the dhul hijjah letter

31Oct11

الحمد لله الذي أنزل على عبده الكتاب ولم يجعل له عوجا
وصلى الله وسلم على سيدنا ومولانا محمد وعلى آله الطيبين الطاهرين وأصحابه الغر الميامين

All praise is due to Allah, and may endless blessings be upon His Beloved Messenger Muhammad, his Kin, and his Companions.

These are excerpts taken from the book Kanz An-Najaḥ wa As-Surur (The Treasures of Success and Happiness) regarding the benefits and special qualities of each month and how one should take advantage of them.

Know that Dhul Ḥijjah is a great and sacred month in which the Holy Pilgrimage takes place. It is a month in which blessings are plentiful, du‘ā’ is answered, and Allah takes care of people’s needs. In it are the “ten nights” which Allah swears by in the Qur’ān: {By the daybreak and ten nights}. The majority of Tafsīr scholars have stated that Allah is referring here to the ten nights of Dhul Ḥijjah.

Some scholars state that there are 3 groups of 10 days/nights which are the most preferred by Allah:

1. The first 10 days of Dhul Ḥijjah
2. The first 10 days of Muḥarram
3. The last 10 nights of Ramaḍān

According to some scholars, the best amongst the 3 are the first 10 days of Dhul Ḥijjah because in them are the days of ‘Arafah and ‘Īd. The Prophet, peace and mercy of God be upon him stated, “There are no days more preferred by Allah than the ten days of Dhul Ḥijjah; and there are no nights more preferred than its nights.”

Ibn ‘Abbās, may Allah be pleased with them both, said, “There are no days more preferred by Allah the Exalted than these ten days, so make plenty of tahlīl (saying “Lā ilaha illa Allāh”) and takbīr (saying “Allāhu Akbar”), for these are days of tahlīl and takbīr and remembrance of Allah, Mighty and Glorious is He.”

It is also highly recommended to fast the first nine days, especially the 9th day of Dhul Ḥijjah (the Day of ‘Arafah).

Things to do:

• Fast the first nine days: Our Beloved Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him and his family, said, “One fast during these days is equal to the fasting of one complete year, and the worship of one night during this period is equal to worship during Laylat al-Qadr.” [Tirmidhī]
• The 9th Day: It is particularly important to fast the 9th day of Dhul-Ḥijjah (known as the Day of ‘Arafah). The Messenger of God, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “I have hope in Allah the Exalted that the fast of ‘Arafah will be an atonement for the sins of the past and forthcoming year.” [Tirmidhī]
• Lā ilāha illa Allāh: A narration states, “Whosoever says during the first 10 days of Dhul Ḥijjah this supplication 10 times each day:
  لا إله الا الله عَدَدَ الدُّهور، لا إله إلا الله عَدَدَ أمواج البُحور، لا إله إلا الله عددَ النَّباتِ والشَّجَر، لا إله إلا الله عدد القَطْرِ والمَطَر، لا إله إلا الله عدد لَمْحِ العيون، لا إله إلا الله خَيرٌ مما يجمَعون، لا إله إلا الله من يومِنا هذا إلى يومِ يُنْفَخُ في الصور .

  Lā ilaha illa Allāh ‘adad ad-duhūr, lā ilaha illa Allāh ‘adad amwāj al-buḥūr, lā ilaha illa Allāh ‘adad al-nabāt wa al-shajar, lā ilaha illa Allāh ‘adad al-qaṭri wa al-maṭar, lā ilāha illa Allāh ‘adad lamḥ al-‘uyūn, lā ilāha illa Allah khayrun min mā yajma‘ūn, lā ilāha illa Allah min youmina hādhā ila youmi yunfakhu fī al-ṣūr – all of his future and past sins will be forgiven.” [Ṭabarānī].

• The Day of ‘Arafah:
  • It is very beneficial to repeatedly say:

    لا إله إلا الله وحْدَهُ لا شريكَ له، لهُ المُلْكُ وله الحمدُ وهو على كلِّ شيءٍ قدير

    “Lā ilāha illa Allāh, waḥdahu lā sharīka lah, lahu al-mulku wa lahu al-ḥamd, wa Huwa ‘ala kulli shayy’in Qadīr.” This benefits of this are related in many ḥadīths.

