the sad thing about working amongst Muslims

as salaam alaykum,

Allah has given us His noble book along with the Sunnah of His beloved Rasul salallahu alayhi wasallam wherein there is guidance for all of humanity. Given this, you would expect that from our community you would find the diamonds in the dirt who implement the morals, justice and patience along with all other aspects that create positive character and personality.

I have been blessed to meet some exceptional people, but what I found was more than that I have been given an open view to what is so very wrong with us. More than anything I have seen slander, tale-bearing, hostility, anger, grouping and what you could actually term as bullying.

O ye who believe! Let not some men among you laugh at others: It may be that the (latter) are better than the (former): Nor let some women laugh at others: It may be that the (latter are better than the (former): Nor defame nor be sarcastic to each other, nor call each other by (offensive) nicknames: Ill-seeming is a name connoting wickedness, (to be used of one) after he has believed: And those who do not desist are (indeed) doing wrong. (The Noble Qur’an – Al-Hujurat 49:11)

Our prophet salallahu alayhi wassalam defined the Muslims as those who support each other… like bricks on the same foundation. Where do those teachings go when a person decides to ridicule, mock and speak badly of another Muslim behind their back?

The greatest lesson has been to never judge a book by it’s cover. I see beyond niqab and hijab now. Yes, that is admirable… but I have the opportunity to know sisters who struggle with niqab and have needed more support with hijab but they are beautiful inside. They hold their tongues, have good intentions and avoid unnecessary conflict with others. When you speak ill of someone, you are actually giving away your good deeds so we say Alhamdulillah to you and JazakAllah khairan for adding to our scales on the Day when all matters are cleared and justice is done.

I leave this post with a reminder for us all:

Whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day should speak a good word or remain silent. (Bukhari, Muslim)

The beauty of good memories

السلام عليكم

I grew up with a wonderful extended family in South Africa. My father is the second born, from a family of 7 children. My grandparents doted on us and being the first grandchild I was never given the opportunity to cry as a baby. I was bounced from uncle to aunt to uncle and back. Life was good. There is always a downside and Allah has made us imperfect. Jealousy and envy are human qualities that have existed from the first sons of Adam AS and where there is so much love and affection there is bound to be some form of fitna that comes with the shayateen and their whispers. Even if it occurred as a child, you don’t forget those moments where as a six year old, an adult shows you hostility and tries to cause you some form of sadness. Jealousy is a poor excuse to to bully a child.

لا حَوْلَ وَ لا قُوَّةَ اِلَّا بِاللّهِ

There is no Might or Power except with Allah

But those moments were minute and they were not blood relation. When I think of my childhood, I mainly recall my family and everything good. My weekends were spent staying at my grandmother’s, with my uncle and aunts and enjoying the best moments that Allah has blessed me with.

My father’s three sisters share a maternal bond with me. Bai and Banu took me everywhere with them. They treated me as if I was their own daughter. I grew up spending a lot of time at my grandmother’s house being bathed by them, taught how to bake, plant and pretty much everything. My Khairoon fui used to get me cassettes of “Mary Poppins” and “The sound of Music” and although the strictest of the three, her morals and respect were always admirable to me. Each, along with my uncle and parents, have shaped my character and personality today.

I was reminded of that today when, at uni, I checked my mail on my phone and saw this…

Hi Zahira,

I know I never write to you or communicate with you, but that does not mean I do not think about you,

I think your children are soooo beautiful, mashallah,

And Sabah looks like such a good child I almost want to just get on a plane so I could spend some time with them,

Cant you just bundle her up and send her to me ….

I felt everything in me light up. This was from Banu, one of my aunts who had looked after me so much, and who I think of often.

Alhamdulillah for all of Allah’s blessings in our lives, who has given us family and placed love and affection in them. They may be far away, but always remembered in my duaas. Allah have mercy on them, they cared for me too when I was young. Ameen.

