The Adhan

October 25, 2011 at 3:43 am (Islam)
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We are preparing to bring our newborn  baby into the world.  Part of that means announcing the adhan in the baby’s right ear and the iqamah in the left ear.  My husband carries the responsibility for this as we’ve decided he will be in a better position to calmly ensure this tradition is carried on, as we had with our first born also.

 

The purpose of announcing the call to prayer to the baby is so that the first words he or she hears are the invitation to Allah.  Also, whenever Allah is mentioned, Satan will retreat as he fears the name of Allah.  So in that sense, it is a protection for the baby also to be surrounded by Allah and the call to prayer.

I remember living in the city and hearing the call to prayer from the loudspeakers at the masjid.  There is nothing more compelling than to hear this throughout the neighborhood.  It draws you in with its tone and always made me feel like I was part of something greater.  The beauty of the call to prayer is that all over the world, millions of Muslims just like yourself are all gathering to bow down in prayer facing the same direction, bowing down in the exact same manner, using the exact same words, all at exactly the same time, all over the world.  Sometimes I would think of this when I would feel alone in Islam, when I would feel like I stood out when I would excuse myself for prayers or praying in front of others at work.  I would remember that an entire world of other muslims exist out there.

So in that respect, I invite my newborn into this world, into this community of muslims and invite him or her to adhere their prayers and join the beautiful faith of Islam.  I feel so blessed to have been given the gift of Islam in my life.  Alhumdulilla.

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Time to Reflect

October 19, 2011 at 4:46 pm (Islam)

How many new muslims have thrown themselves into Islam with passion and enthusiasm, and then without intention, start to move farther from the closeness we had developed during our initiation?  I know that for myself, going to the masjid was such a moving event for me and so inspiring.   When I had time to myself, I was praying, visiting the masjid, and feeling powerful in my faith, strengthened each day by my prayers.  I was staying on the right path and felt close to Allah.
After my child was born, I stopped praying so often and once returning to work, the life of this world consumed me.  All I had time to focus on was being efficient at work, getting home on time to spend time with my son, and taking care of the household.  My prayers went to the sidelines as everything else but Allah made up my daily routine.  I prayed only intermittently, family and friends fell to the wayside.  I thought of Allah in my commute to work when the amazing colors of the sunrise were right in front of me, but I soon forgot as soon as I walked into the office.  I no longer lived in the present.
Since then bad habits and negativity have essentially replaced what I once filled with my faith.  Care for others, compassion, and a desire to please Allah took a back seat to the hustle and bustle of the here and now.  I criticized, back-bit others, and had a general all-about-me attitude.  Ramadan came and went – never before have I felt so far from Allah.

Allah has blessed me with so much – I have another child on the way.  I am beginning to feel a strong pull back to where I once was – time spent contemplating the words of the Qur’an, meaningful prayers spoken and felt in my heart again.

While it took me a long time to reach this point, I don’t fear it will take me long to reach back to where I was, because I know that with each step I take towards Allah, Allah will cover twice the distance.  All I can do is show my appreciation that Allah is always there to guide us and bring us back.  And although I may have wavered from the straight path, Allah knows what is in my heart and will reach out to bring me back to the right way.  All I must do is open my heart and my mind to the true meaning of this life – praising Allah in all that we say and do.

Today I will thank Allah for the water I drink, for the food I eat.  I will pray and ask Allah to guide me.

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Allah Ma’ak

January 8, 2011 at 1:16 pm (Islam, Prayer)
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There are times where I feel close to Allah and times when I feel far.  When I first reverted to Islam, I never realized how difficult it can be to maintain your deen (faith) in the dunya (life of this world).  I strive daily to carry myself as a Muslim, to remember to be the Muslim I desire to be.

Yet in all things, I am a perfectionist.  I strive to always complete every task with diligence, to work as hard as I can to accomplish the things I demand of myself.  I place heavy demands on my shoulders to be a great mom, a perfect wife, a dedicated employee, an active muslim.

At rare moments, I am granted a reminder that we are not perfect and we are not expected to be perfect, and that sometimes the only thing we can be sure of is that we will never be perfect, because only Allah is perfect.  We as human beings, are not expected to do everything right.  We are not expected to carry all knowledge, as Allah is the one that is all All-Knowing.  Humans commit errors, humans have faults.  We waver on the Straight Path, we sway from one side to another at points in our lives.  But always Allah accepts our return and helps guide us back to the Right Way.