  • Ibn ‘Abbās (may Allah be well pleased with him and his father) said, “Whosoever reads ‘Qul Huwa Allahu Aḥad’ (Chapter 112 of the Qur’ān) 1,000 times on the Day of ‘Arafah will be given whatever he asks for.”
  • The best thing to occupy oneself with during this day is du‘ā. Narrated Abu Musa Al-Ash‘arī, may Allah be pleased with him, “They are days in which du‘ā is not turned back. How would du‘ā be turned back during these days [i.e. Ten days of Dhul Ḥijjah] when the Day of ‘Arafah is amongst them, which was narrated as being the best day in the world.” [Ibn Ḥibbān in his Ṣaḥīḥ collection].

May Allah give us the success to benefit from these blessed days. Consider how seriously we take things during the last 10 nights of Ramaḍān and try to exert a similar effort during these days. {And I only created jinn and humans for them to worship Me}. This is what we were made for and Allah gives us times like these so that we can excel great distances in a short time. Do not let it pass you by. The glorious treasures of your Lord are there for the taking, you just have to expose yourself to His Grace.

والحمد لله رب العالمين

NOTE: In order to be concise, the exact strength of certain ḥadīths have not been mentioned. It is agreed upon by the vast majority of scholars to use ḥadīths of various levels of authenticity to encourage people to do extra acts of worship and goodness.

The Acts of the Righteous During These Days

The following are adhkār [invocations] that many Ṣāliḥīn [righteous people] would read ten times every day for the first ten days of Dhul Ḥijjah:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمَنِ الرَّحِيم
اللَّهُمَّ إِنِّي أُقدِّمُ إِليْكَ بين يَديْ كُلِّ نَفَسٍ وَلَمْحَةٍ وَلَحْظَةٍ وَخَطرَةٍ وَطَرْفَةٍ يَطرِفُ بِهَا أَهْلُ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالأَرْضِ ، وَكُلِّ شَيءٍ هُوَ فَي عِلْمِكَ كَائِنٌ أَوْ قَدْ كَان أُقدِّمُ إِلْيَكَ بَينَ يَدِيْ ذَلِكَ كًلِّهِ

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ اللَّيَالِي وَالدُّهُور،لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ الأَيَّامِ وَالشُّهُور

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ أَمْوَاجِ البُحُور، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ أَضْعَافِ الأُجُور

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ قَطَرِ الْمَطَر، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ أَوْرَاقِ الشَّجَر

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ الشَّعَرِ وَالوَبَر، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ الرَّمْلِ وَالْحَجَر

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ الزَّهْرِ وَالثَّمَر، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ أَنْفَاسِ البَشَر

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ ذُنُوبِنَا حَتَّى تُغْفَر، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ لَمْحِ العُيون

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ مَا كَانَ ومَا يَكُون، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى عَمَّا يُشْرِكُون

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ خَيْرٌ مِمَّا يَجْمَعُون, لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ في اللَّيْلِ إِذَا عَسْعَس

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ فِي الصِّبْحِ إِذَا تَنَفَّس، لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ الرِّيَاحِ في البَرَارِي وَالصُّخُور

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ مِنْ يَومِنَا هَذَا إِلَى يَومِ يُنْفَخُ فِي الصُّور لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ عَدَدَ خَلْقِهِ أَجْمَعِين

لا إِلَهَ إِلاَّ اللَّهُ مِنْ يَومِنَا هَذَا إِلَى يَومِ الدِّين ، فِي كُلِّ لَحْظَةٍ أَبَدَا ، عَدَدَ خَلْقِه، وَرِضَى نَفْسِه، وَزِنَةَ عَرْشِهْ، وَمِدَادَ كَلِمَاتِه

Translation:

In the name of God, the All-Compassionate, the All-Merciful. O God I present to You in front of every breath, every second, every instant, every thought, every blinking of the eye of the peoples of the heavens and the earth, and everything which is existent in Your knowledge or was existent, I present to You in front of all of this:

There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the number of nights and ages,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the days and months,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the waves in the oceans,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the multiplication of rewards,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the raindrops,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the leaves on the trees,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the amount of hair and fur,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the sand and rocks,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the flowers and fruits,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the breaths of mankind,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as our sins so that they may be forgiven,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the blinking of eyes,
There is no god but Allah! – the amount of that which has been and that which will be,
There is no god but Allah! – Exalted is He above that which people worship alongside Him,
There is no god but Allah! – (this is) better than that which they amass,
There is no god but Allah! – in the night when it darkens,
There is no god but Allah! – at the moment of the morning’s breath,
There is no god but Allah! – as numerous as the winds that blow in the desert and the number of rocks,
There is no god but Allah! – from this day to the day on which the Trumpet is blown,
There is no god but Allah! – the number of His entire creation,
There is no god but Allah! – From this day to the Day of Recompense!

