This look is familiar.
When I do it they say it’s oppression but when they do it’s protection.
8.31.2009
Isn’t it Ironic?
8.29.2009
My veil, your mask
I’m a new niqabi and its ironic that I started wearing the veil right round the time folks started donning masks to protect against H1N1, a.k.a. swine flu.
There are two types of masks: surgical masks are designed to keep your germs in, while N95 respirators are designed to keep germs out. So, if you want to ward off the virus by wearing a mask, you would wear the N95 type.
According to William Schaffner, a professor at Vandebilt University School of Medicine: “…masks that are worn properly tend to be uncomfortable, it will fit snugly over both the mouth and nose, which can make a person feel warm and even claustrophobic…an N95 respirator, which must be properly fitted to form an airtight seal against the skin, can make it hard to breathe.”
I’ve got a friend who used to wear niqab and had difficulty breathing. Praise God, I haven’t experienced that. I believe that some types do make breathing difficult and surely Allah did not intend that for his servant.
In any case, it never dawned on me that my thin piece of fabric could even begin to protect me against the dreaded virus. Then today I came across an article that says there are doctors who say women do not need to wear medical face masks to guard against swine flu if they instead wear a suitable veil. I’m not sure what they mean by “suitable”. In any case, I pray that my veil protects me (and others) from not just H1N1 but diseases of the heart.
That cartoon said it all but I forgot to say…
Please forgive me. I forgot to acknowledge the cartoonist from yesterday’s post.
It’s Saudi Gazette’s own “Shaf”. Click here and browse through previous Ma’alish by Shaf cartoons.
8.28.2009
It’s Ramadan: Eat, Drink and be Muslim
“and eat and drink but waste not by extravagance, certainly He (Allaah) likes not Al-Musrifoon (those who waste by extravagance)” [al-A’raaf 7:31]
From the first time I observed Ramadan, I had no idea of its history and great blessings.
The only thing I knew was that going without food made me appreciate food and other aspects of life in a way I never had. Some people are not in touch with their bodies, eating whatever is in front of them and later regretting it (or not). For me, with my first Ramadan, I knew that a small amount of food for iftar could satisfy me and it certainly made me more grateful than a lavish or large amount of food.
But many born into Islam seem to have developed a culture of feasting in Ramadan that deeply disappoints me। If you are invited for iftar you will find a spread fit for a king when all you really want is a simple meal, the kind our prophet Muhammad (salallahu aleihi wa salaam) would eat. You appreciate the company and sharing a special moment. But your host insists that you eat more and more and you feel obliged to satisfy him at the expense of your observance of the sunnah itself.
The prophet Muhammad (salallahu aleihi wa salaam) said: “The son of Adam does not fill any vessel worse than his stomach; for the son of Adam a few mouthfuls are sufficient to keep his back straight। If you must fill it, then one-third for food, one-third for drink and one-third for air.” Narrated by al-Tirmidhi, 2380; Ibn Maajah, 3349. Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in Saheeh al-Tirmidhi, 1939).
How many women spend more time in the kitchen in Ramadan than any other time of year। Shouldn’t they be spending more time in front of the Qur’an and behind the imam in prayer than any other time of year? Here’s a picture that says it all:
Allah acts as a witness of that hard work she does in her kitchen to please her family and guests, but he also sees that family and those guests eating in excess and leaving that woman to clean up the subsequent mess and begin preparing the next feast, all at the expense of her prayers and reading Qur’an। How many women are working full time outside the home these days and still trying to keep up with such unislamic demands during Ramadan?
Is not Ramadan, a great month for contemplation? Then we should contemplate this:
Al-Haakim narrated that Abu Juhayfah (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “The more people eat their fill in this world, the more hungry they will be on the Day of Resurrection।”
Allaah knows best।
I did not inherit Islam, I reverted to this way of life in my mid twenties. I came to Islam via life experience (the school of hard knocks) and simple layman’s logic. Along with a growing faith, it is that simple layman’s logic that has kept me committed to this way of life. It is that logic that confirms in my heart that Ramadan is not about a five course meal at sunset or spread out through the night. It is that simple logic that tells me it is wrong for anyone to discourage my efforts to eat more than the simplest of foods in Ramadan. I understand Ramadan to be the month of prayer and simplicity, so let us save the feasting for Eid ul Fitr.
note: The title of this post is an adaptation of a King James biblical phrase “eat, drink and be merry”. Simply being Muslim makes me merry!