It is unhealthy to place these demands on myself.  When I am praying, I take it easier on myself.  I remember that the only obligation I have in this life is to Allah.  He simply asks us for 5 prayers of worship to him, a gift to us to help us in the dunya, to help strengthen our faith, and to help bring us closer to him.  Daily.  With all that he has blessed us with, all that he asks of us is 5-10 minutes of our time, 5 moments of reflection to bring us back, to remind us of the blessings He has given us and to remind us of our purpose in the Life of this World.

So five times a day we pray the following:

Allahu Akbar (God is great(er))

Subhaana ala humma wa bihamdika
wa tabaara kasmuka wa ta’aalaa jadduka
wa laa ilaaha ghairuk

Glory to You, O Allah, and Yours is the praise.
And blessed is Your Name, and exalted is Your Majesty.
And there is no deity to be worshipped but You

A’uudhu billaahi minash shaitaan ar-Rajeem

I seek refuge in Allah from Satan, the accursed.

Bismillaah ar-Rahman ar-Raheem
Al hamdu lillaahi rabbil ‘alameen
Ar-Rahman ar-Raheem
Maaliki yaumid Deen
Iyyaaka na’abudu wa iy yaaka nasta’een
Ihdinas siraatal mustaqeem
Siraatal ladheena an ‘amta’ alaihim
Ghairil maghduubi’ alaihim waladaaleen
Aameen

In the name of God, the infinitely Compassionate and Merciful.
Praise be to God, Lord of all the worlds.
The Compassionate, the Merciful.
Ruler on the Day of Reckoning.
You alone do we worship, and You alone do we ask for help.
Guide us on the straight path,
the path of those who have received your grace;
not the path of those who have brought down wrath, nor of those who wander astray.
Amen.

Allahu Akbar
Subhanna rabbiyal ‘Azeem (3x)

God is great.
Holy is my Lord, the Magnificent.

Sami’ allaahu liman hamidah
Rabbanaa wa lakal hamd
Allahu Akbar

Allah listens to those who praises Him.
Our Lord, to You is due all praise.
God is great.

Subhaana rabbiyal ‘Alaa
Allahu Akbar

Glory to my Lord, the Most High. God is great.

At Tahiyyaatu lilaahi was Salawaatu wat tayibaatu
As Salaamu ‘alaika ayyuhan nabiyyu wa rahmatul laahi wa barakaatuh
As Salaamu ‘alainaa wa ‘alaa ‘ebaadillaahis saaliheen,
(Hands on knees, raise right forefinger:) Ash hadu allaa ilaah ilallaah
Wa ash hadu anna Muhammadan ‘abduhuu wa rasuuluh

All greetings, blessings and good acts are from You, my Lord.
Greetings to you, O Prophet, and the mercy and blessings of Allah.
Peace be unto us, and unto the righteous servants of Allah.
I bear witness that there is none worthy of worship except Allah.
And I bear witness that Muhammad is His servant and messenger.

Allaahumma salli ‘alaa Muhammadin wa ‘alaa ali Muhammadin
Kamaa sallaita ‘alaa Ibraaheema wa ‘alaa ali Ibraaheema
Innaka hameedun Majeed
Alaahumma baarik ‘ala Muhammadin wa ‘alaa ali Muhammadin
Kamaa baarakta ‘alaa Ibraaheema wa ‘alaa ali Ibraaheema
Innaka hameedun Majeed

O Allah, bless our Muhammad and the people of Muhammad;
As you have blessed Abraham and the people of Abraham.
Surely you are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.
O Allah, be gracious unto Muhammad and the people of Muhammad;
As you were gracious unto Abraham and the people of Abraham.
Surely you are the Praiseworthy, the Glorious.

As Salaamu ‘alaikum wa rahmatulaah

Peace and blessings of God be upon you.
Prayer and the worship of Allah serves to center me.  Before I begin the prayer, I am deeply entrenched in whatever project I am working on, I am weighed down by the pressure of all the things that need to get done – dishes in the sink, laundry unfolded, work-related deadlines.  I start my wudu and the world starts to slow as I focus on the ritual washing of my hands
mouth
nose
face
forearms
head
ears
feet
I lay my prayer rug out before me and now the world is behind me as I step into prayer.  The sounds of the life of this world instantly dull – phones ringing, people chatting, day-to-day life happening around me.  I am enclosed in a connection between myself and Allah and it feels good.  I bow down and speak the words of worship that I have learned to pray, letting their meaning sink into my consciousness from Arabic to English and back again.  I concentrate on my physical movements – upright, bending, kneeling, sujood.  With my forehead placed on the ground, I am humbled in front of the Almighty God, Lord of the Heavens and the Earth and all that is in between.

