First 10 days of Dhul Hijjah

Most of us want shortcuts. Easier way outs. Ways to invest little and gain a lot of reward. When it comes to the deen, a lot of Muslims tend to complain that its ‘hard’, that it’s difficult to keep up with praying 5 times a day and doing other ibaadah.

Well, although this isn’t exactly a way out for those people, it is a way to invest little and gain a lot of reward.

The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah are nearly upon us [Starting tomorrow inshaAllah!] and these days and nights have a lot of importance in the sight of Allah. Deeds done in these 10 days have immense reward.

A few ahadith pertaining to these days:

• Ibn ‘Abbas reports that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “No good deeds done on other days are superior to those done on these days [meaning the ten days of Dhul-Hijjah].” The companions asked, “O Messenger of Allaah, not even jihad in the way of Allaah?” He said, “Not even jihad, except for the man who puts his life and wealth in danger [for Allaah's sake] and returns with neither of them.” [This is related by the group except Muslim and an-Nasa'i]

• Ahmad and at-Tabarani record from Ibn ‘Umar that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “There is no day more honorable in Allaah’s sight and no acts more beloved therein to Allaah than those in these ten days. So say tahlil (There is no deity worthy of worship but Allaah : Laa ilaaha illallaah), takbir (Allaah is the greatest : Allaahu Akbar) and tahmid (All praise is due to Allaah : alhumdulillaah) a lot [on those days].” [Reported by Ahmad, 7/224; Ahmad Shaakir stated it is saheeh]

• Abu Hurairah relates that the Messenger of Allaah (sallallaahu ‘alaihi wa sallam) said, “There are no days more loved to Allaah for you to worship Him therein than the ten days of Dhul Hijja. Fasting any day during it is equivalent to fasting one year and to offer salatul tahajjud (late-night prayer) during one of its nights is like performing the late night prayer on the night of power. [i.e., Lailatul Qadr].” [This is related by at-Tirmidhi, Ibn Majah, and al-Baihaqi]

Take most advantage of these days, step-up with the Ibaadah and earn the pleasure and ajar of Allah [SWT].

Who knows if you’ll live long enough to see the next Dhul Hijjah?

[More ahadith concerning these days found on: - First Ten Days of Dhul Hijjah]

Nasheed for Hijabis [By Ahmed bin Ali Al-Ajami]

Came across this and I loved it. Shaykh Ahmed bin Ali Al-Ajami has a beautiful voice – especially his Qiraat of the Qurán.

Stay strong if you wear the Hijab or the Niqaab – in the end, the ajar is with Allah SWT.

May Allah subhanna wa ta’ala give all our Sisters sabr who are facing problems be it at home or from the government because of their Hijab or Niqaab. Ameen.

Female Parking Skills

Okay, first of all – no additional cracks on female parking skills or driving. We drive just fine and I know some awesome female drivers. But when it comes to parking I absolutely hate it, especially reverse parking. I’ll take rounds of the area if I have to but I will not reverse park.

I came across these and they’re absolutely hillarious. My Sister and I were watching them and laughing while holding our stomachs.

‘Fashion Week Karachi has strongly offended true Pakistani culture’

Except for the bombings and politically-related events I don’t usually keep very much upto date with whats happening inside Pakistan. But this caught my attention.

I knew the Fashion Week/Show raised some eyes but I didn’t actually know what ’sort’ of a fashion show it really was.

Anyway:

Interesting video. Thoughts?

I just think its really silly how a lot of people are going from one extreme to another. ‘Pakistan isn’t about bombings and violence but fashion shows and half-naked Women?’ Isnt that just transferring yourself from one sort of repression to another?

And I know anyone walks out in any of those clothes in any of the cities of Pakistan is going to be plain labelled [wont mince my words here] a hooker. Those clothes don’t represent anything ‘Pakistani’.

Surah Al Infitar

This Surah never fails to move me. I think of it as a ‘reality check.’

How many times do we remember whilst sinning that there are Angels writing down every single thing we do?

Anyway, beautiful recitation by Shaykh Al Ansari, love his Qir’aat mashaAllah.

