My Qur'aan Teacher

This year we have a new teacher who teaches us Qur'aan. She reads Quraan very very beautifully Maashallaah. She came to our class wearing dark black specs. She was holding on to the walls for support as she walked.

What I want to say is that she cannot see. But I don't think she can be called blind.

Rasha

Salmaan and Suhayb

Assalaamu'alaykum wa rahmatullaahi wa barakaatuhu

Last weekend we were invited over for tea to someone's place. They had a huge beautiful house , painted green like in a story and built near a hill overlooking a huge field. The wind whipped our abayas when we got off. Lots of kids in there. They were the nicest, friendliest, best behaved, cutest, kindest kids we have ever met. We stayed for dinner.

Their names?
2 of them were called Salmaan and Suhayb!! we looked at each other and smiled :))

Run up to Ramadan

Sha’baan is the name of the (eighth) month, and it is so called because in this month the Arabs used to disperse (tasha’’aba) in search of water, or it was said that they dispersed to carry out raids and forays. Or it was said that it is so called because it sha’aba (branches out or emerges) i.e., it appears between the months of Rajab and Ramadaan. The plural forms of the word Sha’baan are Sha’baanaat and Sha’aabeen.

Usaamah ibn Zayd (may Allaah be pleased with them both) said: “I said, ‘O Messenger of Allaah, I do not see you fasting in any other month like you fast in Sha’baan.’ He said, ‘That is a month to which people do not pay attention, between Rajab and Ramadaan, and it is a month in which deeds are lifted up to the Lord of the Worlds. I like for my deeds to be lifted up when I am fasting.’” (Narrated by al-Nasaa’i, see Saheeh al-Targheeb wa’l-Tarheeb, page 425).

أللهم بلغنا رمضان

A Caller: As salaah, yaa Rasoolullaah!

Bilâl was a black slave belonging to Umayyah ibn Khalaf. He was tall, thin and slightly hump-backed. Thick grayish hair crowned his head. He moved about silently - speaking only in reply. He was born to two slave parents, making him a slave. He used to travel to ash-Sham for Umayyah's trading caravan, braving the bitter cold of winter and the extreme heat of summer. His only recompense was a handful of dates each day that he ate to strengthen his body. At his master's house he would serve the guests while going hungry. He was overworked and mistreated as were Umayyah's other slaves.

Bilâl would often hear about Muhammad sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam, and Islâm, through the alarming dicussions between his master and guests. Soon he felt drawn to this religion. He would listen to Abu Bakr calling to Islâm, and slowly his heart was filled with eemaan. He went with Abu Bakr to the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam and declared his submission to Islâm. This was a daring move from a slave who belonged to a staunch enemy of Muhammad. He was the seventh person to accept Islâm. Abu Bakr and others of the same tribal status, were spared from harm by the Quraysh. However, the wrath of the disbelievers fell upon the Muslims who had no tribe to defend them.

Umayyah ibn Khalaf used to force Bilâl to go outside during the hottest part of the day wearing a suit of armour where he would then be thrown face down in the sand and leave him to bake in the sun. He would not return except to turn him on his back. He owuld have a gigantic rock placed on his chest and then say, "You will stay here until you die or deny Muhammad and worship Al-Laat and al-Uzzah." Bilâl used to endure this only by saying, "Ahad, Ahad." Abu Bakr passed by one day while they were torturing him. He said to Umayyah, "Have you no fear of Allâh that you treat this poor man like this?" Umayyah replied, "You are the one who corrupted him, so you save him from his plight!" Abu Bakr replied, "Then sell him to me, you can state your price." Umayah who was not to let a good deal pass by, sold Bilâl, he added, "I would have sold him to you even if you had offered me but an ounce of gold." Abu Bakr answered, "I would have bought him even if you asked a hundred ounces." Abu Bakr and Bial went to the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam with the good news. There he announed, "I am setting Bilâl free, O Messenger of Allâh." This greatly pleased the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam not to mention Bilâl himself.

