Do you love your Hijab?

To answer this question though, first we must understand why we wear it at all right?

The simple and only answer is, because it is what Allah SWT has instructed us to do.

True, in some parts of the world women wear hijab only because its part of their traditions and customs.
But for a Muslimah (Arabic word for Muslim women), the sole purpose of wearing a Hijab is because Allah has instructed us to cover ourselves.

Allah has revealed in Surah An-Noor (24:30):
“And say to the believing women that they cast down their looks and guard their private parts and do not display their ornaments except what appears thereof,
and let them wear their head-coverings over their bosoms,
and not display their ornaments..”

Since we understand that we are wearing our Hijabs to follow Allah’s commands, the question now is….why do you love your Hijab?

Living in these tropics, under a mostly parching sun, in extreme humidity, throwing on an additional layer of clothing over our heads and neck is anything but pleasant on some days.
The amount of sweat that continuously dries underneath our hijabs only to be replaced by more, and the annoying routine of how frequently we have to tie our freshly washed lovely hair in a damp bun to go about our day isn’t easy for any of us.
Nervous about our hair stinking up the place from under our hijabs and with most of us already developing chronic dandruff, a Hijab often becomes a bit of a nuisance.

But despite it all, we really do love our Hijabs dont we?
Ultimately at the end and throughout the day, our Hijabs were worth every bit of sweat, unpleasantness and stress we sacrificed for it, wasn’t it?
So why, do we love our Hijab so much then?

I think the simple truth is that, it’s because we are content with following God’s command.
❤

*End*

Can a woman on her menses (or period) get the rewards of the day of Arafat?

We all know how blessed a day the Day of Arafat is.

The ninth day of Dhu’l-Hijjah (or Hajju mass as we locals call it) is the Day of ‘Arafat.
It is the day when pilgrims stand on the plain of ‘Arafat to pray.

On this day, Muslims all over the world who do not witness the annual Hajj should spend the day in fasting.

Why do we fast on this day?

Prophet Muhammed, upon whom be peace, said:

“Fasting on the Day of ‘Arafah absolves the sins for two years:
the previous year and the coming year.”

All sins of the past year and the year ahead will be forgiven on the Day of Arafah.

Any practicing and obedient Muslim would no doubt want these extraordinary blessings granted by the Mercy of Allah SWT.

So how can a woman on her menses or period gain these blessings?

While it is Haraam for a woman on her period to fast, there are a lot of things we can do despite our periods.

By doing these acts of worship with pute intentions, we can also hope to be granted the full blessings of the Day of Arafat.

Only Allah SWT knows and wills His mercy. And He is Most Merciful.

Things we can do:

1- Listen to the Quran Recitation.

2- Read the thafseer (details) and translation/meaning of the Quran.

3- Do excessive Dhikr night and day.

Some examples of dhikr:

○Asthaghfirullah

○Subhaanallah

○Alhamdulillah

○Allahu Akbar

○Laa ilaaha illallah

○La hawla wa la quwwatha illa billahi-hil aliyyil adheem

4- Make dua and make repentance.

5- Learn Islamic knowledge.

Read a couple of books or watch a few videos about something you didn’t know before on Islam. And teach your kids or family or friends about it. Pass along the torch and gain blessings in return.

6- Love and help your parents.

7- Show the best manners, character and conduct on this blessed day.

8- Give to charity.

Spend in the way of Allah as much as you can for charity extinguishes sins save one from the fire.

So there you go ladies. Dont be sad that you’re missing out on the fast of the Arafath Day. There’s a lot we can do and Our creator is the Most Merciful 🙂

May Allah grant us women, the men, our loved ones and the Muslim Ummah the full blessings of the Day of Arafath.
Aameen

❤

*End*

Conversation with my taxi driver last night

As soon as I got in the cab and he started driving, my taxi driver started talking.

“Kokko aiyy negeema mi huttee.
Aslu dhen nimmaalaafa baavvan mi dhanee kaaru.
Dhen aiyy negeema huttaalee.
Ekamu mihen bunyas adhi geyah dhevey iru vedhaane ithuru gadi ireh.
Ehaa undhagoo park kuran. Nufennaane hama park kuraane thaneh!
Reygaves ehenve naaran car dhuvvaakah.”