Neglecting

I know, I know. Doing it a lot. I’m barely getting time these days, not to mention the time I *do* get I spend lazing around to catching up on lost sleep.

Haven’t been replying to the comments or checking blog posts – my sincere apologies.

Updates? Na da.

Except for went out with a  few friends of mine after a while, it felt good catching up.

My very petite, tiny, blonde friend bought a gigantic Tundra truck. Lol, I am UTTERLY fascinated by it. Not to mention, she looks funny driving it. I don’t know how she does it. At first I asked her if it was her husbands but she confirmed it was hers.

This is what a Tundra Truck looks like:

But driving such a car in Dubai, just makes people get out of your way. Although I’d hate parking in that beautiful monster.

Thursday Ramblings

I love Thursdays. Thursdays are ‘lets-relax’ days for me, the beginning of the weekend. I usually end up spending Thursday curled in bed with a book or the laptop with a cup of tea catching up with ‘things’ unless I’ve got plans. Anyway, I promised myself a blog post on Thursday and here it is.

Currently nothing majorly interesting is happening in my very uninteresting life, but anyay, if you’re still interested:

• The IPhone Update

My brother bought me the IPhone 3GS. It’s sleek, its beautiful and if you’re a gadget lover you’ll love this. I’m currently still getting the hang of it and its been distracting me for the past two days. I got the package from Du, but the silly people haven’t activated my SIM yet so I need to go tomorrow morning to get it checked.

• The health-freak update

Okay, okay, most of you hear me ranting about gaining weight  a lot and probably think, ‘Another of those Women things which women don’t stop talking about’. However, this time I’ve seriously put on a few extra kgs & although being nearly 5′8′ has the advantage of the extra weight not showing, I know its there! In the end, for me its not even about the weight, but more about feeling light and healthy. I hate it when I stop eating healthy, its almost as if I can hear my body groaning.

Been considering the gym again, but i’ve realised there are some obstacles in the way [Like how the Camry isn't mine yet...] so I’ll leave that. However, my sister and I have started walking in the nearby park though & I’m hoping thats a good start.

• The Studies update

I finish my 20th Juz of the Qurán on Sunday inshaAllah. That makes it 9 more to go. The more towards the end I come the more I’m freaking out. I’m scared. I haven’t done enough. I don’t want to leave the protected environment I’m currently in.

May Allah subhanna wa ta’ala make it easier for me and give me the tawfique to spread the deen forward. Ameen.

It’ll be to Uni after this & although I’ll be behind two years it really doesn’t matter in the end. Am I looking forward to it? I don’t know anymore… I’ve gotten so used to being among people of the same mentalitiy and the same wave-length that I know it’s going to be a bit difficult to go back into a secular and co-ed environment. That’ll be the real test.

Studying the Qurán is a beautiful inexplainable experience. It’s not something you can describe but something you have to experience on your own. Just the thought that these are the words of Allah azza wa jal, a miracle on its own, tends to affect you.

• The Marriage update

If anybody else asks me when I’m getting married again, I’m seriously going to loose it. Seriously.

• Breast-Cancer

This month was Breast Cancer month. Breast Cancer has taken the lives of a lot of Women and Men and its a deadly disease since a lot of Women and Men don’t tend to find out till the end. The Mother of my closest friend who is almost like a Sister to me found out she had breast cancer a couple of months ago. After going through a lot of chemotheraphy treatments she looked a bit better during Ramadan but come Eid she looked utterly tired.

She’d lost her hair and I don’t know why this particular thing caught my attention. Maybe its because older Pakistani Women tend to have long hair and they keep it like that, especially if they’re Mothers/Grandmothers.

After Eid they went to get her check-ups done and found out that her breast cancer had moved to her brain and has been growing there for a while. She went for brain surgery day before yesterday and is currently in the ICU right now.

Please keep her in your duas, the doctors still haven’t said what her survival chances are, but inshaAllah I hope Allah azza wa jal grants her shifa and heals her.

• The Weather

Coolness is in the air and the winds tease with the promise of coming Winter. I love it when the breeze brushes against me and the leaves rustle when I’m in the garden. It’s not too hot and its pleasantly cool. Sigh. I love this weather.