When the Muslims were settled in Madinah, Islâm became firmly established - salah, zakat and fasting were instituted. In the beginning, Muslims gathered for salah at the appointed times without being summoned. Later the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam thought about using a trumpet like that the Jews used to summon to salah. He disliked the idea and ordered a clapper to be made to be beaten at salah times.

Then Abdullah ibn Zayd came to him and said, "O Messenger of Allâh, I had a dream last night. A man wearing two green garments came to me holding a bell, so I offered to buy it. When he asked me what I wanted it for, I told him that it was to summon people to salah, whereupon he offered to show me a better way. It was to say four times: 'Allâhu Akbar', then to say twice: 'Ash-hadu allaa ilaaha illa Allâh', then twice: 'ash-hadu anna Muhammadar rasoolullah', then twice: 'hayya 'alas-salah', then twice: 'hayya 'alal-falah', then 'Allâhu Akbar, Allâhu Akbar, laa ilaaha illa Allâh.""It is a true vision insha Allâh," said the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam adding, "Go and teach it to Bilâl for he has a more beautiful and far reaching voice."

For the first time Madinah resonated with the adhaan as Bilâl was saying it. It was only fitting that the one who uttered the word of Tawheed under the harshest of torture should utter it during the adhaan. When Umar heard the adhaan he rushed to the Prophet and said, "By the One Who has sent you with the Truth I had the same dream about it!" "Revelation has already preceded you," replied the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.

Badr was a day etched in Bilâl's memory. Quraysh was inflicted a heavy defeat and many were taken prisoner. Among them was Umayyah. When Bilâl saw him, the memories of what he, and other Muslims, has endured in Makkah came rushing back to him. He exclaimed, "The arch-enemy of Allâh - Umayyah ibn Khalaf! May I not live if he lives!" Now Umayyah was Abdur-Rahman ibn Auf's prisoner, and this fact dissuaded Bilâl from attacking Umayyah himself. But, because Bilâl kept crying these words, one of the sahabah killed Umayyah with his sword.

The Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam entered the conquest of Makkah not as a proud conquerer, but as a humble servant of Allâh. He bowed his so low that it almost touched his mount. After he ordered that all idols be destroyed, he stood at the door of the Ka'bah and said, "There is no god but Allâh alone. He has no associate..., O Quraysh, Allâh has taken you from the haughtiness of jahillyiah and its veneration of ancestors. Man springs from Adam and Adam sprang from dust," then he recited verses from the Qur'an until he said, "Verily the most noble of you in Allâh's sight is the most pious." [49:13] He ordered Bilâl to make the adhaan on the rooftop of the Kab'ah. Hearing his voice, a disbeliever exclaimed, "Look at this black man!" His friend replied, "When Allâh hates someone he turns him to the worst."

Histroy however attests that Bilâl occupied a distinguised position among the Prophet's companions. Umar would often say, "Abu Bakr is our master and ne freed our master." Meaning Bilâl. But Bilâl would say, "I am only a man who used to be a slave."

Bilâl was muathin (the caller to salah) during the time of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam. After he would make adhaan, he would stand at the Prophet's door and say, "Hayya 'alas-salah, hayya 'alal-falah, the salah O Messenger of Allâh."

The sweet days with the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam soon came to an end. Everyone in Medina wept over the death of the dearest man ever on the earth. Bilâl was aked to make adhaan before the burial of the Prophet. He started the call, "Allâhu Akbar...", but when he came to the name of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam he was sobbing so heavily, he could not continue. He said, "By Allâh I will not say the adhaan anymore."

