Not So Sweet 16

I am going out of chronological order so I posted this first and I'll post more later. This memory isn't violent or as bitter as the other ones so I don't feel the need to warn you guys.

Sweet 16

In Spanish culture (central/south America) we celebrate when a daughter turns 15. It is almost like a wedding minus the groom. I mean it is a big deal, there is mass at the local church followed by a feast and a reception where the girl is ‘introduce’ to society. She then gets her first pair of kitten heels and I think make up. It is supposed to show that she is now available for marriage kinda thing. Most of the traditions are lost now since younger and younger girls start dressing provocatively and the ‘innocence’ of the whole thing is lost.

ANYWAY. When my 15th birthday was about to come my mom wanted to celebrate it. I said HELL TO THE NO! Why celebrate my birthday now? I mean she basically gave hell to anyone who wished me a happy birthday before why start now? SO she demanded we have a birthday party. I dug my heels in and refused. It was a farce. My mom was very upset and started making accusations that I wasn’t a virgin anymore (apparently when you celebrate this birthday it means you are a virgin?) and a laundry list of curses. Her reason for wanting the party for me was because she never had one and she always wished she had one. Ok? So the party is for you?

We didn’t have the party that year. When I was about to turn 16 my mom again started with the whole Quinceañera thing but instead it was now going to be sweet 16. She became so horrible to live with that I gave in. Defeated I was taken to dressing room to dressing room until we found a dress that looked EXACTLY like a wedding dress (a very beautiful wedding dress may I add) and it was custom ordered to be dyed a very, very light baby pink. I was a tomboy at this time but I am not going to lie that dress was BEAUTIFUL, GORGEOUS, MAGNIFICENT.

The dress ended up costing almost $500 + dollars. It was a beautiful dress though. I wish I could show you guys pics but I am obviously not wearing hijab and those pics should only be seen by hubs. (by the way recently I started looking at those pics and I can’t believe the body I had back then, dang it. Why do we never appreciate our bodies until we loose them?) subhanaAllah.

I was then taken from practice to practice so that the ceremony would go flawless. I know this sounds like we had a lot of money but we didn’t. We were broke at this time. My mom was paying two rents (the factory and the house) and various other expenses. She even ordered a photographer, had my grandfather flown to the USA and we took some very beautiful pictures. That photographer was very talented. Mashaallah. Guess what else she got? A live band. Yup. They were also very talented by the way.

When all was said and done we went to do one last rehearsal at the hall and I was in awe. It was HUGE, the tables were beautifully decorated and it looked like a total fairy tale. It was better than some of the weddings I had gone to. Subhanallah my mom went all out. I don’t know the exact number of people at the venue but it had to be at least 500. There were more than 60 tables and each could sit 12. Can you guess how many of those people were my friends? 4. yes 4. My 2 best friends (who later abandoned me when I became Muslim) my high school history teacher and his wife (he didn’t abandon me when I became Muslim) and my chemistry teacher. So there were a total of 5 people but I only knew 4.

After we went to church and had mass we went to the waterfront and had the pictures taken with the beautiful New York skyline behind us. After that we went to the reception and I couldn’t believe how packed it was. After we did our little dance/ program we were allowed to sit down and enjoy our food. My mom didn’t let me do that she dragged me from table to table taking pictures and having conversations with her friends. There as this guy named Elmer (yes, elmers glue been down that road) he was 3 years older than me, he was Salvadoran and my mom loved him because he had green eyes. He was a good looking guy but he had nothing going for him. Seeing as my mom approved of him and he came over to ask me to dance I accepted. We dance salsa and didn’t dance provocatively or anything but after we were done he took me back to my table and my mom descended on me. She called me a whore and to just shut up and look pretty at the table. After that anyone who came I would reject.

It was horrible. I mean my mom would pass by and verbally assault me every so often and I wanted to cry. But dang it I couldn’t because of all the make up. I hated the event. I felt trapped while everyone around me looked at me like I was the luckiest girl in the world and my mom was the best mother in the world. The whole shebang cost my mom a couple of grands I got $15,000+ in cash and more in gifts (none of which I remember) my mom kept the money and I don’t know what happened to the gifts.

