Pretty easy stuff... but still.

Alrighty, well I have a final test tomorrow that covers everything I have ever learned en espanol! Eeeks! -smiles- la bas (no worries). Anyways, it's pretty easy stuff, I just hope I don't get the rules mixed up like I did on the last test we took.

On the last exam, I got the future tense mixed with the imperfect, when I left the test I realized what I had done, but then I thought to myself ~oh well, you know that YOU know how to do it, so no worries, that's the important part anyways.~ When I got the test back the teacher said, "I'm surprised you got this section wrong." He said that because I had notes on the side on how to do it correctly, for some reason when I was filling in the blanks I did this crazy mixture of future and imperfect together... for example: Tener (to have) in the future tense is tendre, in the imperfect it would be tenia. [by the way i'm typing this up w/out the accent marks]... so the right answer for the future tense would have been, obviously, tendre; however, I created my own future/imperfect and filled in the blank with tendria... on second thought, wait a second, tendria is actually the conditional form, i didn't create anything new that's just another rule. HAHA... wow! Anyways, I better not get this stuff mixed up tomorrow.

Make du`a' for me... bleez ya`ni, jazakum Allahu khayran, oh, and subHan Allah I'm really interested in getting the book Khutbah al-aHkam, sounds very interesting... I can put that on my to do list, in sha' Allah.

al-Hamdu liLlah

My internet is back.

Talk to dream people...

So, I'm laying on my bed, just laying there and my brother Amir walks in and I said to him, "Amir, stay in here, how are you?" he replies, "I'm good." Then he is walking out the door, and I ask him, "Why don't you stay in here and talk to me?" He just smiles, and then I said, "Look, do you see anyone in here I can talk to?" Then again he smiles, and he says, "Why don't you talk to your bed." I smile at him, and he continues, "You can go to sleep and talk to the people in your dream." I actually do dream a lot, so in reality I could do that. Then I smile back at him, honestly, that was pretty clever. Then he opens my door to leave, and he repeats, "Just go to sleep and dream." I'm still smiling, subHan Allah that child is awesome!

al-Hamdu liLlah, he makes the Amir part of my heart happy. -smiles-

nature = serenity of the heart = peacefulness = happiness = SUBHAN ALLAH

Did Muhammad (salla Allahu `alayhi wa sallam) see Allah directly?

I believe I was listening to a lecture not too long ago which explained that Allah has a veil, and that this veil is made out of light. I wasn't sure if I had heard the lecturer correctly, so then I went and checked it out. Yup, the statement was valid:

The Messenger described Allah, as "His veil is Light, if He unveils it, the Light of His Face will burn all what His Sight reaches (which is everything!)" [Muslim]

So, then reading into the links posted on linguaislamica I noticed that on the Amr Khaled site, there is mention of what scholars say about what Muhammad (salla Allahu `alayhi wa sallam) saw on his trip:

"There is a great controversy among scholars whether prophet Muhammad (SAWS) saw Allah (SWT) or not. The Prophet (SAWS) himself does not mention any details on this subject."

Um... so, what about that hadith above about the veil of light? He did explain in not so many words what Allah looked like, no? Probably something missed in translation, Allahu a`lam.

I think I'm looking too much into this, but this is fascinating me, Muhammad (salla Allahu `alayhi wa sallam) was in the direct "presence" of Allah, as it was said on linguaislamica. I believe the reason I wrote this is because of the word "direct" because if he saw him directly without the presence of Allah's veil then that couldn't be.

subHan Allah, simply to imagine the veil of Allah, it must have been magnificent.