Bilâl asked the khilafah, Abu Bakr, to allow him to go to ash-Sham for jihaad, he spent the rest of his life there. He made adhaan only twice since then. The first was when Umar came to ash-Sham. The second was when he visited the tomb of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam in Madinah. Upon hearing his voice, people started to cry for it reminded them of the days of the Prophet sallallaahu 'alayhi wa sallam.
On his death bed, Bilâl's last words were, "Tomorrow you will meet you loved ones, Muhammad and his companions." He died in Alippo at the age of sixty four. His memory is still alive with us today whenever we hear the adhaan.

source: alJumuah magazine

A Foreigner: The Slave from Persia

This is a story of a seeker of Truth, the story of Salman the Persian, gleaned, to begin with, from his own words:
"I grew up in the town of Isfahan in Persia in the village of Jayyan. My father was the Dihqan or chief of the village. He was the richest person there and had the biggest house.
Since I was a child my father loved me, more than he loved any other. As time went by his love for me became so strong and overpowering that he feared to lose me or have anything happen to me. So he kept me at home, a veritable prisoner, in the same way that young girls were kept.
I became devoted to the Magian religion so much so that I attained the position of custodian of the fire which we worshipped. My duty was to see that the flames of the fire remained burning and that it did not go out for a single hour, day or night.

My father had a vast estate which yielded an abundant supply of crops. He himself looked after the estate and the harvest. One day he was very busy with his duties as dihqan in the village and he said to me:
"My son, as you see, I am too busy to go out to the estate now. Go and look after matters there for me today."
On my way to the estate, I passed a Christian church and the voices at prayer attracted my attention. I did not know anything about Christianity or about the followers of any other religion throughout the time my father kept me in the house away from people. When I heard the voices of the Christians I entered the church to see what they were doing. I was impressed by their manner of praying and felt drawn to their religion. "By God," I said, "this is better than ours. I shall not leave them until the sun sets."

I asked and was told that the Christian religion originated in Ash-Sham (Greater Syria). I did not go to my father's estate that day and at night, I returned home. My father met me and asked what I had done. I told him about my meeting with the Christians and how I was impressed by their religion. He was dismayed and said:
"My son, there is nothing good in that religion. Your religion and the religion of your forefathers is better."
"No, their religion is better than ours," I insisted.
My father became upset and afraid that I would leave our religion. So he kept me locked up in the house and put a chain on my feet. I managed however to send a message to the Christians asking them to inform me of any caravan going to Syria. Before long they got in touch with me and told me that a caravan was headed for Syria. I managed to unfetter myself and in disguise accompanied the caravan to Syria. There, I asked who was the leading person in the Christian religion and was directed to the bishop of the church. I went up to him and said:
"I want to become a Christian and would like to attach myself to your service, learn from you and pray with you."
The bishop agreed and I entered the church in his service. I soon found out, however, that the man was corrupt. He would order his followers to give money in charity while holding out the promise of blessings to them. When they gave anything to spend in the way of God, however, he would hoard it for himself and not give anything to the poor or needy. In this way he amassed a vast quantity of gold. When the bishop died and the Christians gathered to bury him, I told them of his corrupt practices and, at their request, showed them where he kept their donations. When they saw the large jars filled with gold and silver they said.
"By God, we shall not bury him." They nailed him on a cross and threw stones at him. I continued in the service of the person who replaced him. The new bishop was an ascetic who longed for the Hereafter and engaged in worship day and night. I was greatly devoted to him and spent a long time in his company.
(After his death, Salman attached himself to various Christian religious figures, in Mosul, Nisibis and elsewhere. The last one had told him about the appearance of a Prophet in the land of the Arabs who would have a reputation for strict honesty, one who would accept a gift but would never consume charity (sadaqah) for himself. Salman continues his story.)
A group of Arab leaders from the Kalb tribe passed through Ammuriyah and I asked them to take me with them to the land of the Arabs in return for whatever money I had. They agreed and I paid them. When we reached Wadi al-Qura (a place between Madinah and Syria), they broke their agreement and sold me to a Jew. I worked as a servant for him but eventually he sold me to a nephew of his belonging to the tribe of Banu Qurayzah. This nephew took me with him to Yathrib, the city of palm groves, which is how the Christian at Ammuriyah had described it.
At that time the Prophet was inviting his people in Makkah to Islam but I did not hear anything about him then because of the harsh duties which slavery imposed upon me.
When the Prophet reached Yathrib after his hijrah from Makkah, I was in fact at the top of a palm tree belonging to my master doing some work. My master was sitting under the tree. A nephew of his came up and said:
"May God declare war on the Aws and the Khazraj (the two main Arab tribes of Yathrib). By God, they are now gathering at Quba to meet a man who has today come from Makkah and who claims he is a Prophet."