4.08.2009
Divide and Conquer: When Faith Saves the Day
If you were running for your life, would you seek refuge in a place where the evil gather?
1.11.2009
People of the Book – The Jews You May Not Know About
Growing up in suburban New York, I made lots of Jewish friends. I enjoyed eating matzos with cream cheese at my Jewish piano teacher's home and I once enjoyed a Passover seder at the home of a South American Jewish friend when I was in college. Even after becoming a Muslim, I got on well with Jewish colleagues while working for the US's largest public housing agency. In fact one of my colleagues used always say we, as Muslim and Jew, were cousins. We often found similarities in our worship of God. When I lived in Spanish Harlem, I used to see a sister in the Laundromat often and we became friends. Like me she covered her hair and wore long skirts. Like me she was married to a man with a beard. Like me, she had small children and hoped to find a better life for them than what we lived at that time and place, me a Muslim and she a Jew.
Now living in Malaysia, I have no contact with Jewish people except for those I've seen on the internet and on TV since the rise in violence in Gaza these past few weeks. This past week I have wondered about that sister I use to chat with in the Laundromat. I wonder if she ever migrated to Israel as she once mentioned. I wonder how many of the Jewish people I came to think of as my distant cousins are aware of the real history and the ugly truths of current day Palestine.
I know them to be good God fearing people who would be outraged if they only knew. But I imagined that they are rare.
I am happy to say that I have been enlightened today. In the wee hours of this morning I have come across the names of numerous Israeli human rights groups. I have seen the testimony of Jews who are aware of the atrocities of the Zionist regime and deeply regret that they dare to represent all of jewry.
I've chosen to share one of the groups with you.
According to their website: B'TSELEM - The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members. It endeavors to document and educate the Israeli public and policymakers about human rights violations in the Occupied Territories, combat the phenomenon of denial prevalent among the Israeli public, and help create a human rights culture in Israel.
I'm so pleased to find that they exist and surprised that the Zionists have not rooted them out. In fact, look what I found at their website?
B'Tselem invites you to see video footage of Israeli human rights violations.
1.10.2009
Increasing Awareness
When there is a shortage of electricity and you are under attack, what choices must you make?
You are wanted in Bangsar January 18th.
Here's what COMPLETE is doing on the 18th. Please join us and bring your friends.
1.09.2009
Standing up for Palestine
From South American head of state to an American congressman,
from George the British parliamentarian to George the writer/educator/humanitarian,
Round the globe people are forming a unified voice of protest,
A voice of outrage
For this crisis in Palestine that just will not die
After gaining a true understanding of the history of this struggle, how could anyone sit silently? What can each of us do to fight for justice, not just in Gaza but in this world? Each of us has the power to make a difference, however small. It's up to us to find our own way to be a rightful citizen of the world.
Don't Blame the Jews
All Jews are not Zionists
Two hours after the shelling of the school in Jebaliyah, in which 40 refuge-seekers, including entire families, were murdered, an Arab-Jewish protest against the war took place in Jaffa.
It was one of the many demonstrations against the war which take place practically every day now throughout Israel.
Visit
Jews Against the Occupation
Jews for Justice for Palestinians
GAZA – A Call to Action – From PJ to Gombak
A group of concerned people have formed Coalition of Malaysian NGOs Against Persecution of Palestinians and will be launching a ' Save the Palestinians' campaign on the 18th of January.
They are also known as COMPLETE. Check out their website to find out about actions people are taking in the Kuala Lumpur area.
http://completemalaysia.blogspot.com/
GAZA update – no lies included
Who was killed in Gaza violence From December 27, 2008 – January 8, 2009?
While the media report Israeli violence as retaliatory, the fact is that
in every cycle of violence Palestinians are killed first and in far
greater numbers. In the uprising that began in fall of 2000, 140
Palestinians were killed before a single Israeli was killed in Israel; 82
Palestinian children were killed before a single Israeli child was killed.
Palestinian resistance groups only began launching their mostly
small, home-made rockets after many years of Israeli invasions. The
recent truce was broken by Israel on Nov. 4 with the killing of 6 Gazans,
at which time Palestinian rocket fire resumed.To date Palestinian rockets
have killed a total of 28 people. In 2008, Israelis killed over 850
Palestinians and Palestinians killed 35 Israelis.
Palestinians are indigenous to the land; Israel was created in
Palestine 60 years ago through the violent expulsion of over 750,000
Christians and Muslims in a colonial enterprise to create a Jewish state.
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