Hmm, since I'm speaking about the veil of Allah it would be nice to reflect upon the story of Musa (`alayhi sallam) and when he met up with Allah:

Therefore Musa (AS), when Allaah spoke to Him, his heart reached out to Allaah and there was an exchange of words between him and Allaah. When Allaah spoke to Moses, his heart was attached to Allaah and Musa thought that there was no harm in trying to see Allaah. He said, 'O my Lord, let me see You.' Allaah, 'You will never see Me, but if you so wish, look at the mountain and if it stands in its place (when Allaah unveiled Himself to the mountain), then you will see Me.' So Allaah (SWT) said, 'And when Allaah revealed Himself to the mountain,' and as bin Malik said the light of Allaah was only a small bit and when Allaah revealed Himself to the moutain, it smashed the mountain, Musa fell down in a state of unconsciousness. The mountain could not carry the beauty of Allaah (SWT). It could not stand in front of the Majesty of Allaah and it became levelled with the earth and Musa fell down in a state of unconsciousness. When he was revived, he said, 'Glory be to You O Allaah! I repent and I am the first of the believers.'

subHan Allah, subHan Allah, subHan Allah...

I just realized something, it would be accurate to say direct presence, because right now we are in the presence of Allah; however, we are not in the direct presence of His veil.

Oh subHan Allah, to be able to be in this kind of presence... subHan Allah.

I remember once reading or maybe hearing a very nice analogy. Let me see how well I may remember it... well, it went something like this: If you cannot bear looking directly at the light of the sun, then what makes you think you can bear the light of Allah subHanahu wa ta`ala... I really liked that, only I wish I could remember how it was worded. in sha' Allah if I remember I'll come back and fix this, but it's still a very good point.

ya Rabbi, it's just something amazing to think about... I shouldn't dwell on this, so I'm going to stop here. There's no doubt that there is a desire to be in the presence of Allah, if Allah is to be pleased with me, subHan Allah... I only hope this desire intensifies into a strong taqwa, and a strong sense of Ihsan, in sha' Allah.

Happiness on my desktop...

Juz `Amma 1.0 -smiles- it's in my favorite colors too!

interesting...

I really like this site Lingua Islamica it's really nice. It's too bad the creator of this site doesn't have any contact information.

Trillian

al-Hamdu liLlah the other day my cousin put trillian on my computer for me, and I decided since I have it, I might as well open up my hotmail account alongside my aim.

I had many instant messages from hotmail friends saying, "Where have you been?"... "I was thinking about you today!"... "OMG you're on!"

-smiles- I'm thinking to myself, subHan Allah, these people actually notice if I'm online or not... that's pretty nice. I'm flattered, I really didn't think people cared. Unexpected good things that happen are nice.

Today dragged a bit, no crime-fighting adventures or anything like that. I did sleep a lot today, it felt really good to take a long nap, al-Hamdu liLlah for long naps.

Oh, one of my friends up north was sharing some of the stories that her husband tells her. Barak Allahu fihum they spend a lot of time learning the din together. Here's one of the stories:


one woman at the time was married to her husband
her husband was rich and at lunch time
they had always prepared lots of food on the table of all kinds
so when they sat to eat
they heard a knock on the door
so the husband told his wife to answer it
so she went and opened the door
and found a poor man saying "im poor and hungry and starving, do you have any food with which i can calm my hunger?"
so the wife went to her husband
and told her husband
its a poor man requesting some food
so the husband told his wife to kick him away and tell him not to come back
; he was greedy and stingy and didnt like sharing
so yeah
days and weeks and months past by
and this man has financial problems
and finally he got bankrupt
and so he divorced his wife
and the two separated
look what Allah says about this:
[003:026] Say (O Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam]): "O Allâh! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.

Allah has the power to make the rich become poor and make the poor become rich
so later down the road
the woman remarries
she found a soft hearted gentle kind loving man
and they were sitting at the table
eating food
when they heard a knock on the door
so the wife went to the door
and a man was saying
"im poor, hungry and need some food to calm my hunger, do you have any food that you can give me so that i can eat?"
so the wife goes to her husband
and tells her husband
its a poor man wanting food
so the husband said give him this and give him that
all kinds of food were given to him
so the poor man left
after eating his fill and having more to take with him
so the two were sitting down
and the wife was sitting
not looking happy
she seemed sad
so the husband said to her
whats wrong
?
Are you sad that i gave the man food?
she said no
no by Allah im not sad
its just that...
she stopped and didnt answer
so the husband what is it?
so she said "that was my first husband begging at the door."