I felt hot flushes as soon as I heard these words and I began to shiver so violently that I was afraid that I might fall on my master. I quickly got down from the tree and spoke to my master's nephew.
"What did you say? Repeat the news for me."
My master was very angry and gave me a terrible blow. "What does this matter to you'? Go back to what you were doing," he shouted.
That evening, I took some dates that I had gathered and went to the place where the Prophet had alighted. I went up to him and said:
"I have heard that you are a righteous man and that you have companions with you who are strangers and are in need. Here is something from me as sadaqah. I see that you are more deserving of it than others."
The Prophet ordered his companions to eat but he himself did not eat of it. I gathered some more dates and when the Prophet left Quba for Madinah I went to him and said: "I noticed that you did not eat of the sadaqah I gave. This however is a gift for you." Of this gift of dates, both he and his companions ate.
The strict honesty of the Prophet was one of the characteristics that led Salman to believe in him and accept Islam .

Salman was released from slavery by the Prophet who paid his Jewish slave-owner a stipulated price and who himself planted an agreed number of date palms to secure his manumission.
After accepting Islam, Salman would say when asked whose son he was:
"I am Salman, the son of Islam from the children of Adam."

Salman was to play an important role in the struggles of the growing Muslim state. At the battle of Khandaq, he proved to be an innovator in military strategy. He suggested digging a ditch or khandaq around Madinah to keep the Quraysh army at bay. When Abu Sufyan, the leader of the Makkans, saw the ditch, he said, "This stratagem has not been employed by the Arabs before."
Salman became known as "Salman the Good".

He was a scholar who lived a rough and ascetic life. He had one cloak which he wore and on which he slept. He would not seek the shelter of a roof but stayed under a tree or against a wall. A man once said to him:"Shall I not build you a house in which to live?" "I have no need of a house," he replied. The man persisted and said, "I know the type of house that would suit you." "Describe it to me," said Salman. "I shall build you a house which if you stand up in it, its roof will hurt your head and if you stretch your legs the wall will hurt them."

Later, as a governor of al-Madain (Ctesiphon) near Baghdad, Salman received a stipend of five thousand dirhams. This he would distribute as sadaqah. He lived from the work of his own hands. When some people came to Madain and saw him working in the palm groves, they said, "You are the amir here and your sustenance is guaranteed and you do this work!"
"I like to eat from the work of my own hands," he replied.

Salman however was not extreme in his asceticism. It is related that he once visited Abu ad-Dardaa with whom the Prophet had joined him in brotherhood. He found Abu ad-Dardaas wife in a miserable state and he asked, "What is the matter with you."
"Your brother has no need of anything in this world," she replied.
When Abu ad-Dardaa came, he welcomed Salman and gave him food. Salman told him to eat but Abu ad-Dardaa said, "I am fasting."
"I swear to you that I shall not eat until you eat also."
Salman spent the night there as well. During the night, Abu ad-Dardaa got up but Salman got hold of him and said:
"O Abu ad-Dardaa, your Lord has a right over you. Your family has a right over you and your body has a right over you. Give to each its due."

In the morning, they prayed together and then went out to meet the Prophet, peace be upon him. The Prophet supported Salman in what he had said.
As a scholar, Salman was noted for his vast knowledge and wisdom. Ali said of him that he was like Luqman the Wise. And Kab al-Ahbar said: "Salman is stuffed with knowledge and wisdom--an ocean that does not dry up." Salman had a knowledge of both the Christian scriptures and the Quran in addition to his earlier knowledge of the Zoroastrian religion. Salman in fact translated parts of the Quran into Persian during the life-time of the Prophet. He was thus the first person to translate the Quran into a foreign language.