*I really would love to show you the pictures they were beautifully done, the church was beautifully decorated, the reception was flawless and despite the hell I want through with my mom doing the whole affair I do love those pics.

How to get an A Grade final Exam?

In the name of Allah, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Peace be with you السلام عليكم

I got this in my email and wanted to share with you as I find it beneficial.

How to get an A Grade final Exam?

By Muhammad Alshareef

1. In school, you can often redo your exam if you fail. In the hereafter, if one fails there is no going back.

2. In school, you often do not know what questions will be asked. In the hereafter, there are only 3 questions: Who is your Lord? What is your Deen? And who is this man who was sent to you? But the answers are answers you live by.

3. In school, we stay up at night to prepare for the exam the next day. So too in Allah's exam, we should be staying up in night prayers.

4. In school, we pray and hope and work for an outstanding mark. So too should be our attitude towards Allah's exam.

5. In school, when we get a great mark, we erupt with happiness. So too will the believers erupt in happiness when they get their books in their right hands. Work for it.

6. In school, when we get a bad mark, sadness can be seen on our faces, and we dislike to face others. So too in the hereafter. Protect yourself from that.

7. During a school exam, you cannot ask anyone for help. In the hereafter, you can prepare from now to get assistance from Allah's Messenger, the Quran, and other ways of intercession.

8. In school, when exam time draws near, we banish distractions to focus on what is really important. In Allah's exam, isn't death within 1 heart beat? Banish distractions and focus.

9. In school, until exam results come out, we worry about the result. In Allah's exam, we don't know what our result will be, so we spend our days in hope and worry until the results come out.

With best wishes to see you succeed at the highest level!
- Muhammad Alshareef

Day 1 of Tajweed and Some Insight

In the name of Allah, compassionate & merciful بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
Peace be with you السلام عليكم

I really liked the introduction to all the Muslimness posts so I decided to incorporate it in to my posts from now on. May Allah swt reward sister Zaufishan (she is a sister right?) for the encouragement. So I want to share with you what I learned today (technically I am one day late so I am currently writing the lessons from Monday)

Lesson 1:

1) know which style of recitation you are learning and from whom
mine is the rules of tajweed of the Qur'an for the recitation of Hafs from 'Aasim by the way of Ash-shaatibiyyah. (a 3 part series) Not that the hubs prefers one or the other but he had these books readily available for me and this is the method discussed in the tajweed rules.

2) there are manners when reading the Qur'an
manners of the heart and external manners.

Manners of the Heart	External Manners
Understanding of the origin of the words	Purity of body, clothes and place
placing into the heart the understanding that these words are not the words of man	Seeking refuge from the rejected satan and reading the basmalah. (not reading when yawning)
Presence of the heart while reading	Avoiding cutting off reading to talk with people
Pondering the meaning	Stopping at an 'aayah of warning and seeking protection with Allah. Also stopping at a verse of mercy and asking The Merciful for His Bounty.
Understanding the meaning	Humbleness and crying when reading
Individualization. This means that the reader feels that every message in the

3)There are 14 places in the Qur'an where we are asked to prostrate. also I learned the symbol commonly used to let the reader know if it is an 'aayah of prostration.

4) Reason for the rules
Guarding the Glorious Qur'an. As the Arabs where mixing with non-Arabs after the spread of Islam, Muslims feared that the Arab tongue would become corrupted. This is why the rules where needed to be recorded to preserve the Qur'an from mistakes and to guarantee the integrity of pronunciation.

5) There are 3 levels of reading Qur'an
just for info as it is not relevant just yet.

6)Principles of Tajweed
One who wishes to learn a science needs to know its principles so that he will gain insight into the sought science. There are several principles in the science of the tajweed that should be understood.