* Pause here – (Kommes kamakaaa hihh hama nujehigen reyga kaarah neyri vaahaka Beybe bunee.
I didn’t quite catch what had happened…but it definitely had something to do with him not finding a space to park his car).

*He continued:

“Avahah faiban ulhunas nuvey.
Park kuraane thankolheh nulibigen.”

* He suddenly pointed out a Cyke on the side parked selfishly in the middle of a parking zone taking up a lot of space:

“Meeneenun balaala!
Balaala Cyke baindhaafa inn goiyy!
Eyga aiyylan dhen kereyne? Nukereyne mashakah.
Eyga aiyylan kerunu meehakah dhen ethaa park kureveynee.
Anekka aiyy liyas nimunee ey!”

*He pointed out an empty bit of another parking zone:

“Anhaa balaala!
Eyndhee thankolheh. Varah heyo varu hama.
Ekahala thankolheh ves hama nulibeyne!
Magakah vadhejjeyaaves hunnan jehenee nikumeveyne baa ey hithah araafa.
Mihiree echehi dhuvvaa varu.
Aslu Kokko aiyy negeema mi huttee. Ehen noon nama mihaaru ulheynee park kuran”

*He went on and on about cramped roads and limited parking, and after a while the car turned down my road.

I told him: “Beybe adhi kureega eyndhee ge.”

And he went:

“Aan dhen kuriyakah nun mihira dhevenee.
Kuriyah thaa dhen dhaanee.
Eyru aslu e fenunu thankolhu eh ee hama ge kairi ey.
Kokko aiyy negeema huttee. Ehen noon nama ethankolhu libunees.
Dhen dhaanee libeytho balan kokko laafa.”

*He stopped the car infront of my house.

I gave him the fare and told him: “Varah bodah Shukuriyya Beybe.”

He turned around to me with a smile and said:

“Aan Shukuriyya.

Alhamdhulillahi.”

I felt so bad for this sweet old man who was worrying over parking spaces everyday, but was persisting at his job to earn the moneys.

Last night he even had to give up the empty parking spot which he had spotted too late, because he wanted to help me out and give one last ride before the tedious parking spot hunt that would delay his going home even further!

I was so sure that by the end of the trip he would be completely annoyed with me for causing him the additional delays, yet, despite all his frustrations, the last words he said to me were “Alhamdhulillahi” , and that was absolutely beautiful to witness!!

Thank u Beybe, for reminding me of how to be grateful for not only all the good, but also for all the frustrations in life as well. And to take it all with a smile! 🙂

❤

*End*

How to complete the recitation of the Quran in Ramadan

The Quran has 600 pages, 114 Surahs and 30 Juz’s.
Now if you think about those numbers only, completing the recitation of the entire Quran in Ramadan would seem like a seriously difficult task.

But there’s a super easy way to complete the Quran.
1- Make the intention to complete reciting the Quran.

2- Target to complete ONE Juz’ per day.

3- Divide the Juz’ some more, to distribute the recitation throughout the day.

4- So if u want to complete 1 recitation of the Quran this month, recite only 4 pages after every Salah in a day.

5- If u wanna complete 2 recitations, recite 4 pages before and after every Salah in a day. And so on.

Pretty easy now right?

If u get too overwhelmed, recall and remember your intention to complete the Quran and get motivation from these hadiths.

Prophet Muhammed Sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam said:
“The best of you is he who learns the Quran and teaches it to others.”
[Bukhaari]
He, sallallaahu alayhi wa sallam, also said:
“Recite the Quran, because on the Day of Resurrection, it will come as an intercessor for those who recite it.[Muslim]

So lets get started people.

For the first Day of Ramadan– The first Juz’ is Juz’ 1:

From Surah Al-Faathiha verse 1 to Surah Al-Baqarah verse 141.

May Allah guide us and make this task easy for us.
Aameen.

-End-

“Assalaamu Alaikum”

How would the residents of Paradise greet one another?

When the believers enter paradise they will be greeted by the words “Assalaamu Alaikum” meaning May Peace be upon you.
And this is the greeting the dwellers of Paradise will stick to .

