdulillah!

Venue Ramadan1430: Manchester, United Kingdom

Suhor 06Ramadan1430: Biscuits, dates and water
Suhor 07Ramadan1430: Oats in milk with raisins and banana
Iftaar 07Ramadan1430: Orange juice, dates and pitta with kidney bean curry...yummy!

This year my Ramadan started on the 6th day. The holy month came easily, I found myself longing for the times back in Malaysia where the spirit of Ramadan is infused in the very air that I breath. God is Great. The vast difference of both worlds made me appreciate more the meaning of Ramadan and the blessings that comes with it.

Recently I found a couple of articles from the Masjid at North Campus, it was provided by the World Assembly of Muslim Youth, simply called WAMY (though their website in English is not complete their arabic website is available).

I read about the women in Islam; beyond stereotypes and Jesus; an Islam perspective. Both are indeniably true in the sense where the issues discussed and raised about Christianity and the evolution of the church through times where the turning point came from the council of Nicea in the year 325. That was where the concept of the trinity was born and the point when the solidarity of one church crumbled. That year birthed the roman catholics thanks to king constantine. That year destroyed the first and foremost believe in one God and there being no others associated with Him.

So much for history. Also, due to Allah's bountiful grace, I found this website called IslamOnline.net. It was an amazing find. They have all the things and issues discussed by every Muslim and a dedicated webpage/site for this holy Ramadan 1430h (and for the pass few years too!). Even live telecast of the terawih prayed from Masjidil-al-haram every night. I am truly thankful.

I was reading the articles on IslamOnline.net and today the article Nafilah: a pathway for lovers caught my attention. I must confess, I initially thought it had got to do with the relationship of a man and woman but beautifully it covers the relationship of man and Allah. More critically zooming in on man's relationship with his God through his daily 5 fard salah (solat/namaz/salat) and the additional nafl prayers which has been largely overlooked these days.

A quote caught my attention:

"If my servant comes closer to Me a hand span, I come closer to him or her an arms-length; and if he or she comes to Me walking, I come to him or her running." (Al-Bukhari)

this alone reminded me how much Allah subhanuwataallah loves each and every one of us, even more than we love Him, even more than how much we love ourselves. A tinge of embarassment hit me. So does Allah not deserve much more than what is prescribed to us in the daily 5 fard prayers? I was thinking about the nafilah prayers preceeding/succeeding the fard prayers. I asked myself should I now not do it out of love for my God who loves me much more than I love myself? All the more reason to do it especially when it strengthens the fard prayers and draws us closer to Him.

"The first thing people will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment is Prayer. Almighty Allah will say to His angels (even though He already knows), "Look at My servants' Prayers. Were they complete or not?"

If they are complete, they will be written as complete. If they are not complete, Almighty Allah will say, "See if My servant has voluntary Prayers." If he or she has them, Almighty Allah will say, "Complete his obligatory-Prayer shortage with his or her voluntary Prayers."

Then the rest of his or her deeds will be dealt with in the same manner." (Ahmad, Abu Dawud, and An-Nasa'i)

So this was my 7th day of Ramadan 1430h. Repairing my prayers.

Shoulder to Shoulder; Feet to Feet

2009-08-14T03:09:00.000-07:00

Being from a mix parentage isn't just fascinating while growing up, in a way it made me understand racial differences better, to appreciate the cultural heritage, the languages, to seek a common factor that binds rather than separates and ultimately to seek the truth in the practices carried out generations through generations before.

My mother gave me my christian name as I was born on the Roman Catholic feast of Corpus Christi and F******** is the family surname. Brought up as a Roman Catholic child, I was patiently taught and made to memorise prayers as early as 3 years old by my paternal grandfather, grandpa Donald, now 91 years old [2009]. Kneeling in front of him each night, hands claps together, looking earnestly at his wrinkled ancient lips recite the prayers as I obediently followed suit until it was committed to memory. Every single day at 7pm it was time for prayer, family prayer. The candles were lit and we, cousins, aunts and uncles, mum and dad, grandpa and grandma, gathered around the altar, statues of Mary and Jesus were standing side by side behind the candles in the little white wooden box mounted high above on the wall. Hands claps around tiny beads, heads bowed, the family rosary began. This is the routine.

