Update

It has been a while since I blogged hasn't it? Sorry about that, I haven't been in te best of spirits. i did have a request to do a blog on Ramandan, but I'm having some trouble thinking about anything really. Insha'Allah I will do it. Bt for now brother Wasif is doing a series on Ramadan and doing a very good job masha'Allah. This brother is one of the most sincere people I have ever met, may allah bless him. I hope you guys enjoy the series :)

http://www.youtube.com/user/SipahiWarrior

Just One of Those Days

Some days you just feel like jumping off a bridge. Sometimes you just wanna feel the cold metal of a gun up to your head, Trust me people I get it. in fact today would be one of those days for me.

Some days there will be people who will take your rights. There will be someone who will hurt your feelings. There will be someones feelings that you have hurt and you wish yo could take back a single moment. Sometimes realiaty will shock yo awake and you will see you've dug a hole too big to get out of any time soon. 

Bust just remeber Allah sees you and he sees everyone else too.

And I know it's so hard to look up when yo concentrate on looking down. But look at this pic and think about who's getting farther in this life and in the next. Ameen.

Thanks Rex <3

I was initially going to do a blog about marriage. But I was compelled to say somethin else first. As I sit in the IslamTalk chatroom on www.stickam.com listening to some dawah and doing some dawah myself. And I woul like to extend my personal thanks to brother Rex! (IslamandFriends) on youtube. 

Had he not opened the room I have no idea where we would be. It is an open social ground for muslims to support eachother (which I think is vital these days when alot of people dont even go to the mosque anymore cause of cultural issues, or because they don't event have a Muslim community to support us to begin with) and it's an open ground for people to learn about Islam.

So many people have converted because of the knowledge they have gained on this site and so many muslims LIKE MYSELF have gained so much knowledge.

This was partly inspired due to the fact that I have been looking around and seeing people (including myself) who came onto this site not knowing a thing about Islam, or better yet DEFENDING ISLAM, or DEBATING THEOLOGY. Had brother Rex not set up this room I wpoul have nevre had the pleasure of meeting people like Ozzy or Yayaha or or Iqra or Aim786 or Isomalt orMohsin (Sass) or PB or Rex himself who I have learned so much from! I can pwn most Christains in my sleep and athiests o Lord lol. Maybe in a coma? Hahaha. 

And honestly the support I have got from my brothers and sisters when times were rough HAS BEEN AMAZING.

I LOVE YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH!!!!

JazakAllah kahir to all of you, and where or who I would be. 

Please make du'ah for all of us and esp. Rex and his family. Insha'Allah Allah wil be merciful on us all. He's truely an amazing brother. Please check out his show on youtube. He's done alot to support the ummah, please support him!

http://www.youtube.com/user/IslamandFriends

Woe To Corporate America

Ok so something random I learned today. While I was looking up how zionest own StarBucks I learned a few things. I have always wondered what that stupid logo means. Initally I had thought it was a mermaid but it was brought to my attention that she has two serpent tails, much like that of the demon Melusine. The story goes is she attained this form because her mother had cursed her and so she was defaimed by being a serpent from the waist down. She's also be associated with the demons Siren and Nixie, who were said to lure men to their graves in the deep water with their attractive topless figure an astounding singing. Early Chirstians (who I guess you could say where Muslims) discouraged the idea of mer-people and serpents and thought it to be symbolic of the temptations of life and the deep sea that these creatures lead people to were seen as their ultimate doom.

The word siren actually comes from this goddess/shytan because

the etemology implies that if you were to respond to a siren

it would havesome negative consiquence. Intersting eh?

Also remember L'Oréal? Well guess what that comes from kids? It comes from a story about a maiden, named Lorelei who commited suicide, by jumping off a cliff due to an unfaithful love, and thus become a Siren who lured sea man on passing ships. Well so much or the national image of maintaing beauty lol. I think they symbolisim speaks for itself, possibly refring to how women kill themsevles for a mans attention. Nice job Corporate America.

Finta (Struggles,Tribulations)

As salam alekum wa ruhmutAllahi wa barakatu

My sister brought up (on the last blog) a good point that I have heard in many debates and I would love to address. She said:

"I have faith, and I know when it really matters Allah has been there for me time and time again. That being said, I could see how people could lose their faith, this world is an evil evil place, when you look around and see countries and countries of starving people, or war torn places that just keep getting blown up it's hard to understand why all of this is happening, what the reason for it is? And if people can't make sense out something like poverty, rape, war, and see a logical reason as to why God would allow these things to happen, than it's hard to have faith. I'm just saying, I can understand why someone would lose their faith in this world. I haven't had the greatest life, many, many struggles, but Ahhamdala (I think that was an attempt at "Alhemdlilah" :P)God has been there for me, helping me and guiding me through it all. I can just see how a starving kid laying in ditch would lose faith, or our brothers and sisters caught in Palestine. I hope that they stay strong and I will pray for their faith to stay strong and for things to get better."