Allah has revealed:
“And those who believed (in the Oneness of God and His Messengers and whatever they brought) 
and did righteous deeds, 
will be made to enter Gardens
under which rivers flow,
– to dwell therein forever,
with the Permission of their Lord.
Their greeting therein will be, ‘Salaam’ !”
(Quran 14:23)

*End*

The silent miracles you didn’t know about!

Did you also know that it’s not only scientific miracles that are found in the Quran???

The Quran is a miracle!
In it, are heartwarming words of wisdom, of guidance, of warnings, of instructions.
In it, are also signs of our Creator’s magnificence and wonder.

We read about or hear about the mind boggling scientific miracles mentioned in the Quran which have strangers to Islam wonder about HOW a person (Prophet Muhammed pbuh) from more than 1400 years ago, could have known to pass on a message about such a miracle. Often these scientific miracles are proved by scientists only in recent years once the technology was invented.

So what other kind of miracles exist in the Quran?

I’m talking about something so fascinating that it will surprise you that you never knew about this before, although you may not understand it in full comprehension…especially if you don’t know the language of the Quran…Arabic.

Yup! I’m talking about the linguistic miracles found in the Quran.

The Quran also has in it, absolutely mindboggling words, phrases and sentences of Arabic, that only a linguistic expert can fully appreciate the miracle of it. Just like how a scientist can fully understand a scientific miracle.

Here’s an example of one such miracle:

From the verse 3 of Surah Al-Mudhaththir;

وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ

(And your Lord do glorify) -74:3

Note: The “وَ “ at the beginning of the verse means “And” and it is used here to begin the sentence. So, what I am talking about is the next bit of the verse (رَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ).

Pause here. Do you know what a palindrome is?

A palindrome is a word, phrase, number or other sequence of characters which reads the same backward as forward.
A word like “Madam” or “racecar” is a palindrome. It’s spelled the same backwards and forwards, therefore it can be read from any direction without losing the pronunciation.

Now, composing a palindrome is a difficult thing.
Quick! Think of a palindrome in your own language. If you’re thinking of a 3 letter word, think of a 4 letter palindrome. How about 5? 6? Or 7?….Not the easiest task eh?

Now that you know what a palindrome is….getting back to the verse  “رَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ “, believe it or not, this verse is not a palindrome word, but it’s actually a palindrome SENTENCE!

Yup! The whole sentence is a palindrome. It can be spelled and read the same backwards and forward!

رَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ

The letters are arranged as ر ب ب ك ف ك ب ب ر

Notice the Palindrome??!!

(The ب is repeated twice side by side, therefore as per Arabic grammar the two ب are merged when pronouncing the words which gives a small jump to it or a Shaddhah or “thashjeedhu”)

Our Prophet pbuh was not a literate. He could neither read nor write. He was born into an Arabic community that had no rules of governance or education. Social rules were heavily restricted to mere family ties which resulted in a people who prided their kinship and tribe’s honour above anything else.
Education and development were the least of their worries. Although they spoke a form of Arabic, it was by no means even close to being fine and eloquent or adequate.
Composing poetry and stories by those who did have a knack for it fell short of creating perfect literature.

Because the people stemmed from such backward roots, they were in shock and awe of the illiterate, yet brilliant and gifted Prophet pbuh and His message from God.

Both his enemies and followers had nothing but admiration for him.

When they first heard the Quran it had such a powerful impact on them, because they had NEVER heard anything like it before.
Those who opposed him attacked with vehemence and fear. They called him a magician and all sorts of names, yet all the while vary of these beautiful verses he was reciting.
Those who followed him had their hearts melting and they listened in wonder and love for our Creator for giving such a beautiful gift as the Quran to mankind.

So imagine the wondrous grip the Quran would have had on their hearts when they heard this palindrome!!
A palindrome! To a people almost barbaric! Which came to them from a person among them!
And this isn’t the only palindrome in the Quran!
And neither is a palindrome the only linguistic miracle in the Quran!

Truly it’s no wonder that Islam spread so fast and so wide and so suddenly then, even defying the efforts of the then mighty Romans and Persians!

Fast forward to today, and since the appearance of the perfect Arabic in the Quran, the Arabic spoken language have been refined and taught responsibly to the passing generations.