Salman, because of the influential household in which he grew up, might easily have been a major figure in the sprawling Persian Empire of his time. His search for truth however led him, even before the Prophet had appeared, to renounce a comfortable and affluent life and even to suffer the indignities of slavery. According to the most reliable account, he died in the year thirty five after the hijrah, during the caliphate of Uthman, at Ctesiphon.

copyright@Alim

A Stranger: The Son of Sinan

Suhayb ar-Rumi

About twenty years before the start of the Prophet's mission, that is about the middle of the sixth century CE, an Arab named Sinan ibn Malik governed the city of al-Uballah on behalf of the Persian emperor. The city, which is now part of Basrah, lay on the banks of the Euphrates River. Sinan lived in a luxurious palace on the banks of the river. He had several children and was particularly fond of one of them who was then barely five years old. His name was Suhayb. He was blond and fair-complexioned. He was active and alert and gave much pleasure to his father.

One day Suhayb's mother took him and some members of her household to a village called ath-Thani for a picnic. What was to be a relaxing and enjoyable day turned out to be a terrifying experience that was to change the course of young Suhayb's life forever.
That day, the village of ath-Thani was attacked, by a raiding party of Byzantine soldiers. The guards accompanying the picnic party were overwhelmed and killed. Ali possessions were seized and a large number of persons were taken prisoner. Among these was Suhayb ibn Sinan.

Suhayb was taken to one of the slave markets of the Byzantine Empire, the capital of which was Constantinople, there to be sold. Thereafter he passed from the hands of one slave master to another. His fate was no different from thousands of other slaves who filled the houses, the palaces and castles of Byzantine rulers and aristocrats.

Suhayb spent his boyhood and his youth as a slave. For about twenty years he stayed in Byzantine lands. This gave him the opportunity to get a rare knowledge and understanding of Byzantine/ire and society. In the palaces of the aristocracy, he saw with his own eyes the injustices and the corruption of Byzantine life. He detested that society and later would say to himself:"A society like this can only be purified by a deluge."

Suhayb of course grew up speaking Greek, the language of the Byzantine Empire. He practically forgot Arabic. But he never forgot that he was a son of the desert. He longed for the day when he would be free again to join his people's folk. At the first opportunity Suhayb escaped from bondage and headed straight for Makkah which was a place of refuge or asylum. There people called him Suhayb "ar-Rumi" or "the Byzantine" because of his peculiarly heavy speech and his blond hair. He became the halif of one of the aristocrats of Makkah, Abdullah ibn Judan. He engaged in trade and prospered. In fact, he became quite rich.

One day he returned to Makkah from one of his trading journeys. He was told that Muhammad the son of Abdullah had begun calling people to believe in God alone, commanding them to be just and to do good works and prohibiting them from shameful and reprehensible deeds. He immediately enquired who Muhammad was and where he stayed. He was told.
"(He stays) in the house or' al-Arqam ibn Abi al-Arqam. Be careful however that no Quraysh sees you. If they see you they would do (the most terrible things to you). You are a stranger here and there is no bond of asabiyyahi to protect you, neither have you any clan to help you."

Suhayb went cautiously to the house of al-Arqam. At the door he found Ammar ibn Yasir the young son of a Yemeni father who was known to him. He hesitated for a moment then went up to Ammar and said: "What do you want (here), Ammar?" "Rather, what do you want here'?" countered Ammar. "I want to go to this man and hear directly from him what he is saying." "I also want to do that." "Then let us enter together, ala barakatillah (with the blessings of God)."
Suhayb and Ammar entered and listened to what Muhammad was saying. They were both readily convinced of the truth of his message. The light of faith entered their hearts. At this meeting, they pledged fealty to the Prophet, declaring that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah. They spent the entire day in the company of the noble Prophet. At night, under cover of darkness, they left the house of al-Arqam, their hearts aglow with the light of faith and their faces beaming with happiness.