This is to be read ten times, and at the end read: In every instant, forever – [the total of] the number of His creation, to His satisfaction, the weight of His throne, and the amount of ink of His words.

This is also to be read ten times:

اللَّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلَى سَيِّدِنَا مُحَمَّدٍ مَا اتَّصَلتِ العُيُونُ بِالنَّظَر وَتَزْخَرَفَتِ الأَرَضُونَ بِالْمَطَر، وَحَجَّ حَاجٌّ واعْتَمَر وَلَـبَّى وَحَلَقَ وَنَحَرَ وَطَافَ بَالبِيْتِ العَتِيقِ وَقَبَّلَ الْحَجَر وَعَلَى آلِهِ وصَحْبِهِ وَسَلِّمْ فِي كُلِّ لَحْظَةٍ أَبَدَا مِثْل ذَلِك ، عَدَدَ خَلْقِكَ وَرِضَى نَفْسِكَ وَزِنَةِ عَرْشِكَ وَمِدَادِ كَلِمَاتِك

O God send blessings upon our Master Muḥammad as much as the eyes see, as much as the earth becomes verdant after rainfall, the number of people making Ḥajj and ‘Umra, making the talbīyah, shaving their heads, making ṭawwāf around the Ancient House and kissing the Stone and upon his family and companions in every instant forever, [the amount of] the number of Your creation, to Your satisfaction, the weight of Your throne and the amount of ink of Your words.

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Tags: athkar, dua, fasting, hajj, islam, kaba, lateefa spiker, mecca, muslim, thikr

the magnificent life of andrea t. walker

04Sep11

our lives had drifted apart,
settling into occasional facebook post & pictures,
and intermittent texts when she came to my mind because i passed her street in DC.

there is a hadith from the prophet Muhammad (may Allah’s blessings and peace be upon him) that goes:

“Take advantage of five matters before five other matters: your youth, before you become old; and your health, before you fall sick; and your wealth, before you become poor; and your free time before you become busy; and your life, before your death.”

while she had been taking advantage of her youth, health, wealth, time and life
to serve humanity (and even shelter animals) across continents,
i had turned mostly inward to focus on raising my gaggle of girls,
cultivating my marriage, and managing a household.

from andrea’s example i have learned that i can and should do more.
i have been too stingy.
i should share my talents with others
and make outward connections for a more fruitful life.

our last communication had been via several texts shortly before her transistion.
apologizing for the “sad text” she informed folks that her doctor told her
that any other actions regarding her puffler’s diagnose would only be “palliative”.
i texted back asking if i could come visit her.
she texted that she was at johns hopkins.
we made plans for friday.

and Allah is the Best Planner.

that friday, my husband had to run some errands
and then we headed out to baltimore,
getting to the hospital shortly before visiting hours expired at 8pm.
i hopped out with lillies and a vase
– just in case she didn’t have a spare –
while ishaq remained in the car with the girls.

i found the floor and the section and asked about her room.
a lady at the desk said she had been discharged.
surprised and saddened that i had missed her,
i babbled that she had just texted me earlier that afternoon.
i could do nothing but return to the car.
we were supposed to go to someone’s house for an iftar.

i was disappointed that i’d made the trip and she was not there,
but i wasn’t upset.
how do you get upset with someone deteriorating from cancer?
i left hoping something good had happened
or that she’d just went home to be with family in her own space
during her last days.

her sister called me the next day leaving a message asking me to give her a call.
i had thought that the cancer in her lungs
may have left her without the ability to talk
– she had mentioned in one of her texts
that it was easier for her to communicate via texts –
so i wasn’t alarmed.
when i returned andrea’s sister’s call,
she told me that
andrea had passed on friday around 2:30pm.
i had missed saying goodbye to andrea,
thanking her for sharing a bit of her life with me,
by just a few hours of our planned visit.

we plan and Allah plans;
and Allah is the Best Planner.

i missed her,
but andrea has left a joyous, active legacy of service.
along with her example,
i have another day,
another opportunity,
to obey Allah through service to His creation,
and i don’t want to miss that.

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Tags: andrea, cancer, death, joy, pufflers, service, walker

alzheimer’s abduction

04Aug11

my mother’s baby brother recently passed away unexpectedly.
death is like that sometimes, so i’ve heard.
he was a forty-something, attractive and friendly man;
the kind of man that every woman loved
and every man respected.
i remember crushing on him as a girl.
i remember being proud of my uncle Pat
because everytime he came to bat at a softball game,
the outfielders took a break.
you would hear the expected crack,
and then that ball would soar.

before his passing, he would check on his mother every day.
she lived within walking distance of his home.

at his funeral,
she walked behind uncle Pat’s girlfriend, daughter and sons,
with her oldest daughter, my mom, at her side.
she strolled nervously down the aisle to her seat,
a matriarch of a family of four daughters and six sons
– one now deceased –
in front of a line of her own descendants.
she was skittish, but affable, because she didn’t know what she was expected to do
in this new environment: a church funeral for her son, Pat.
her oldest daughter guided her path,
quietly whispering to her reassuringly.
afterward, as immediate family proceeded down the aisle,
she waved warmly to friendly-looking faces.

my grandma mozell is living with alzheimer’s
and my heart hurts because she doesn’t know me anymore.

the once verdant land that i consider home,
that has always been intertwined with her spirit
because of the work that her hands have put into it,
is on the verge of neglect except for grassy areas
that her sons keep well-trimmed.
the pears, figs and plums hang, heavy unpicked on the trees.
the unplowed fields are almost bare;
only the stubborn plants — sugar cane, onion, garlic, peanuts –
that used to grow there still pop up in irregular patches.

i love me some mozell,
but now our love is one-sided.
her eyes reflect the congeniality of a new friend,
absent of the depth of our past shared experiences:
her whipping me with switches for eating the green plums;
her making biscuits from scratch for breakfast,
then letting me eat the scraps of raw dough;
her driving the local school bus and flirting with strangers as she passed by;
her doing laundry at the town laundry mat,
then bringing the damp clothes home to hang on the clothes line;
her teaching me how to make quilts…

at the repast after the funeral,
she is the life of the party
in a room full of delightful strangers.

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Tags: alzheimers, death, home

baby teeth keepsake

14Jul11

don’t ask my kids about the tooth fairy.
they know the truth.
the same goes for santa claus
(even though we don’t celebrate christmas
– we’ve got two, count ‘em, two Eids),
the easter bunny,
and all the rest of those cultural myths (lies) parents tell children
for the sake of tradition.

however i just came across a cute way to keep those cute little teeth
and the real memories that go with them from Wondertime.

instructions

1. Cut the paper into a strip about 1/2 inch shorter than the vial and 6 inches wide (or wider if you’re including more than one tooth).
2. In pen, note on the paper the specifics of the tooth’s (or teeth’s) loss (time, place, child’s age, and any details; for example, knocked out by a baseball or sister’s elbow).
3. Tape the tooth (or teeth) on the paper, near the relevant details. Roll the paper into a scroll that’ll fit inside the vial, and tie with the thread or yarn. Drop the scroll into the vial.
4. Write your child’s name on the label and stick it on the vial.

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Tags: baby teeth, keepsake, tooth fairy

dirty laundry

10Jul11

i’m so blessed to have a washer and dryer in my home.

i don’t have to go the river and beat my 3 sets of clothing on rocks.
(cause that’s probably all i would have if i did have to do so.)

i don’t have to pack up laundry bags, detergent, bleach, dryer sheets
into a folding shopping cart
and wheel that mess down to my local laundry mat with kids in tow.

i don’t have to share a washer and dryer with
smokers, pet owners, excessively hairy folk, and the hygienically-challenged.

but if i could choose one thing to share with
graduating and newbie architects, architectural engineers, interior designers
and those involved in making decisions about the spaces where people live,
it would be this:

don’t banish the laundry room.
don’t banish the washer and dryer to
the most unfinished,
poorly lit,
insect and cobweb-ridden,
dusty,
remote room in the house.
don’t do that, honey.

in order to stay laundry-sane,
so that my husband has clothes to wear to work
and my children have underwear
i must do at least one load of laundry a day.
when i slack, the mounds pile up quickly.
even when i have my girls re-wear
play clothes that aren’t dirty enough,
or going-out clothes that don’t stink and have no stains,
it still piles up at an exponential rate.
and i have husband that helps more than occasionally, alhamdulillah.

do architects, architectural engineers and designers do their own laundry?
do they walk down to the basement when they take off soiled clothes
and to put on fresh ones?

normal people who rent and buy homes and apartments
blessed to have laundry facilities on site
take off and put on their clothes in their bedrooms,
so naturally where should the washer and dryer
or — if you got it like that — the all-in-one european style washer-dryer go?
in the kitchen?
that would be my second choice.