I think the first thing we need to take into consideration is that Allah is the Most Just and he never gives us more than we can handle. If there is something we dislike it is from the Hikim(Wisdom) of Allah, and Allah knows best. As a Muslim the closer you get to Allah the more trials and tribulations you will receive. Because belief is not about the tongue, it is about the action. So when you affirm Allah in your heart there is an action associated with your faith. Many people in desolate places have a frim faith even in their conditions. Allah has tested them and even people in abject poverty can be seen with a big smile on their face. So we should not pity them, in fact we should envy them. We have so much finta here in the West. We are constantly being bombarded with a different kind of test. With all our possessions sometimes we have so much that we don't even know what to do with it. This leaves the responsibility on us to do a lot more for our ummah. Those who we pity are not obligated to do these things and do not face the same fitnas. We are each tested in unique ways.

I know it is hard for us sometimes to grasp why things are the way they are, but even if we do not see the benefit doesn't mean its not there. And if it is not there it will be in the next life, because Allah remembers those who remember Him. We can't pity those people because the ultimate reward in the after life is HUGE, they are pretty damn lucky some to think of it. They are purified from their sins by the fitna they face alhemdulilah and this makes them great candidates for Paradise :D Alhemdulilah! The punishment in this life for out sins is much easier than that of the after life, and that's why we should all embrace every trial we have as a way of purifying ourselves, as a way of gaining good deeds. 

People talk about how the Tsunami was a horrible thing because so many people died, but subhanAllah these people died shuhada inshAllah and are going straight to heaven insha'Allah! I kinda wish I was one of them. And after all everything will die in the end, and we will find out final resting place in Jenna insha'Allah. 

This life is too short for us to loose our faith over a tribulation that will be over soon enough. This life is like a drop of water in the ocean, so lets make the best of it. :)

Check this out too guys Why Do Bad Things Happen To Good People

Having Faith In Allah

As salam alekum wa ruhmutallahi wa barakatu

No one has faith in Allah anymore man, and its saddening. The creator of the universe and we can't cut him some slack? Just cause we don't have our prayers answered instantly, or at all we think hes not listening. But has it occured to us that maybe our Lord has something else planned? Allah says if he doesn't answer your du'ah then he will replace what you asked for with something better than it, in Jenna or now. Seriously Muslims need more sabr.

My mother had a dispute a while back about the car. She was CONVINCED she was going to crash it or the brakes where going to go out because of "hasood" (the evil eye). Now I agre the person she was talking about does have an envious gaze. But seriously is his "power" greater than that of Allah? For two weeks we fought about why she should just get in the car and have ome faith in her Lord. I tried to explain to her that these things don't affect believers unless they don't do their du'ahs, and masha'Allah she does do all her du'ahs, but somethings missing in her equation. YOU HAVE TO HAVE FAITH! You gotta believe that Allah is gonna back you up! Or else He's not gonna bother. If He does it is from His and if not it is from His hikim(wisdom). You need to have faith guys. Just make du'ah. We can't forget the words of Allah. Surah Al Falaq is a surah we recite all the time, in salat or before bed etc. But do we even listen to the message anymore? 

قُلْ أَعُوذُ بِرَبِّ الْفَلَق
 Say: "I seek refuge with (Allah) the Lord of the daybreak, 

مِن شَرِّ مَا خَلَقَ
 "From the evil of what He has created; 

وَمِن شَرِّ غَاسِقٍ إِذَا وَقَبَ
"And from the evil of the darkening (night) as it comes with its darkness; (or the moon as it sets or goes away). 

وَمِن شَرِّ النَّفَّاثَاتِ فِي الْعُقَدِ
 "And from the evil of the witchcrafts when they blow in the knots, 

وَمِن شَرِّ حَاسِدٍ إِذَا حَسَدَ
 "And from the evil of the envier when he envies."

Ameeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen

Yah Allah do we need anymore proof? Allahs words always speak for themselves :)

So guys when you are down in the dumbs and it doesn't seem like He's answering, remember He was listening and insha'Allah you will get your reward. Ameen. Always have faith and insha'Allah you have nothing to worry about in this world and in the next. Ameen.

I recited these verses for my mom and she thought about it for a while. Got into the car,and it was fine hehe. 

Stupid Cultural Baggage About Marriage

As salam alekum wa ruhmutAllahi wa barakrtu.

Sigh. Cultural baggage. Something that pisses me off. Esp. when it comes to the topic of marriage. As yo probably know I'm going to be talking from the perseptive of a second gernation arab kid raied in the West.

I hate every single way that arabs perceive marriage, an I can't believe this jahiliah exsists till this day! Muhammad pbh came to free us from this!