However, even though we have really talented and learned scholars of the Arabic Language and Arabic poetry today, NONE of them can even come close to composing even a single sentence as that of one in the Quran. NO other language can compose anything so amazing either.
They are simply baffled by the Quran. And those of Islamic faith, well this helps to affirm their faith even more.

The Quran is simply perfect!

Even with my very, very basic knowledge of the language, I myself get blown away by how easy on the ears and heartwarming and beautiful it sounds when reciting or studying it.

The eloquence of the Arabic sentences and phrases in the Quran obviously supersedes anything in the world today.

This is why God has challenged mankind:

“Say: ‘If all mankind and the jinn would come together to produce the like of this Quran, they could not produce its like even though they exerted all and their strength in aiding one another.’” (Quran 17:88)

“Or do they say that he has invented it? Say (to them), ‘Bring ten invented chapters like it, and call (for help) on whomever you can besides God, if you are truthful.” (Quran 11:13)

“And if you all are in doubt about what I have revealed to My servant, bring a single chapter like it, and call your witnesses besides God if you are truthful.” (Quran 2:23)

 *End*

 

 

Oh how we long for Paradise!

“[To the righteous it will be said], “O reassured soul,

 

Return to your Lord, well-pleased and pleasing [to Him],

 

And enter among My [righteous] servants

 

And enter My Paradise.”

Quran, Surah Al-Fajr – 89:27 to 30

The last verse of this Surah always makes me break down in tears.

Have you ever heard a more beautiful phrase?

What would you give to enter into Paradise for the first and last time until eternity (which we cannot even comprehend)?

 

How blessed and full of hope is this verse!

 

How simply magnificent!

 

Can u even imagine the day when your Creator, the Lord of all that is created, would address you and give permission to enter Paradise?

 

I cant even comprehend what that would feel like.

I can only understand the longing.

 

Oh how I long.

Oh how we long for Paradise!!

 

The answer lies in faith and worship.

Just a few years on this earth, and if we remain faithful with repentance, it’s Paradise that shall be granted.

 

Oh how we long! ❤️❤️❤️

*End*

I’ve decided to do a bit of research on the history of Maldives

Yesterday I decided to take up a new hobby and do a bit of research on the history of Maldives, In Sha Allah.

So I wondered where I could get reference materials for this research and I thought of the Maldives National Library. 
I visited the Library and got a membership from there. 
Quick observation, it was was pretty sad how small the library is. Especially considering that its the one and only ‘national’ library.
There was one section for English books, one for Chinese and Dhivehi books, one for the British Council and another for ancient Dhivehi books apparently.
I walked in expecting a couple of floors of rooms filled with books AT LEAST. But turns out, all of the comparatively limited number of books can sit happily on just the one floor.

Anywho, all you need to apply for the membership was,
a form that could be downloaded,
a ppt sized pic WITH WHITE BACKGROUND…they were quite specific on the form (haha..why!),
a copy of your national ID Card
and MVR 80/-. Easy peasy!
I applied through their reception, and membership was processed in a couple of minutes. 
They told me I could rent out a couple of books at a time.

When doing this research, my first priority area is on the history of Islam in Maldives.

There is so little I know and I heard that there is so little we can know based on the heartbreakingly scarce amount of information available on this topic.

I had a quick look at the books in the library and the content of information about the history of Maldives on the internet, and I’m assuming we can’t get any information on our rich past today due to civil conflicts, low literacy rate, lack of professional historians and writers, limited literacy pioneers, a general adoption of a non progressive and simpler way of life by the majority and perhaps even negligence in the past.

For whatever the reason, the horrible truth is that, the information about our past is simply not there. And the information that we do have is extremely measured, yet we have no choice except to derive conclusions based on it.

I felt quite betrayed by all this. However, I am excited to find out whatever I can from whatever content I can get my hands on.

The first book I choose to analyze, is the Dhivehi translation of the accounts of his travels to the Maldives by the great Muslim explorer, Abu Abdullahi Muhammed Ibn Battoutah from Morocco.
This translation is completed by Uz. Mohamed Ibrahim Luthufee, Special Advisor to the National Institute for Dhivehi Language and History.

Having had an overall look at the book’s contents and a rough scan on the internet, I have decided to blog the details of what I find, which will be split into potions and compiled later, In Sha Allah :).