but u know what
the husband said
do you remember me?
i was the poor man at your door when you were married to him
i was the poor man begging at your door once
and i requested food but was turned away
subhanallah
and look how Allah changes the conditions of people

from power to weakness and from weak to power
from being rich to being poor
from being poor to being rich
from kings to slaves
our conditions and status are changing
As Allah said:
[003:026] Say (O Muhammad [sal-Allâhu 'alayhi wa sallam]): "O Allâh! Possessor of the kingdom, You give the kingdom to whom You will, and You take the kingdom from whom You will, and You endue with honour whom You will, and You humiliate whom You will. In Your Hand is the good. Verily, You are Able to do all things.

thinking...

I got another email from that prof. I'm contacting, subHan Allah, there's no doubt, I'm definitely applying -smiles-

Al-salam alikum,I do highly encourage Muslims to take on the field of Islamic Studies and become the professors who teach in these institutions ...

Contributions in the field of Islamic Studies can go a long way toward improving secular treatment of Islam and its people.Wa-salam

al-Hamdu liLlah, niceness... I love it when people are supportive.

why I don't like diamonds...

Have you ever wondered how a diamond ends up at your local retailer?

Many of the world's diamonds come from a small country in West Africa called Sierra Leone. There is an ongoing Civil War at Sierra Leone between African guerillas over diamonds. These rebels get diamonds 'by any means necessary' in order to sell them for money to buy weapons.

These ruthless guerillas will resort to the cruelist forms of violence, including chopping off hands in order to secure a single diamond.

Who benefits from this Civil War? The Diamond Industry.

By providing money for weapons to these guerillas in exchange for the diamonds, they are helping to sustain the violence and chaos in this country.

The diamond industry makes upwards to 50 billion dollars a year - while Sierra Leone benefits NOTHING from the profits.

The worst part of it all - innocent children are recruited by the guerillas to fight each other, many of them dying in the process.







6 minute movie looking at the brutality that gives you some of those shiny finger rocks ...

stuff

I went and visited my grandfather in the hospital, al-Hamdu liLlah he is doing well, for all those who made du`a' for him I sincerely thank you, and I hope that you continue to make du`a' for him, in sha' Allah.

He was pretty funny actually, when I went in to see him a family member that was also in there asked, "So, how do you like it here?" I was thinking he was going to respond with ill words. Nope, he smiled and said, "They treat me like a king here, if I press this little button two nurses run to be at my service, I just lay here and everyone does stuff for me." I chuckled, my grandfather is awesome! Barak Allahu fi.

~

In other news, I got a letter back from my e-mail to a school I'm interested in up north. The letter I sent was very simple, it didn't say anything about what I'm involved in, just what my major is, and that I'm concerned about the extent of how objectively Islam is taught.

In the response back it was filled with comforting words that a couple of professors would be willing to aid me in gaining knowledge not only about Islam, but in Islam. I didn't really know how to word that, but I think you understand what I'm trying to say.

So, hmm, now I'm more optimistic about the program, and I definitely like the professor there, so khayr, al-Hamdu liLlah.

~

Plans, hmm, I was thinking that while I teach at the private school this year I would take Islamic online courses from sunnipath.com, and perhaps some other site a friend was telling me about, should be fun, in sha' Allah.

~

al-Hamdu liLlah I had a phone call tonight that relaxed me so much. I'm not stressed out about anything anymore, al-Hamdu liLlah. I'm feeling very optimistic, and also very blessed. I'm optimistic because with all this effort I see success at the end of it, in sha' Allah. I am thankfully blessed because Allah has given me people in my life that are understanding, patient, thoughtful, diligent, and determined... what more can I ask for?

AL-HAMDU LILLAH (^)

beautiful

ya Allah

my grandpa (mom's side) is in the hospital, heart attack. ~make du`a'

~

okay, al-Hamdu liLlah we found out that it is only a minor heart attack, that's good... he may be having a surgery soon to open up an artery

al-Hamdu liLlah for everything

~

watch the whole thing.. please -smiles-

I love looking at how Palestine once was... sigh.

ya`ni.. what is this...

-smiles- funny! funny! only `arab would think this up... -smiles-

Learning as the days pass...

I keep looking at that beautiful slide show above, it's so calming, al-Hamdu liLlah.

Tomorrow, this Summer program I work at will be over, Sunday School was done last week, all I have left is that one class I'm taking... sigh, free time.

Why am I sighing?

al-Hamdu liLlah, now maybe I can read more, in sha' Allah. I can memorize more Qur'an. I can maybe move things around my room, switch things up a bit.

I notice I do that a lot, I keep changing and editing things, all the time. It's a non-stop thing with me. I try to take what I have and make it better, and better. Hehe, this blog went through one of those, at one point all my trials drove me crazy and I wanted a layout that I could be comfortable with it. It looked like poop before it looked like this -smiles- but al-Hamdu liLlah, Allah has a way of giving ease after difficulty.... al-Hamdu liLlah, al-Hamdu liLlah.

I noticed my du`a' are being answered almost automatically with so many things in my life. I'm positive that for this one du`a' that I am making that there is a reason things are going the way that they are. Although, I don't know what this reason is, I can say what I have learned:

Patience

It is bittersweet, the reward for it is sweet and just thinking that Allah will accept this from me excites me. At the same time, it is true that it may not be accepted; however, Rabbi Rahimun Wadud, and I feel that it will be. I have learned to be calm about my situation, to be accepting, to read Qur'an when I feel frustrated, to pray tahajjud, to make lengthy du`a'... I have benefitted, this bonding time with Allah is sweet. It is bitter because there is pressure, it's a wanting for ease, for the difficulty to leave.

Culture

I learned that the culture in which one lives in influences the thought behavior in such horrible ways, that trying to change what has been engrained maybe as difficult as getting a camel to go into the head of a needle, unfortunately. It's a good thing that Allah IS greater than culture, that there exists on this earth an Islamic culture, and oh how it shines, it's like a white hair on a black bull.

Steadfastness

Is that even a word? -smiles- But yea, I'm learning how to hold on to something I want. Usually, I'm very passive, I'll let things go easily -- very easily. I've learned to be steadfast, well, I'm still learning -- al-Hamdu liLlah

al-Hamdu liLlah, this is a very bittersweet situation. The difficulty is very bitter, but al-Hamdu liLlah the goal is very sweet. Allah will make it easy, and may Allah accept our efforts, and be pleased with us. Amin

... right now I'm listening to the children practice their performance for Friday, subHan Allah, this program is almost over, ya Rabbi I'm going to miss seeing them so many days a week... tayyib, tayyib, al-Hamdu liLlah, always, al-Hamdu liLlah.

al-salamu `alaykum

I was looking at my blogspot and I realized I really have not been writing that much lately, so I figured I would post a journal in which I just, well, think and type (^).

So, I'm thinking...

al-Hamdu liLlah things are progressing, when there is du`a' there is progress, no doubt.

I just ate so I feel really tired, food coma.

subHan Allah, me and my random thoughts... hmm.

The multiple subject summer program has been awesome, I really love those children they're something special barak Allahu fihum.

I know what I can write, tips for teaching that I have learned that I may want to reflect on later.

I found a way to get a whole classroom no matter the size to be as quiet as.... well, i was going to say as quiet as a mouse, but mice are not quiet,.... so, they were as quiet as a butterfly.

This is what I did:

I drew a box on the left side of the board and I wrote above it, Good Islamic Manners... then I drew a box on the right side of the classroom board and wrote on it Tips on Islamic Manners. Under the box that read Good Islamic Manners I put a list of goodly rewards, such as: play mock situation, i'll tell you a joke, watch ummahfilms, practice the 99 names of Allah, tell me about your day, gymnastics.. (or whatever else I feel they would have fun doing).. Then under Tips on Islamic Manners I would have "write a 2 page report on Islamic Manners, it must be typed, 12 font, double spaced, and have three references to the Qur'an and/or 'ahadith"... Then I would tell them that I am going to put tally's in the box as I notice how they are behaving. Once I reach 15 marks they will have the consequences of their actions (either 15 marks under good Islamic Manners, or 15 marks under tips).