I will start with the example that inspired this. As you guys may have read in my previous post "Moving Mountains With Your Misery" I have not been well, and still have exsisting vertigo issues. Meaning I get DIZZY. Even when the vertigo isn't bothering me I'm super clumsy lol. Swear sometimes I feel blond,cause I will be walking and just fall over lol. I also have the tendancy to knock over and drop things randomly. (surprisingly enough, never when I'm cooking haha alhemdulilah). Anyways, my mother always feels the need to pipe in when I have my clutsy episodes." What are you going to do when you are married?." " OMG Noura what WILL YOUR HUSBAND SAY WHEN YOU DO THIS?!" As if it's even something that I can control. So this week I decided to respond by saying, "Well then he can divorce me for falling over every now and then." To which she responded, " Well then great! You won't be a girl anymore and we won't be able to get you married again!"

Sigh there's a few things wrong with that response. For one it implies that she thinks this is a justifiable reason for someone to get divorced :S. Second being that divorced women are like chickens that stop laying eggs; it's off to the slaughter house for you hun. I wouldn't wanna be married to someone that didn't understand my condition, or to someone who wouldn't accept someone who wasn't a virgin. This is NOT the sunnah of Islam, so why does it matter? Countless times in the time of salaf men were encouraged to marry widows and the divorced. Sigh. 

The other thing I resent is how my mother pressures my sister to get married. But not because it is Islams sunnah to get married early on, but because she won't be able to get a 30 yr old married -_-. Dear lord. She also doesn't wanna consider that shes finishing her schooling, and maybe she doesn't feel comfortable with her state in iman (that's mostly my problem actually). These are serious things that one should consider. And on the topic of schooling. NOTHING TICKS ME OFF MORE(!) than when a man says, ok we should get married, BUT I want you to stay at home and work because that is your place,and what Allah made you for >.<

Omg I just wanna stab someone when I hear that! WOMEN WORKED AT THE TIME OF THE SALAF! ARRRRRRRRRRRRG! And I perfectly understand that if you plan to have kids, girl you should be at home with them. But that shouldn't stop a women from getting an education or a job. It's VITAL these days. What if something happens to your husband? What if he's a donkey and divorces you for falling over sometimes? What if he falls ill and you have lots of hospital bills? It's something you have to be prepared for. After 30 yrs my mother was kicked to the curb with 3 kids, and it happens a lot. OR what about the countless women that stay in the abusive relationships because they wonder how to feed the kids. Arg. 

And now when we come to the idea of marriage for me. My mom always tells me I have to loose weight. Not for my health, or the sake of genetics, or cause it's not sunnah, no she says this because I will only find a "fat" man, because I'm "fat". Seriously? Looks are a huge factor I'm aware, but I'm not Frankenstein. And I have been proposed to by plenty of "thin" people so we can throw that theory out the window.

Another thing that pisses me off is when people pity my mother because shes divorced!!! My God. Shes HAPPIER! HEALTHIER! SAFER! FREER! And that goes for her kids too. If we had the chance again we still would have left that terrible household. It's especially entertaining when women who I know suffer at home because their husbands beat them to a pulp come up to my mom in the masjid and randomly bring up a divorce that was 12 years ago, and express their "sympathies". Enjoy getting your face punched in hun. Live for the duniah and what people will say about you. May Allah guide us :(. 

AN ANOTHER THING. I hate how parents get all nervous when a convert asks to marry their child. Either it is blatant racism or they fear that the couple won't get along due to "cultural differences". This is so stupid man. WE DON'T HAVE SUCH A THING IN ISLAM. ISLAM IS OUR "CULTURE". IF WE LIVE BY THE DEEN THEN WE ARE BLESSED! Sigh.You shouldn't judge by how someone was raised, but by his/her salat. If they fast, if they do tahajud salat, whatever you think is important. Cause I could get married to an arab today and get an idiot who lives on welfare. When there's plenty of white and brown and black brothers out there practicing Islam properly.

PLEASE GUYS! When you get married consider these things first.

1. Are you mentally mature.

2. Are you financially ready.

3. Obviously are you physically mature.

4. IS YOUR IMAN STABLE! Have you chose a basic path to follow? Because that cause a lot of issues when you decide later and maybe you find out your spouse is a shi'ah or something. Also yo can't make sound and just decisions when you have no iman!

AND PLEASE GUYS. WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE FOUND THE RIGHT PERSON. MAKE ISTIKHARA, AND ASK ALLAH FOR GUIDENCE!!!! DO THIS BEFORE YOU DECIDE YOU ARE DEDICATED TO THIS PERSON. Remember Johna pbh who left the city without consulting Allah. He ended up in a whale guys. For you want your marriage to be a whale? I don't think so.

Proceed with knowledge and understanding my beloved brothers and sisters <3>