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ

*End*

If you’re pregnant, just gave birth or are trying to get preggers, my letter is for you <3

AssalaamuAlaikum and Hi, my dearest ladies,

Recently I had two of my closest gals give birth. One of them is a first time mom, and for the other, this is her second child.

Through them, I have seen up close and personal, how bearing a child and giving birth, is as tough as it is magical to see that initial positive test. 

Some women have an even tougher pregnancy with all sorts of overwhelming phenomenons happening to their bodies like gas (ikr!), excessive throwing up, swollen joints, messed up skin and hair etc.
So much for feeling a “GLOW” right?! I’m assuming “the glow” would be the farthest from their minds.

While for others, it is a complete breeze where instead of being uncomfortable and frustrated, the women feel sexy and beautiful.
For these women, its like their “glow” resonates right from within their bellies and outwards through their faces! 

Whatever kind of pregnancy you are/were blessed with, and however you gave birth to your child…whether it’s through a natural delivery or through a C-section, 
I just want to say to all the courageous and strong women, that YOU ARE WARRIORS!!

If you’re feeling blue and having a hard time adjusting to motherhood or feeling overpowered by the constantly changing routine of your baby(ies), please hang on! 
Postpartum depression is very real. It can be the most horrible experience you’ve ever had yet. Yup…Apparently it may even be more difficult to handle than the pain of childbirth itself. And it also becomes extra harder to handle when people who don’t understand it, tends you tell you that it’s no big deal.
But don’t worry. In Sha Allah u will get through this! Realizing what you’re going through is the first step. 

That feeling of doom and claustrophobia stuck in your throat and mind whenever you can’t stop your baby from crying, or whenever you’re so exhausted you’re about to drop or when you start to hate the overweight woman looking back at you through the mirror, or whenever you’re feeling frustrated about finding it hard to adjust to a life at home as a homemaker or whenever you’re feeling extra mad at your poor clueless husband who is doing his best to provide for the fam and to make you happy, 
just know that, like everything in life, this too shall pass, In Sha Allah.

Speak to your loved ones about it. Don’t keep everything bottled in thinking that ‘maybe,  just maybe, perhaps you’re really bad at handling motherhood’. No! That’s not the case at all!
Make your husband understand (if he is around). Make your family understand. Make your friends understand. Talk to them. Seek help in whichever way you are comfortable with, to help yourself get through it.

In Sha Allah, you will come out stronger, more capable, and as a fantastic Mom/Woman.

Enjoy this experience with a lot of patience and care for your own self too. Don’t be impatient with your feelings. Remember that there are a zillion hormones rushing around in your body, giving u all these ridiculous feels as well 😉

So welcome to motherhood ladies!
I’m rooting for you 🙂

PS: Btw, I know nothing about the experience of motherhood yet, and I may be speaking complete rubbish here. Do forgive me for my ignorance, and please ignore what I’ve stated wrong.

Lots of love,
Your Sister
x

“My Week as a Muslim Woman” : A social experiment by Channel 4

Recently I had a friend remark at me with a laughing-with-tears emoji, at how my Burkini doesn’t look chill, when I had uploaded a pic in it, describing how my Burks are comfy and chill.

The sort of insensitive comment from her left me wondering why she had found it important to comment as such,out of the blue.

I came to the conclusion that perhaps it was because she strongly disagreed with how a Burkini might be comfortable and because as a woman who doesn’t wear hijab, she prolly doesn’t understand even a little bit of what it’s like wearing a Burkini.

 

I, myself, in the not so long ago past have ignorantly and shamefully wondered at the whole point of wearing a Niqab or a man’s long beard.

 

It took me a lot of awareness and humility to realize that the whole point of wearing a Hijab or Niqab or even the men rolling up their pants above their ankels and keeping their beards long, was to follow faith….and to follow their faith with devoutness.

 

So even as a Muslim, with some Islamic practices being hard for me to understand at first, it was really interesting for me to watch this social experiment.

 

A white British woman who was used to racially profiling all Muslims as terrorists, lived among Muslims while being dressed as a Muslim for a week….to really find out what life was like for a Muslim.

 

Really enjoyed watching it 🙂

Watch the link here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s1wIfASaz2E