Whenever I would put a mark under tips, I would say, "I noticed you were talking while I was talking, I'm not angry or mad at you, I just want to give you good advice that might help you, everyone let's try to talk one at a time." Then follow that with a warm smile while giving eye contact to all the students, and asking if they agree with my advice, "Do you feel talking one at a time is a good tip?" They'll nod.

Then when I put a mark under Good Islamic Behavior/ Manners I'll say something like, "I really loved how you said al-salamu `alaykum when you entered class today, barak Allahu fikum."... "Thank you for putting your hands down when you saw another student raise their hand, I love that you care about what the other student thinks and wants to say!" These are followed by wide smiles, and sometimes my shoulders would rise... -smiles- subHan Allah, I love my students. May Allah bless them with khayr.

I'm on my 6th week there now, and these kids are amazing with their manners! One child says, "I'm sorry I had my hand up, please, you talk it's your turn.".. another child says, "You did great up there! Good job! After another student presented".... and so on. I love just watching them.

One student makes me LAUGH!!! subHan Allah, we were memorizing the du`a' you say in salah before the fatiha, and he was smiling while he was trying to memorize it. Then when he wanted to try it alone he gets stuck, he smiles, and goes back and tries it again. Then he gets stuck again, and smiles, and gets back to trying to memorize it... then he'll smile and try again. The class loves him! I have him try to say it out loud in front of everyone, and just because of his AWESOME attitude, I gave the classroom 5 marks for Good Islamic Behavior. He was happy, the class was happy, and everyone was even more eager to learn, it made for an amazing learning environment.

So, they're graduating from the program, and they're having a reception for the students and their family. subHan Allah every year my heart saddens because my classroom changes, I get attached easily. I felt my heart numb from just the thought of not seeing them together like that... al-Hamdu liLlah.

Other than that, I got a request from a mother from the mosque where I live that she wants me to come to her house to sit with her daughter and teach her. I really would love to, and I told her I would think about it and see how it fit into my schedule. I need to learn how to draw some limits, or maybe not, I don't know. I just don't know.

Hmm... what else, what's new, well friends are really awesome! Like really really awesome. A couple of my friends did a favor for me today, and something, something they said must have calmed my mom, because when she called me today she was like, "When are you coming home? {in a calm voice}"... hmm, what's up?..."I have to get to the class I teach, but I'll be leaving to come home around 3pm." .... then she didn't quickly shut and say bye.. i felt like she had something to say, so I asked, "Mom, do you need anything?"... "No, nothing, bye."

I think I know what it might have been, a friend had talked to her and had her silenced for a bit... my mom told my co-worker friend, "I would give my heart to my daughter!".. and my friend told my mom, "I know you would give your heart to your daughter, but also know that your daughter has a heart too." She said after that my mom went silent for a while, subHan Allah.

~ i'm making du`a', and Allah is the One who responds to our du`a'~

-smiles-

al-Hamdu liLlah, always al-Hamdu liLlah... yes, al-Hamdu liLlah.

-smiles-

...

My cousin said something interesting...

She said, "What we don't want comes so easy."

mhm... happy ending after that du`a'

The Prophets, Verse:83.

Wa 'ayyūba 'idh Nādá Rabbahu 'annī massanī ađ-Đurru wa 'anta 'arĥamu ar-Rāĥimīna.

And Job, when he cried unto his Lord, (saying): Lo! adversity afflicteth me, and Thou art Most Merciful of all who show mercy.

وَأَيُّوبَ إِذْ نَادَى رَبَّهُ أَنِّي مَسَّنِيَ الضُّرُّ وَأَنتَ أَرْحَمُ الرَّاحِمِينَ

FOX news actually did some good

click on banner to visit groups site

some fwd's are worth reading.. got this from BB:

What happens if an insect falls in a cup of coffee?!