7) tajweed is contingent on four matters
-=Knowledge of the articulation points of the letters
-=Knowledge of the characteristics of the letters
-=Knowledge of what rules change in the letters due to the order of letters
-=Exercising the tongue and a lot of repetition (but not in backbiting)

8) Obvious and clear mistakes as well as obscured and hidden mistakes

END OF LESSON

NOW on to the insight. I was listening to Muhammad Alshareef's speech 21 Teaching Methods of the Prophet (S) (4 CD Set). I am deeply EMBARRASSED and ashamed and I am only through the first cd. I am a lay person and I may have treated people badly and it wasn't in the character of a Muslim. He mentioned that we as an ummah are not in this world to be Allah's swt police and pushing people out of Islam based on our differences. That is up to Allah swt and they may be on a different level of iman and understanding. Why argue if the person is using the siwak or not when they aren't even praying?

Oh Allah swt please forgive me and the Muslims who have fallen into these traps. AMEEN.
Please keep making du'a I am able to memorize, understand and live by the Qur'an AMEEN.

Reality Check *ouch*

So I decided to memorize the whole Qur'an by next Ramadan which is about 255 days away and I came out with the enthusiasm of Rambo and with as much sensitivity. After talking to my Qur'an teacher I was told that there IS a method to the madness and that memorizing by verses is not a good idea. *blush*

I was given a set of books on Tajweed rules (part 1,2 and 3) a Juz Amma for the classroom junior level book and I already own several Qur'ans (one in SPANISH! with Arabic alongside it). SO instead of starting to memorize tomorrow I will be studying tajweed rules and revising the surahs I already know.

My teacher appreciates my enthusiasm but reeled me in gently. Oh yeah, who is this awesome teacher you may ask? hubs.

Nitty Gritty for my Memorizing the Qur'an

Earlier today I posted that I will start to memorize the Qur'an, inshaAllah (you can read about it here)

So I did the break down.

1) How many Ayats in total?

6,236

2) In order to achieve my goal how many ayats do I have to memorize a day? a week? a month?
A day = 25 ayats (it was actually 24.254902)
A week= 175 ayats
A month=700

How did I calculate that?
I assumed the start date for Ramadan 2010 is August 11, 2010 (tentatively). I will start memorizing (inshaAllah) tomorrow Monday, November 30, 2009. That is a total of 255 days. I had already memorized 51 verses so that brought my total count from the original 6,236 to 6,185.

My initial statement that I will memorize the Qur'an by next Ramadan seemed overwhelming but when you take steps forwards and start planning your strategy to make it possible it doesn't seem so daunting. I can memorize 25 verses a day (INSHAALLAH!).

make dua that Allah swt blesses me with the ability to memorize, understand and live by the Qur'an. ameen.

inshaAllah I will be posting more about my progress.

[edit] Qur'an teacher said that memorizing by verses is not a good way to go and instead memorize by page. so that's the new strategy inshaAllah.

♥Muslims♥ All Over the WORLD!

I am still on that high from a couple of days ago and wanted to share these videos with you. I first saw them in sister Sarah Plain And Short's blog S.O.S~Save Our Sunnah! Isn't it wonderful that we are part of this ummah? Look at the diversity. ALLAHU AKBAR!


A road to Hajj - China - 24 Nov 09 - Pt 1

1300 years of Islam, MashAllah.

A road to Hajj - China - 24 Nov 09 - Pt 2


The road to Hajj - Azerbaijan - 25 Nov 09 - Pt 1

MASHAALLAH! her grandmother prayed and read Qur'an at 115 years of age! Allahu Akbar.

The road to Hajj - Azerbaijan - 25 Nov 09 - Pt 2

May Allah swt accept their hajj and bless the benefactor ameen. I love the husband and wife story. the rewards she must be getting mashaAllah. May Allah swt protect their marriage and continue to nurture it ameen.

Road to Hajj - Japan - 26 Nov 09 - Pt 1

I thought it was beautiful that he was trying to provide for his child a community of Muslims. May Allah swt reward him for his efforts ameen. Mashaallah. I am in awe of how he has persevered and finally has ethnic Japanese going with him on hajj.