My religious education started early. My father fervently ferried me and my only brother each week for Catechism classes (religious classes) with nuns, priests and teachers on church grounds at the tender age of 6 years old until 16 years old. The Catholic faith formation continued until I graduated with my Bachelors in Science in 2005. By then I was reading a lot and my interest lay in inter-religious dialogue which was further enhanced when I was sent by the diocese as a student representative for a formation in inter-religious affairs in Bangkok in 2003. When I came back I was made the secretary for the diocesan commission for ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue (IRD) which lasted until i graduated from a government university in August 2005. I remembered the graduation day, my parents were so proud, they drove 300 km to stand by me on either side while I was holding a bouquet of huge seven white lilies, smiling widely, a gift from both of the two most precious persons in my life.

As an extrovert, I never liked to stay at home doing nothing long, therefore I told my mother I wished to continue studying. I pursued Masters in Science at a different university about 130 km away from my parents home in May 2005, even before graduation of BSc. I started early, and put my interest in IRD behind, at least for awhile. I worked hard in the research and managed to finish a large part within a year. Nevertheless, I was still keeping my interest silent, reading the instant i get the chance about all the religions more specifically about the differences between Christianity and Islam. My parents did not know. I never dared tell them for fear they will scold me and get upset and make me stay at home with them.

It happened during which my interest was sparked further when my cousin sister, two years my senior converted to Islam. I witness how much my own family held grudges upon that religion and even threatened to disown her. I remember how grandfather didn't even want to hear her name more so meet her when she came for a visit. I remember how my aunties and uncles all spoke ill of her and the man she wanted to wed, they accused him for all that had happened to her, they accuse him of making her revert to Islam. Eventually she turned to me. We spoke over the phone long, she was sharing her feelings and I was asking her why did she convert, what was her reason. Incredulously, she said it was because of her boyfriend, she wanted to please him for he was a Muslim. I remembered despising that religion too. God is indeed great. She made up her mind a month before the wedding day, she wanted to come back she said. She apostated. Since then the six years till now all I know about her is her struggle to change her identity card to the original form, bearing no label of being a muslim, no change of name whatsoever. The family accepted her back, grudgingly. What a shame, I thought.

My doubts became real, they were eating at me everyday now, I was feeling unease but I never mentioned to my parents anything about it. I read more and widely, I seek religious advice from nuns and priest, their answers weren't answers at all, it made me even more doubtful. Finally after so much thought, after nights and nights of kneeling in prayer, saying the rosary and asking for God's grace and guidance, for His supreme discernment, after assaulting my conscience and tears that came with it when I thought of the consequences of my final decision towards my relatives and myself. I took my stand. After the trip to India, I converted and called myself a Muslim.

As was presumed, the outcome was heart wrenching. My parents felt cheated, they felt I was stolen from them, that I was being put under a curse, being jinxed to convert, being forced, which was really on the contrary.

"Let there be no compulsion in religion" I remembered the ayat from surah al-Bakarah 255.

That was July 2006. That was the time I learnt that to stand up for my believes while those nearest to me felt the opposite was not the sweetest occassion one would like to experience again on this earth. Yet I know I wasn't alone, because in the end it is the truth that would ultimately prevail. My doubts were gone, it felt as if a heavy burden was lifted from my soul. I was happy... spiritually. My heart cries for my parents all the time, they cannot accept it they say, it is too much for them, I have shamed them they say. Prayer is still the best medicine for the heart, for mine and theirs.

So it happened eventually. A year from then, I am still me, the government requested for new Muslim converts to register and to have a Muslim name, I picked 'Mariam', the mother of Christ Jesus, the following two, 'Aisha Fatima' was given by a couple of individuals I love nearly as dearly as my own parents as the government also adviced for a new Muslims to have a Muslim foster family. I didn't want to have my Identity card changed, as i still wanted my name given by my mother to be used. She is my mother, that much and more I hope to do for her.

They say sweetness is when one feels at peace, I say sweetness is also when you know that in the end the truth will set you free.

The Life of the Prophet of Allah

2009-03-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

2008-05-08T06:43:00.000-07:00

(In) The Beginning

2008-04-07T13:56:00.000-07:00

there was darkness...

then God made light...