The British: will throw the cup into the street and leave the coffee shop for good.

The American: will get the insect out and drink the coffee.

The Chinese: will eat the insect and drink the coffee.

The Israeli will:
1)Sell the coffee to the American and the insect to the Chinese.
2)Cry on all media channels that he feels insecure.
3)Accuse the Palestinians, Hizb Allah,
Syria and Iran of using germ-weapons.
4)Keep on crying about anti-Semitism and violations of human rights.
5)Ask the Palestinian President to stop planting insects in the cups of coffee.
6)Re-occupy the West Bank, Gaza Strip.
7)Demolish houses, confiscate lands, cut water and electricity from southern Lebanese houses
and randomly shoot people.
8)Ask the United States for urgent military support and a loan of one million dollars in
order to buy a new cup of coffee.
9)Ask the United Nations to punish the coffee-shop owner by making him offer free coffee to
him till the end of the century.
10) Last but not least, accuse the whole world to be standing still, not even sympathizing
with the Israeli Nation.

Barak Allahu Fi

This is a thing of beauty ... a must watch

Fortunate

subHan Allah... I was thinking today, how in the world do I deserve to be so fortunate?

subHan Allah, Allah knows what is best, and I am extremely grateful for what I have been given.

I look at my hands, subHan Allah all ten fingers are there, al-Hamdu liLlah!

I look at the walls in my room, and they are free of bomb holes and blood stains...

subHan Allah, the things that we have been given, al-Hamdu liLlah, a meal tonight to fill my stomach, food flooding our refrigerator, these blessings... ya Rabbi

and not to mention the people in my life, why am I so fortunate for them to be so wonderful? subHan Allah, people that just give comfort to my eyes, peace of mind, heart at ease... it's such a blessing, so much to be grateful for.

subHan Allah, even those that give me hardship, so maybe there is difficulty here and there, but they're so wonderful in their own ways -smiles- they are, al-Hamdu liLlah.

I can never be grateful enough, never!

pretty funny stuff...

subHan Allah, as hard as life is, as stressfully frustrating watching the news and current events may be, and as long as a day goes... something about this guy gives me that minute and 12 seconds of prozac i need, watch you'll see:



freakishly funny!

and i'm happy i'm relaxed... i need to invite this guy over to my house! i kid, i kid.

ya Rabbi, it just hurts to see this

.... Not to mention U.S. supplied and funded Israeli terror --- Thus far (as of 8/3/06)






http://www.respectcoalition.org/?ite=1127

i'm only 20 min. in the film

I need to finish watching this, subHan Allah it's a really nice collection of videos displaying the history of the atrocities committed by the Zionist Devils

click here

Does the U.S. really want "Democracy" in the Middle East?.... You tell me...

that pretty much sums it up...

to be continued... -smiles-

Dealing with an Arab Father

Rule #1 - Do not go to a sisters house "alone" when you want to ask to get to know her better for marriage purposes!

Unless: your parents are overseas, dead, or in jail

Rule #2 - If you cannot bring a parent bring an uncle, brother, sister, the more family you bring the better!!!

Rule #3 - Praise, praise, and more praise. The more you praise the father and his daughter the more points you get.

Ex: "There is no one quite like your daughter `amo, you have done an excellent job in your upbringing!" -now let's see a big smile-

Rule #4 - If you are asked, "How will you support my daughter?" Do not say, "We'll both have to work." (Twisted Arab mentality: Woman shouldn't work)...

Try this:
Father: How will you support my daughter?
Brother: By the Rizq of Allah I plan to shower your daughter with money! (and to keep your word, just drop a couple of penny's on her after you get married)
Father: So, how much money do you make?
Brother: Enough to shower your daughter with money
Father: How much is that exactly?
Brother: More than my fingers can count [Hopefully the brother has more than 10 cents]

-smiles-

... to be continued.