Road to Hajj - Japan - 26 Nov 09 - Pt 2

I am going to be honest with you and tell you that I have very little love for the Japanese people in particular the people who were alive during the world wars, invaded and perpetrated the atrocities in Nanking China. I know its stupid but because of my childhood I sided with the Chinese. I love them for the sake of Allah swt. This video reminded me that it is absolutely stupid to hold a population as a whole responsible for the actions of the minority. I actually slapped my forehead when that realization hit. Why am I hating on a group of people I have never met? and WHY am I holding grudges when the harm was not done to me nor was I alive when it occurred? Anyway I have a new reason to love the Japanese, I have brothers and sisters there! may Allah swt strengthen the Muslim community there and may it continued to grow in both numbers and iman AMEEN.

Road to Hajj -Panama- 27 Nov 09 - Pt 1


Road to Hajj -Panama- 27 Nov 09 - Pt 2

I got all happy about Panama because they are latinos but I know of larger Muslim populations in Ecuador, Brazil and Argentina. I mean in my area an Ecuadorian Sheikh came from Ecuador to the USA specifically to speak to latino Muslims. He is responsible mashaAllah for bringing nearly 1/2 and possibly more of the latino converts in my area. SUBHANALLAH. ALLAHU AKBAR!

anyway inshaAllah the brother in the video will be able to go to hajj next year. I am making du'a for him.

Road to Hajj - India - 28 Nov 09 - Part 1

lol. watch the niqabi (who HAS to be smiling at the very least) try to comfort her big baby...her hubs as he is getting his shot. lol. Also check out the brother selling ihrams modeling that white hijab for women. lol

On a serious note mashaallah at the brother moved to tears just by remembering Allah swt. mashallah.

Road to Hajj - India - 28 Nov 09 - Part 2




May Allah swt accept their hajj as complete, may they be forgiven for all their sins, may they get their books of good deeds on their right hand, may they be blessed with jannatul firdous AMEEN.

and for those (like me) who were unable to go to hajj, May Allah swt allow us to go whenever it is best for us. AMEEN. and may it be an accepted hajj. ameen.

oh no! 6666 ayats in the Qur'an!! RUN FOR THE HILLS!

I have a very ambitious goal I want to accomplish by the start of the next Ramadan (inshaAllah) to do so I needed some BASIC questions answered. MY GAWD! the misinformation out there. I nearly threw my imaginary shoe at my monitor. MY GAWD!

As I was researching the following questions I found out that some idiot out there is claiming that there are 6666 ayats in the Qur'an and therefore it is a sign of the devil. WHAT??!? where did they get the extra ayats? The # I found were 6,236 ayats so how they got 6666 is beyond me.

Regardless though, I don't believe in numerology. I believe in the Qur'an and Sunnah. I am shocked at the claims but they aren't really that original to be honest with you. I don't stress it that much because Allah swt protects his final revelation and his religion. Nothing they do will stamp out Islam or the Muslims. Plus they are a part of dawah, if it wasn't for them trying to spread lies about Islam people wouldn't research Islam. So in essence it is a self defeating mission. So go nuts you nut jobs.

Anyway back on point here are my notes (I brainstormed while I was in the masjid and hubs and little dude where mingling in the bros section). *tears* My baby boy is mingling *tears* mashaAllah.

Personal Goals

• Memorize the Qur'an by next Ramadan
• Memorize at least the las juz by the end of this year.

Nitty Gritty.

1. How many Ayats in total?
2. In order to achieve my goal how many ayats do I have to memorize a day? a week? a month?
3. Who can be my teacher?
4. What would help me memorize?

-a chart
-a chart similar to the one used n Bk of mom and dad.
(once I have it made I'll share with you guys)
-create a support group
-blog about it
-memorize in the early morning
-fast
-Stay awake after fajr and sleep @ dhuhr when it is sunnah.
-Don't sleep at Asr time as it affects memory
-stop indulging in the music in commercials
-limit my tv watching and ultimately eliminate it.
-give in sadaqah
-make dua
-ask others to make dua for me

I know its a HUGE goal but I aim HIGH instead of aiming for mediocrity. Whos with me? and do you guys know any support system?