my first choice would be
next the bathroom near where most of the bedrooms are located.
i’m pretty normal (so i think)
and that’s where i take off most of my clothes:
either in the bathroom or bedroom.
just this simple relocation
would save the backs and souls laundry-doers across the developed world.

if laundry is going to be the bane of my existence,
don’t make me walk down one or more flights of stairs
with a huge stinky load
– making additional trips to sneak in a few more items i forgot
before the cycle gets too far along –
only to return to heave that same load back upstairs.
us domestic engineers have faith that you
architects, architectural engineers and interior designers
can combine your degreed and credentialed brains to solve the
structural, water and design issues so we can make this happen,
like yesterday.

peace begins with me.
and i gotta do our dirty laundry.

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Tags: domestic engineer, drudgery, dryer, housewifery, laundry, washer

adult swim

06Jul11

if you’d asked me a couple weeks ago if i could swim
i probably would have told you that i could swim enough to save my life.

last year, i took my girls to the pool and got peer-pressured
by my own children to go down the slide in the deep side of the pool.
watching them in their swim classes had bolstered my own water-confidence
so down i went without the tinest shred of fear.
i splashed and sank down,
expecting to push myself up once i hit the bottom.
but i didn’t touch the bottom.
i entered immediate save-my-life mode,
pushed myself to the top,
opened one eye enough to see the closest side,
and side-stroked to safety
as i heard the life guard say,
“you had me worried for a minute.”
honey, you have no idea.

so, it’s the summer, and my girls are taking a break from the swim classes they’ve taken throughout the winter, fall and spring
to just have fun in the pool.
now, i thought, it’s my turn.

i signed up for a swim class of my own down at the p.g. sportsplex:
level adult 2.
it’s equivalent to youth 2 but for ages 14 and up.
description: “Lessons build on fundamental aquatic skills learned in Adult Level 1 lessons such as breath control and submerging; floating and gliding on front and back; swimming using combined arm and leg actions on the front and back; and treading in shoulder-deep water. Note: Due to the number of skills taught in this course, participants may need to repeat this level.”
i can do that, i thought.

my older daughters, ages 6 and 8, finished the spring in youth 4 and 6.
they felt a certain sense of supremacy,
but were still very supportive.
thanks, dears.

the first day of class was exhilarating.
learning new skills still does that to me.
i was doing things i didn’t know i had the ability to do,
although my confidence level was as the point where
i packed my insurance card in my backpack, you know, just in case.

there was the time that i forgot my towel
and had to kill part of a south american rain forest
when drying off with a rack of paper towels.

there was the time when my long muslimah swimwear got caught on a hook
that holds the pool buoys in place that separates the lanes,
tearing a little hole.

there was the time when i forgot the head piece of my muslimah swimwear,
but i borrowed a swim cap from the swim coordinator, Alicia, and did my thang.

we were swimming well in water in which we could stand,
and our instructor, Ms. Carol, told us to just take that knowledge
and do the same thing in the deep water.

we went to the deep water during the last few classes.
i said bismillah and took Ms. Carol’s advice.
i glided, floated, treaded, used “combined arm and leg actions”,
did the elementary back stroke
– “tickle, T, touch” for those in the know –
turned from front to back, turned from back to front,
swam the length of a whole lane and back again…
all the while my confidence in the water grew.

on the last day the family came along to see if mama would pass her exit skills test.
i felt good, but didn’t want to be over-confident.
again i started with bismillah and, using the skills i’d practiced,
passed the final test.
i let myself smile with gratitude when my oldest told me
she thought i was the best in the class.
that’s where you get it from, dear.

benita, jeff and deedra: it was great sharing that experience with you.
see you in level 3!

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Tags: confidence, new experiences, p.g. sports and learning, swimming

google common sense

24Jun11

and i’m not talking about the rapper.

so, i had just refused some request of my two year old.
she walked off crying frustratedly.
within a few moments
her cry turned into a cry of pain.
i jumped up to look
and found that she had gotten her head stuck
between the metal stair rails.

i tried gently to pull her back through,
but she only yelled in pain.
her sisters came down to see what was the matter.
i explained the situation
and asked them to remain calm so their baby sister would be calm
and i could think.
adrenaline and mind rushing,
what is it that i think to do?

first, i think to call my husband,
but he was to arrive any minute, anyway.

so i went with my second thought:
i googled “child head caught between”.
not even “child head caught between stair rails”,
just “child head caught between” because i was so flustered
that i couldn’t think of a succinct term that would describe
the metal stair rails.
and i thought i worked well under pressure.

what did i find?, you ask.
several news articles about some child
who got her/his head between some stair rails
and firemen had to be called.
add that to the hysteria column.

then there was a link to a tip on how to get the child out:
turn the child face up, and then they will come out easily.
that didn’t work for my baby’s little pumpkin head.

then we watched almost two minutes or so of a youtube video
of a teen that had got her head stuck between some wooden stair rails.
that didn’t tell me how to get my baby out.