Then the familiar pattern of events followed. The idolatrous Quraysh learnt about Suhayb's acceptance of Islam and began harassing and persecuting him. Suhayb bore his share of the persecution in the same way as Bilal, Ammar and his mother Sumayyah, Khabbab and many others who professed Islam. The punishment was inhuman and severe but Suhayb bore it all with a patient and courageous heart because he knew that the path to Jannah is paved with thorns and difficulties. The teachings of the noble Prophet had instilled in him and other companions a rare strength and courage.

When the Prophet gave permission for his followers to migrate to Madinah, Suhayb resolved to go in the company of the Prophet and Abu Bakr. The Quraysh however found out about his intentions and foiled his plans. They placed guards over him to prevent him from leaving and taking with him the wealth, the gold and the silver, which he had acquired through trade.
After the departure of the Prophet and Abu Bakr, Suhayb continued to bide his time, waiting for an opportunity to join them. He remained unsuccessful. The eyes of his guards were ever alert and watchful. The only way out was to resort to a stratagem.

One cold night, Suhayb pretended he had some stomach problems and went out repeatedly as if responding to calls of nature. His captors said one to another:
"Don't worry. Al-Laat and al-Uzza are keeping him busy with his stomach."
They became relaxed and sleep got the better of them. Suhayb quietly slipped out as if he was going to the toilet. He armed himself, got ready a mount and headed in the direction of Madinah.
When his captors awoke, they realized with a start that Suhayb was gone. They got horses ready and set out in hot pursuit and eventually caught up with him. Seeing them approach, Suhayb clambered up a hill. Holding his bow and arrow at the ready, he shouted: "Men of Quraysh! You know, by God, that I am one of the best archers and my aim is unerring. By God, if you come near me, with each arrow I have, I shall kill one of you. Then I shall strike with my sword."
A Quraysh spokesman responded: By God, we shall not let you escape from us with your life and money. You came to Makkah weak and poor and you have acquired what you have acquired.."
"What would you say if I leave you my wealth?" interrupted Suhayb. "Would you get out of my way?" "Yes," they agreed.
Suhayb described the place in his house in Makkah where he had left the money, and they allowed him to go.
He set off as quickly as he could for Madinah cherishing the prospect of being with the Prophet and of having the freedom to worship God in peace. On his way to Madinah, whenever he felt tired, the thought of meeting the Prophet sustained him and he proceeded with increased determination. When Suhayb reached Quba, just outside Madinah where the Prophet himself alighted after his Hijrah, the Prophet saw him approaching. He was over-joyed and greeted Suhayb with beaming smiles.
"Your transaction has been fruitful, O Abu Yahya. Your transaction has been fruitful." He repeated this three times. Suhayb's face beamed with happiness as he said: "By God, no one has come before me to you, Messenger of God, and only JibriI could have told you about this." Yes indeed! Suhayb's transaction was fruitful.

Revelation from on high affirmed the truth of this:
"And there is a type of man who gives his life to earn the pleasure of God. And God is full of kindness to His servants." (The Quran, Surah al-Baqarah, 2:2O7).
What is money and what is gold and what is the entire world so long as faith remains! The Prophet loved Suhayb a great deal. He was commended by the Prophet and described as preceding the Byzantines to Islam.

In addition to his piety and sobriety, Suhayb was also light-hearted at times and had a good sense of humor. One day the Prophet saw him eating dates. He noticed that Suhayb had an infection in one eye. The Prophet said to him laughingly: "Do you eat ripe dates while you have an infection in one eye?" "What's wrong?" replied Suhayb, "I am eating it with the other eye."

Suhayb was also known for his generosity. He used to give all his stipend from the public treasury fi sabilillah, to help the poor and those in distress. He was a good example of the Quranic verse: "He gives food for the love of God to the needy, the orphan and the captive." So generous was he that Umar once remarked:"I have seen you giving out so much food that you appear to be too extravagant." Suhayb replied: "I have heard the Messenger of God say: 'The best of you is the one who gives out food.'"
Suhayb's piety and his standing among MusIims was so high that he was selected by Umar ibn al-Khattab to lead the Muslims in the period between his death and the choosing of his successor. As he lay dying after he was stabbed by a Magian, Abu Lulu, while leading the Fajr Salat, Umar summoned six of the companions: Uthman, Ali, Talhah, Zubayr, Abdur Rahman ibn Awl, and Sad ibn Abi Waqqas. He did not appoint anyone of them as his successor, because if he had done so according to one report "there would have been for a short time two Khalifahs looking at each other". He instructed the six to consult among themselves and with the Muslims for three days and choose a successor, and then he said:
"Wa-l yusalli bi-n nas Suhayb - Let Suhayb lead the people in Salat."

