Sing children of the world

Nasheed by Dawud Wharnsby Ali

Wise words

This was written by Baba Ahmad while in prison. You can read more about him here.


“Life is a book with many chapters. Some tell of tragedy, others tell of triumph. Some are dull and ordinary, others intense and exciting. The key to success in life is to never stop on a difficult page, never to quit on a tough chapter. Champions have the courage to keep turning the pages because they know that a better chapter always lies ahead, because with Allah all things are possible.”

This is Who I am?

Salaah @ Malls





I recently went for a short, splendid weekend visit to Pretoria. I was pleasantly surprised to note that two of the malls I had visited, had Salaah facilities for men and women. (No more performing Salaah in fitting-rooms!) I was especially thrilled by the Musallah (fondly referred to as ‘J.K.’ =Jamaat khana in South Africa) in the Menlyn Park shopping centre.WOW! It was certainly the best I’ve ever visited, its interior design was spectacular and made me feel as if I was in some posh Muslim country abroad (interesting too, is that the embassies are based in Pretoria and so there’s many foreign Muslims visiting Menlyn). It even has toilets catering for the needs of Muslims – awesome!

A big “Thank You” to the Muslim community that were part of building this Musallah in one of the most convenient places ever.





 

















No more excuses for missing Salaah whilst shopping!

What would you do in this case? (Number 2)

You take your Qur’an to a public place (e.g. university) and neatly place it on your desk. Moments later, your close, non-Muslim friend exclaims “wow! Is this your ‘bible’?” and subsequently picks it up with a somewhat sense of awe. Besides informing her of the correct name- Qur’an, do you:

(more than one option may be chosen)



   A. Scream out “Don’t touch! Not for infidels!”

   B. Let it be (say nothing) – it’s part of being a tolerant Muslim.

   C. Allow her time to place it down and then explain why she should refrain from touching the Qur’an again.

   D. Label your Qur’an with a “Do NOT touch. Unless you’re a Muslim in Wudu” sign.

   E. Other (please specify).

Superiority complex or Inferiority complex

I went shopping today (yay!) and I saw some Muslim sisters (yay! again). Now, when you see Muslims in Bloemfontein – it’s something to be very excited about because unlike most of the other South African cities, the Bfn Muslim community is very small (though it is growing). Getting back to my story – I looked at them and attempted greeting them. But, I was unlucky enough not to get even a smile back in return! Okay, I was only trying to practice on the Hadith (to the effect): “Spread Salaam amongst yourselves”. And if you don’t want to greet its fine with me - I had three other totally strange Afrikaner non-Muslim ladies greet me. I thought it was supposed to be part of Islamic culture to greet other Muslims but it seems that not everyone likes to practice this. Bad thing is that the one who was trying to initiate the Salaam is left standing with a bit of a shocked expression and half-spoken words.

On this topic of greeting – have you ever had the experience of trying to greet fellow (female, in my case) Muslims especially from the African continent - and they just walk past you? I feel somewhat insulted. I don’t know if it’s because they think they are superior or inferior to me? WTH, we’re all the same and hey, I’m technically African too! Maybe I’m misinterpreting their lack of reaction but I as far as I know its Waajib to reply to a Salaam. 

Please let me know

Salaam 'Alaikum!

I added a Feedjit gadget.:) I think one of the best parts of blogging for me is seeing the different countries that visit my blog. It just gives me such a thrill to see Pakistan, India, Italy, UK,USA and the latest Czech Republic (eish, I didn't know where that is) listed under 'stats'. However, I've noticed that since I added the Feedjit gadget - my denim background has totally disappeared, & is replaced by plain white. I have NO idea how and why that happened. Please let me know if it's the same for you - or is there just something wrong with my network connection?

Update (16 Oct. 10):

It seems that my background disappearance condition was self-limiting. My blog has fully recovered from its day of total pallor. :)