“mom!” says my oldest, “i have an idea!”
i almost asked her to just be quiet,
but after minutes of nothing but just holding a, thankfully, calm toddler
and nothing but duds from google
and absolutely zilch inspiration from my own mind,
i asked, sighing with frustration, “what’s your idea?”
“instead of pulling her head out, how about pushing her body through the bars.”
genius!

this homeschooling thing paid off instantly in that single moment.

i thought back to childbirth
and how once the head comes out
the rest of the body just slides out.

i reached through a rail,
supporting my toddler’s head with one hand
and, holding her body with my other hand,
turned her to the side so that her shoulders were vertical
and slid her body through the rails.
done.

the common sense wisdom of an eight-year old
trumped mama armed with google’s power on a so-called smart phone.

Filed under: mommy   |  Leave a Comment
Tags: emergency, head stuck, stair rail

LEGO does the kaba

27Oct10

or the masjid al haram.
wouldn’t that be great?
the kaba would be pretty simple,
mostly black with some gold,
maybe a little exposed cinder block on the bottom.

i recently saw the national building museum‘s
lego architecture exhibit called towering ambition
where an architect and lego-lover
replicated in amazing scale several architectural icons.

well why not hajj?
i can just picture building masjid al haram,
a little mountain representing arafat,
the tents at mina,
or the three jamarat.
as we build, the stories of the the history of hajj are brought to life.

maybe one of you creative types can use lego’s design by me app
to create a kaba and and sell a billion!
i’d buy it.

so, i just sent this email to the folks over at lego:

every year millions of muslims from all over the world go on a journey of a lifetime to mecca in saudia arabia. as a muslim mom looking around for activities to do with my children to celebrate this yearly occasion i’d love to have a lego set that replicates the kaaba or masjid al haram like i’ve seen with white house legos or other architectural monuments. please consider it! (more about hajj: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hajj)

why don’t you drop em an email too?

Filed under: islam, muslim, nurturer-educator   |  2 Comments

teenage deja-vu

21Jul10

my husband’s daughter is visiting us
for a short time this summer.
she’s a teenager.
[ fill this void with negative connotations. ]
i have my opinions about her
– and they are mostly favorable –
but i am trying not to let the worst of them get in the way
of being a positive role model and compassionate human being.

i am so guardedly casual
that i refuse the term “step-mother”
mostly because of the ill-flavored undertones
and partly because i am not trying to be her mother,
only attempting to be her father’s wife.
i wish i could be that woman that can take in any needy child as her own,
but honestly that is not the woman i am.

i ask myself what would i do
for her or with her or to her
if my child was her age
(and they soon shall be, GodWilling and GodHelpMe)
then i try to do those things.

i am purposefully aloof most times
– using my own father’s wife as an example –
to shield my own self from the sight of my own overbearingness,
like i am watching some horribly trite movie of teenage-angst
and parents who have forgotten that they once
did the very same things,
thought the very same thoughts,
that their teenage-child-adult did.

i see in her the me that did the thoughtless things i did
because of the natural appetite for male attention,
because of the lack of experience,
because of the need for growth.

at the same time,
i must be judicious
and think deeply before speech or action
because although we both are artistic tomboyish introverts
who flower under the direct sunbeam of attention,
she is not me,
and has not yet done the deeds that flavor my own past
with both blushes and regret.

so i will not tell her daddy some things
because i understand where she is and where she may go.
but i will try to handle the situations she presents me with empathy and tact,
practicing for my own child’s coming of age.

Filed under: mommy, woman   |  3 Comments

be in this world

05Apr10

from sahih bukhari
volume 8, book 76, number 425:

narrated mujahid:

‘abdullah bin ‘umar said,
“Allah’s apostle took hold of my shoulder and said,
‘be in this world as if you were a stranger or a traveler.”
the sub-narrator added:
ibn ‘umar used to say,
“if you survive till the evening, do not expect to be alive in the morning,
and if you survive till the morning, do not expect to be alive in the evening,
and take from your health for your sickness,
and (take) from your life for your death.”

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Tags: hadith, islam