In the period when there was no Khalifah, Suhayb was given the responsibility and the honor of leading the Salat and of being, in other words, the head of the Muslim community. Suhayb's appointment by Umar showed how well people from a wide variety of backgrounds were integrated and honoured in the community of Islam.

Once during the time of the Prophet, a hypocrite named Qays ibn Mutatiyah tried to pour scorn and disgrace on sections of the community. Qays had come upon a study circle (halqah) in which were Salman al-Farsi, Suhayb ar-Rumi and Bilal al-Habashi, may God be pleased with them, and remarked:
"The Aws and the Khazraj have stood up m defence of this man (Muhammad). And what are these people doing with him'?" Muadh was furious and informed the Prophet of what Qays had said. The Prophet was very angry. He entered the mosque and the Call to Prayer was given, for this was the method of summoning the Muslims for an important announcement. Then he stood up, praised and glorified God and said:
"Your Lord is One. Your ancestor is one. Your religion is one. Take heed. Arabism is not conferred on you through your mother or father. It is through the tongue (i.e. the language of Arabic), so whoever speaks Arabic, he is an Arab."

copyright@Alim

Cockroach Sandwich

Cockroach Sandwich

You will need:
1. A samooli bun

2. A bowl of cheese or cream or cream-cheese

3. A couple of juicy fat cockroaches from the millions that are crawling all over your house


How to make:
1. Cut the bun in two halves

2. Spread the spread

3. Add the cockroaches for crunch

Enjoy! Tastes best with orange juice!!

Back to School

Ed: As Rasha-Rida go back to school tomorrow, I have conflicting emotions.
A part of me is full of trepidation, for I have just tasted a little bit of what they face every day, which I ask them to "shrug off"...not knowing how hard it is to shrug off hurt ...

A part of me is proud that MaashaAllaah they are getting on in school, learning a lot, growing up. I remember exactly how old I used to be in grade 4...

A part of me -- the selfish part -- is happy that I am free for 5 whole hours !!

do three parts make a whole?

Innaa lillaahe wa inna ilayhe raaje'oon

Many Killed in Gaza Incursion
Hisham Abu Taha, Arab News

JABALYA, Gaza Strip, 10 September 2004 — Israeli forces thrust into Gaza’s largest refugee camp yesterday, killing four Palestinians including a nine-year-old boy, as the army tightened its grip on the northern part of the coastal strip.

Scores of gunmen fought a column of tanks and armored vehicles as Israeli troops took up positions in and around the teeming Jabalya camp in an operation the army said was aimed at stopping rocket fire into Israel. Helicopter gunships fired missiles into the camp of 100,000 Palestinians as Israeli forces sealed it off in Israel’s biggest incursion in the northern Gaza Strip in months.
Munir Al-Deqqes was shot in the chest while playing with friends outside his grandfather’s house, witnesses said. “How can anyone blame children playing in the street?” said the boy’s uncle. “Munir was a victim of blind Israeli retaliation.”
At least 35 people, including fighters and civilians, were wounded by Israeli fire, medics said.

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Assalaamu'alaykum!
Bismillaah ir Rahmaan arRaheem

so we were getting bored of our old design and .............long story.....................cut short to........... Question: Does everyone who reads this blog like the new look???

R-R

Wanted: A Family

Wanted: Loving Family To Adopt Scholar As 'Granddad'
By Peter Popham in Rome
The Independent - UK
8-31-4

"Seventy-nine year old seeks family in need of a grandfather. Would bring Euro500 a month for a family willing to adopt him as a "granddad au pair." This is the plaintive small ad offered for the classified pages of Rome's newspapers this week by Giorgio Angelozzi, a widower.

