The Best Example

Asalaamu Alaikum,

There is a Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad(saw) that says (yes I’m paraphrasing) that we as Muslims should be the best example to man in the dunya. As a mother it’s sometimes HARD to squeeze in memorable acts of kindness for your kids to see. This past weekend was Humanitarian Day in Baltimore, MD and in Washington, DC. I went to Baltimore because I knew the coordinators there. It was nice. I helped out where I could. I had to take the baby because, well there was no one to watch her. 

On Sunday I went to an iftar at JHU that my sorority’s chapter was sponsoring. I’d never been there so I trekked back up to Baltimore with my two kids to participate in another ‘act of kindness’ that weekend. Amirah helped at JHU, she was the official ‘Bread Server’. Masha~Allah she did a great job.

I pray that at MOST I have been a good example of a good muslimah and human being to my kids.

Ma Salaama

Ummie A

Islamic Relief: Humanitarian Day 2007

Islamic Relief USA is having their 6th annual Humanitarian Day event on September 29-30th in 19 cities across the United States. In sha Allah, a group of us are going together from the Dar us Salaam community in College Park, Maryland by metro to Washington DC to volunteer, feel free to join in the effort this Ramadan. For more information click on the link below:

Humanitarian Day 2007

From the Storehouse: Join Islamic Relief for Humanitarian Day

Ramadan is a Reminder to Help Local Communities

The Muslim Community Center (MCC) in Silver Spring, Maryland and the All Dulles Area Muslim Society Center (ADAMS) in Sterling, Virigina are profiled in this rather positive article from the State Department for their year-round charitable and outreach efforts to the larger community.

USInfo: For U.S. Muslims, Ramadan is a Reminder to Help Local Communities

Faith Social Services

FAITH Social Services in Virginia launched their annual Herndon without Hunger program to hand out food items to people of all faiths and ethnicities that need them last weekend and the program continues each Saturday afternoon in Ramadan. A group of sisters and I carpooled over there today to volunteer and alhamdulillah there was a good turnout.

FAITH also has an iftar program which allows you to sponsor iftars for an individual or a family throughout the month of Ramadan.

Take this moment to donate to FAITH’s Iftaar Program
Your donation will provide iftaar meals for the needy

Donating $40 provides 1 adult his/her iftaar meals during Ramadhan.
$120 provides iftaar for a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 kids under 10).

Make your check payable to “FAITH” with “Iftaar Program” written in the memo line.

Mail to:
FAITH
500 Grove Street
Suite 210
Herndon, VA 20170

May Allah Ta’ala grant us mercy, forgiveness, and freedom from the fire. Ameen.

Ramadan Mubarak!!

Asalaam alaikum,

And so the moon has been sited, the days are longer and the nights are shorter. Those who believe wait reverently on the signs of Allah(swt) to dictate their days and nights. It is a new year, a new opportunity to revel in the many blessings He(swt) has set forth for us in these short twenty-nine or thirty days. Shaytan is held back so our real nefs come out to play. With each day we grow physically weaker but spiritually stronger.

Oh how I long to participate.

Umm Amirah

I’ll Miss You

This poem is given out at a local masjid every year on Eid al-Fitr:

Don’t Be A Chimp…

When I was younger my father always used to tell me this story about a Muslim brother he once knew that had a chimp as a pet. But this chimp was no ordinary chimpanzee. This chimp could pray. According to my father, the brother had taught his pet how to do wudhu(cleansing) and how to raise his hands in takbeer as soon as he heard the words Allahu Akbar (God is Greatest). My siblings and I would always get a kick out of my father’s descrptions of the chimp splashing around in the water while performing wudhu, and how he could do all of the movements of Salat from takbeer to salaams. I still wonder if the story is true or not, my father has a way with tall tales, but now I realize whether it is true or not, there is a moral to the story.

That chimp was only mimicking what he saw others doing. As an animal, he didn’t understand the meaning behind the movements, or why he was performing them. Animals have their own form of worship, and as humans we have ours. But think about it…how often have you allowed yourself to become the chimp in your worship? How often have you simply gone through the motions without any reflection? How often have you allowed the problems and trials of this world to eliminate the khushu from your salat? We’re all guilty of it, I’m afraid.

I remember when I was younger I didn’t take prayer seriously. I guess I didn’t get the “point.” I didn’t understand Arabic, and the words of Qur’an meant nothing to me, may Allah forgive me. It wasn’t until I actually started learning the meaning behind the words and the movements that I began to recognize the importance of them. Now whenever I pray, I try to remember that I am bowing down to my Creator. I try to remind myself of the meanings behind the words and to recite them as though I am in Allah’s presence. However, I’m not perfect. Sometimes, I catch myself rushing through my prayers without any reflection. It saddens me…

Let me give you a parable…imagine that you were making love to your spouse, and the whole time you knew he/she was thinking about Beyonce or Brad Pitt? Wouldn’t that remove all of the love and affection from the act? In a way, that’s what we’re doing when we allow worldly matters to take up our thoughts while we are in prayer.

Each month we move further from Allah (swt). Each month we move closer towards the haram and further away from the halal. We rely on Ramadan to bring us back, to bring us closer to Allah(swt). We depend on Ramadan to remind us of Allah’s mercy, to show us what we are capable of. Now that Ramadan is coming to a close, let’s make an intention to not allow ourselves to continue to be the chimp. Let’s put our full selves, mind, body, and spirit, into our worship. Let’s give Allah(swt) all that our Creator is due. May Allah make it easy for us, inshallah….