O Autumn, laden with fruit, and stained
With the blood of the grape, pass not, but sit
Beneath my shady roof; there thou mayest rest
And tune thy jolly voice to my fresh pipe,
And all the daughters of the year shall dance!
Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers.

William Blake

And.. thats all for now.

Wise Sayings 1 – On Wealth & Knowledge

Picture Source

”Knowledge is better than wealth, you have to look after wealth but knowledge looks after you. Wealth decreases through spending but knowledge increases by spending. Knowledge is the ruler & wealth is the subject, the wealthy pass away but the people of knowledge will live forever – indeed their bodies may perish but their achievements will never be erased.’

- Ali Ibn Abi Tálib radi Allahu anh

Are you neglecting your Fajr Prayers?

Provision for divorcees

http://beetleman.deviantart.com/art/Broken-heart-55534373

A couple of weeks back I had to review Surah Al Baqarah for an assignment I had to submit. More specifically the second Juz’ of the Qurán regarding divorce.

As I was going through it I came across this specific verse that caught my attention.

وَلِلۡمُطَلَّقَـٰتِ مَتَـٰعُۢ بِٱلۡمَعۡرُوفِ‌ۖ حَقًّا عَلَى ٱلۡمُتَّقِينَ

And for divorced women, maintenance (should be provided) on reasonable (scale). This is a duty on Al-Muttaqûn (those who fear Allah). (2:241)

If we ponder upon this verse and more specifically the Arabic of this verse, Allah subhanna wa ta’ala says this is a ‘Haqq’ a religious duty and an obligation for those who fear Allah. [IE - Have taqwa].

One of the conditions of Imaan is to fear Allah subhanna wa ta’ala, no body can claim to be a Muslim and say they don’t fear Allah azza wa jal. However, to actually become one of those who are Muttaqun, you have to have a deep sense and recognition of that fear and be acting upon it.

In this verse, Allah subhanna wa ta’ala is saying that if anyone truly deeply fears Allah, they will provide for divorcees in a reasonable manner. And it should not just be limited to provision but should extend to kindness and dealing with them justly.

Thirdly, this verse is not directed just at the family of the divorcee but the society as a whole. The word, ‘Muttaqun’ is used which is plural.

In our societies this verse is rarely acted upon or much less known. Especially in the Asian region, a divorced Woman is considered the lowest of society and isn’t given her rights. Much less spoken to properly. Although this has been changing over a period of time, it still exists in some Muslim societies.

Two of my Sisters are divorced and I remember when we’d first visted Pakistan after her divorce a relative of ours blatantly pointed her out to another Woman loudly whispering, ‘Look, its her, the one who got divorced’. This was done in public at someone elses wedding we were attending.

This was a long time back, but it still shows the absolute state of ignorance some people are in. When my second Sister was divorced, we heard someone had said that it was a ‘family problem’.

Divorcees rarely get married again and have a stigma attached to them. It’s okay if her husband is abusive and an alcoholic and that going through everyday is hell – but God Forbid she seeks a divorce or he gives it her. As it is, any divorcee, be it Man or Woman has a difficult time dealing with seperation, they also have to deal with the crap from society as well.

Whats deeply saddening is that this view is held by a lot of Muslims, maybe ignorant-about-the-deen Muslims, but Muslims all the same.

If we look at the time of the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam and even during the time of the Sahaaba radi allahu anhum, divorce was a common matter and divorcees weren’t looked down upon. Although it should be used as a last resort, when you’ve exhausted all means to stay married, it still is something you can use which is permitted by Allah subhanna wa ta’ala and the Prophet sallalahu alayhi wasallam.

Anyway, one of the parts of assignment consisted of looking into the iddah period every Woman who is seperated with her husband either through divorce or his death or Khulda. And guess what, its different according to each Woman and her condition. Any fiqh which is related to Women is considerably so much more complicated apparently.

Oh and the person who bad-mouthed my Sister? Sadly, a couple of years later her own daughter got divorced too.

In the end, if only people actually read the Qurán and understood it.