So startling is his cry for help that yesterday, Italy's best-selling daily paper, Corriere Della Sera, splashed the story across its news pages. The warm, welcoming Italian family of old is vanishing, they fear.

For 40 years Mr Angelozzi taught Latin and Greek at Liceo Giulio Cesare, one of Rome's most sought-after high schools. "I watched an army of people go by," he sighed. "Now I find myself begging for human contact. Life wanted to teach me a lesson."

Italy has one of the lowest fertility rates in the world; high rents and poor nursery school and social security provision deter most couples from having more than two children. But it is paying the price for making parenthood a luxury: depopulated villages, a shrinking workforce, increasing dependence on Third World immigrants to do the jobs that Italians treat with disdain. And then there are the widows and widowers of Mr Angelozzi's generation.

Today three million Italian pensioners live alone, and the number is increasing rapidly. There are 10.5 million Italians above the age of 65 - nearly 20 per cent of the population. With increasing longevity, that number is expected to rise to 15 million in the next 20 years.

But not all are willing to resign themselves to a long, lonely finale. Mr Angelozzi has eye problems and gets the shakes in his arms, but his brain is as alert as ever. For 40 years he stuffed his head with classics.

"Literature is my drug," he said. "I studied with the Jesuits for eight years, and by my third year of high school I had read 3,000 books." Today the only beneficiaries of that knowledge and passion are Mr Angelozzi's seven cats. His wife Lucia, one year his junior, died suddenly in 1992, and his daughter Loredana left home that year. He believes she is a medical volunteer in Afghanistan. "The last time she phoned me was at Easter," he said sadly. "But I don't blame her, she's following her interests, she didn't want to have children of her own so she could work full time as a doctor."

Of old age he says, the passing years are like the hours of the day: from 40 to 60 the aspect is the same as that of the sun on a summer's day from 2pm to 4pm. But suddenly night and old age arrive. "Now," he lamented, "just making my bed tires me out. But I'm not finished with dreaming." Mr Angelozzi's dream is that a lifetime of learning and passion for classics might be of use to someone, somewhere: a child or grandchild whose family might repay him with a little gratitude and affection. It doesn't seem a lot to ask.
"Quidquid calcaveris rosa fiat," he said, pulling a Latin tag from the hoard in his head. "Wherever rain falls, a rose blooms."

© 2004 Independent Digital (UK)

Things to do...

Ed: Every year just before school starts, we [Rasha, Rida and I] sit down and make a list of things to do during the term. At Half Term we check whether we're still on track. And at the end of a school year we mentally tick off all that we did. Things we didn't do get carried over to the next school year...it's our annual stock-taking ritual...muhaasaba

Rasha: inshaAllaah,beidhnillaah taa'alaa

• I will wake up for fajr and sit and revise the mushaf for at least half an hour before going to school.
• I will hang my clothes and iron them the night before
• I will eat my breakfast and finish my milk at home instead of leaving it for the car:)
• I will do my hair on my own, instead of Umma doing it as the year before
• I will hurry up and not make Abba wait for me
• I will not allow people upset me -- even if they talk about Cockroach Sandwiches [tell you later:)]
• I will always keep my note-books clean and neat and not coloured and full-of-stickers
• I will not doodle on my school note-books and things
• I will say {Assalamu'alaykum} to everyone I meet.
• I will do my homework on time.

Rida:

1. I will wake up for fajr and read Surah Yaseen and Surah Rahmaan
2. I will exercise for half an hour or at least 20 minutes before school
3. I will finish my milk [Ed:and not hide it under the table or leave it in the kitchen]
4. I will try and be more friendly with girls in school
5. I will not lose all my sketch pens every week,I hope.
6. I will not allow anyone to tease me.
7. I will improve my handwriting
8. I will try and get Maths sums right always
9. I will not read storybooks when I'm supposed to be studying
10. I might make lots of friends just when I enter school...you neverknow