My soul replenishes.

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I Am Here

October 16, 2010 at 3:08 pm (Islam, Prayer)

I have taken some time off of work to regroup.

Perspective.  I feel as though my blog posts are my time to work out all the craziness that is jumbled up in my mind.  To spew it all out onto the page, so that I can find out what it is I am hoping to say to myself.  Most of the time I don’t have anything figured out until it is looking back at me from the screen.  Blogging is my therapy.

I have a problem relaxing.  It can be difficult for me to clear my head when I attempt to pray.  I start by shutting the door, dimming the lights, and laying out my prayer rug.  I cover my head with a long, heavy, black scarf.  I kneel down on the floor, close my eyes,  and block out the noises in the background.  So that it is just me in the room.  And Allah who is Everywhere.

And then I stand up and start my prayers.  Sometimes the life of this world interrupts my prayers.  I hear a noise in the other room or the cat scratching at the door.  My son is shouting in the living room or my husband is fixing something in the house (that probably didn’t really need fixing.)  I go back to my prayers, repeating the words, focusing hard on their meaning.  I remember Allah and I remember that I am a Muslim.  Sometimes, I cry.

I feel refreshed afterwards.  I feel renewed.  I thank Allah for the gift of worship.  The ability to feel the closeness of Allah, to feel His presence, His greatness.  Ashadu alla ilaha illallahu, Wa ashadu anna Muhammadan abduhu wa rasooluh.

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Several weeks back I was in sujud and I prayed for Allah to show me what I should do.  To guide me, to pick me up, to allow me to hear Him and understand.

I went to a conference yesterday and I carpooled with a lady I work with.  She talked about the ups and downs in her life, how at some points she had wealth and at other times she had nothing.  But her perspective was the same regardless.  She said after a certain point she stopped struggling against life and started to accept where she was.  Instead of trying to force everything in her life to fit how and where she wanted it, she stepped back, relinquished control and accepted it.  She stated that “it is much easier to swim with the current than to fight against the current.”

A close Christian friend of mine and I were discussing the struggles of living our lives in a secular world.  I expressed to her all my fear, my worries, my deep conflict with the direction my life was heading and what I wanted out of it.  She has a beautiful talent to express herself through her religious education and she often makes poignant statements that bring me back to the Right Way.  She reminded me that the life of this world is only temporary.  It is our test.  God gave us the tools [our respective books] to guide us on the Straight Path.  He never said it would be easy.  But He is with us always.

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I have taken more notice lately of the trees changing colors.  The shade of blue of the sky mid-morning.  Birds – the way they fly.  I listened to the songs they sing.  I watched a sunrise.  I experienced a sunset.  If any of you reading this are experiencing similar inner jihad, I strongly recommend you do the same.

Today.

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Allah is the All-Knowing, the All-Aware, the All-Seeing.  He is the Creator.

17:96 (Asad) Say: “None can bear witness between me and you as God does: verily, fully aware is He of His creatures, and He sees all [that is in their hearts].”

42:27 (Asad) For, if God were to grant [in this world] abundant sustenance to [all of] His servants, they would behave on earth with wanton insolence: [31] but as it is, He bestows [His grace] from on high in due measure, as He wills: for, verily, He is fully aware of [the needs of] His creatures, and sees them all.

For more on the 99 names of Allah, please click here.

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Can You See Anything Wrong With This Picture?

October 8, 2010 at 11:16 am (Mommy Anxiety)

There is definitely something wrong with this picture.  I feel my entire life is completely out-of-whack, unbalanced, not sustainable.  I devote 100% of my energy into the things I do not care about deeply (work) and nothing is left over for the things I do care about deeply (Allah, family, and life).  The life of this world has wrapped me up tight in its tornado and I have to find a way to escape.

Things are going to change.  Things are going to get better.  I won’t settle for this any longer.  I wish I hadn’t let it go on for so long, but at least now I am starting on the path towards something better.  I feel sick.  Got to keep moving.

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