Lesson plans & Resources

as salaam alaykum

I’m going to start using my blog to collect my resources together inshallah. I plan for Islamic Studies and Art & Design for my year 1 class, and additional resources according to the plans of the teacher I job share with and inshallah they can help other muslim teachers and homeschoolers.

a comment on YouTube

السلام عليكم

I am learning surah kahf at the moment [its going slow =( ] and hearing the recitation helps me… so I check out YouTube videos sometimes to help a bit… on this video the person who uploaded it had this posted under information:

Please Allah as the listener listens to this, please heal my son,nephew and niece who have autism. I also have a nephew and a niece,daughter,mom,dad,wife,sister in law and brother that I love and I ask Allah to keep them healthy.

Sympathy just overwhelmed me. You really value health and sanity when you struggle with your most beloved in this dunya, the ones who Allah gave you from your own self… and watch them suffer in confusion.

Ya Allah, I long for that day – when we are united in a better place, a perfect place where our defects are rectified and we see You in Your Majesty. Alhamdulillah You have been so merciful to us. Too merciful. You give us trials so we can draw near to You and purify ourselves. Alhamdulillahi Rabbil ‘Alimeen.

Ya Allah give our brother, who shared the ayat, good health… a long life in submission to You, and ease his pain. ameen.

no more fish =(

as salaam alaykum

The fish are gone. The tank is empty outside. And we all feel a bit sad.

But it was for Dhuha’s well being and health. She was determined to get to the fish food no matter where we tried to keep it, and she did everything possible to get to the fish water. In the end, heavy garden slabs of stone on top did not even deter her in the slightest. And we were always surprised by what we found in there as we walked past the tank and got a glimpse of an object that stood out amidst the decor.

Our fish have been with us for a long time. The whole thing was so beautiful mashallah. The way it looked at night with the lights on, the sound of the filter and water during the night when I was lying in bed deep in thought. The amazing colours and unique features of the tropical fish, a reminder of the beauty of Allah’s creation.

I really miss our fishies =’( they were our family pets after all… I especially feel bad for Sabah. When she left for madressa, she had no idea that her dad was going to get rid of everything. She came home to find it was gone, and broke down on the spot. What do we do though…? It’s a sacrifice because Dhuha can’t control herself, and does not understand. May Allah replace Sabah’s loss with something better, ameen, as we are going to (maybe) get a cat again, inshaAllah.

the fishies

as salaam alaykum,
We had bought Dhuha a fish tank over a year ago because she loved it at the sea life center. Recently she has been quite difficult to deal with though, even catching her drinking the fish water (major EWWW) and just chucking every thing she can into the tank. Abu Dhuha then has to fish it out, rant for a while, threaten to throw everything away, and basically clean up the mess. I’d be sad if the fish had to go, but nothing stops Dhuha from nearly killing them every time…

T is for Temper =@

السلام عليكم

The other day Sabah and her dad had an argument (can’t remember what about, I tune out when they have a go at each other) and Sabah went to her room. About an hour or so later, She came down with her book ‘A to Z of Akhlaaq’ and just showed her dad page 22, telling him there’s something he needs to see:

T is for temper that we should not lose

Shaitan gets to be very happy

When we blow our fuse

Whatever had happened was a minor thing… but she was obviously thinking about it, and that anger is from Shaitan and came to advise her daddy, lol.

~Eid ul Fitr 1432~

السلام عليكم

Haafidh Ibn Hajr said: “We have related in ‘Mahaamiliyaat’ with a chain of narration, which is hasan, from Jubair bin Nufair, who said: “The Companions of Allah’s Messenger (sallallahu alaihi wa-sallam) when they met on the day of Eid, would say to each other:

تَقَبَّلَ اللَّهُ مِنَّا وَمِنْكَ

‘Taqabbala Allahu minna wa minkum’

“May Allah accept it from you and us” [Fath al-Baree (2/446)]

The night before Eid we were all elated. We pulled out our decorations for this year and started baking. Sabah was intent on making cupcakes and put all her effort into creating gorgeous sparkly little cupcakes.

Here are some pics of the night before Eid and our decorations:

Here are some pics of the wonderful day, yawmul Eid ul Fitr: