Better than a Thousand Months

"Why don’t Muslims celebrate Christmas, Dad?" my daughter asked.
As Nora Maryam spoke, we stopped at a red light.
I looked across the front seat of our pickup truck only to see the back of her head. She was gazing wistfully out of the window at the brightly colored Christmas lights and decorations. I smiled. I was also hearing her other question, the one she hadn’t asked. It was a little after sunset, and we were driving past a shopping center near San Francisco. The stores were full of people buying gifts. Even the jazz station on our truck radio was playing Christmas carols. The flatbed of our pickup was full of wood for our fireplace at home. The sunset, the lights, the music. It all felt so ... so ... magic.

When I didn’t answer right away, Maryam turned to look at me. She saw my smile and returned it. She knew I was going to tell her a story. And I happen to be a pretty good storyteller. Right about then the light turned green and we continued on our way.
"You’ve got a point, Sweetie," I said, still smiling. "We Muslims believe that Jesus (Peace be upon him) was a Word from God, just like the Christians do. And the night when God’s Word was born was such a good night that we definitely have to celebrate it. No question about it."

"Huh?" she asked, mouth hanging open. I congratulated myself for catching her off guard. It’s not easy. We parked the car on our favorite street with a view of the San Francisco Bay and got out for a stroll.
"Do you know how good that night was?" I asked, taking her hand."No. Tell me," she said pertly, having fully recovered from her brief moment of surprise.
"It was better than a thousand months," I said. Then I began to recite to her from Muslim scripture, the Qur’an, which Muslims learn to recite from memory in classical Arabic. After each Arabic verse, I explained the English meaning.
In the name of Gd who gives before we ask,yet if we ask forgives and still gives more.
Surely, We sent it down in a night of perfect measure.
And do you know what the night of perfect measure is?
The night of perfect measure is better than a thousand months.
The angels and the Holy Spirit descend in that night.
With the permission of their Lord on every errand
With peace, until the rise of dawn. (97:1-5)

She looked at me. "That sounds almost like a Christmas carol," she said. "Is it really from the Qur’an?"
"Yup," I answered, warming up to the evening magic.
"Once upon a time in Arabia, there was a young man who had such a pure heart, and who was so kind, honest and brave that everyone, even his enemies, called him Al-Amin, which means the trustworthy one."
"That’s the Prophet Muhammad," she said.
"Not quite," I replied.
"He didn’t actually become the Prophet until the night of perfect measure. He was 40 years old then, and that’s when God sent the beginning of the Qur’an into his heart.
"That was during the month of Ramadan," I continued. "That’s when these beautiful words from God that we learn and chant and live by were born into the heart of our Prophet. For the sake of that single night, we give up eating and drinking during the daytime for the entire month of Ramadan. And we think that is a big thing. But in reality that night is greater than a thousand months. That’s more than 80 years. It’s greater than a lifetime."

She stopped walking and looked at me."Did all of the words in the Qur’an come from God?" she asked.
"Yup," I answered. "They came down in the pure heart of the Prophet Muhammad, just like Jesus came down to the pure virgin Mary (May Allah grant them all blessings and peace)."

We started walking again and my attention drifted out over the bay.Red and white ribbons of head and tail lights chased across the Oakland Bay Bridge and Golden Gate Bridge, while strings of Christmas lights draped the skyscrapers in downtown San Francisco and Emeryville. Navigation lights on airliners approaching the San Francisco airport from the east made me think of wise men approaching a manger. Maryam grasped my hand with both of hers and tugged my thoughts back to her next question.

"Then why do we fast during Ramadan, while Christians sing songs and buy things at Christmas?"
"Because the Qur’an says so, Sweetie."
"Yes, Daddy," she blurted.
"The Qur’an tells us to fast during Ramadan. What I want to know is why the Qur’an tells us to fast. Does it explain that?"
"Patience," I said.
How does an 8-year-old formulate such complex questions? I think she’ll grow up to be a lawyer. Or better yet, a judge of Islamic law. It’s a lot harder to tell a story to someone when it’s interactive. Maybe I ought to buy her a computer.

"But why is patience so important, Daddy?"
I looked at her without answering. That was a hard one.
My glance drifted back to the vibrant and colorful San Francisco Bay at night. It was as though I could count every one of the thousand spectacular months in this one beautiful night. But exactly where was my peaceful night? I knew that I was standing in it, but I certainly couldn’t find it in this jumble of chattering months.
"Is this one of those things that I’ll understand when I get older?" she asked ...

courtesy: beliefnet
Copyright 1996 Hassaun Ali Jones-Bey

The Kitchen Diaries: Stories of Serendipity

I'm in awe of women who cook well and alhamdulillaah, by a quirk of qadr, I've always been surrounded by them..

...my mum is one such (she can whip up walnut cakes and biryaanis with equal expertise and ease) ...my mother-in-law too (she made the most exquisite nargisi koftaas and delicate saalans and crisp kabaabs and meethi tikiyaas) ..my sisters-in-law (USP: fingerlickin' butter chicken; lighter than air, perfectly circular, lightly toasted rotis) ..
..the Egyptian doctor's wife who invited us for iftaar is the latest in line (think an array of perfectly frosted meltinthemouth desserts, chicken pizza and shorbaa, knafaah, basbousaa and baclaava, samboosas stuffed with moloukhiaa, topped off with roasted chicken on rice and peach sherbet, all made at home...maa shaAllaah)

Even though I regularly hyperventilate on the ramadaan-is-about-fasting-not-feasting theme to captive audiences i.e all those hapless folk who invite us to iftaar; there are times when I'm awed into silence (punctuated by chomping sounds) when confronted with culinary genius .

In a world where everyone loves food just-like-mummy-made, I fret over the kind of memories I'm giving my children. Where other kids rate mum's cooking: fantabulous, my kids could in all honesty rate my culinary skills (or lack thereof) as ...serendipitous.

In other words, let's just say I *surprise* them at the sufraa...the cupcakes that seemed to be doing fine when I last checked have been known to deflate and crumble the minute my back's turned, the patty won't turn plump or the pizza crust will turn black, not brown on occasion.

Which is why, this Ramadhaan I've bucked the parathas-for-suhoor-and-pakoras-for-iftaar tradition and decided to invest my time and energy in food that can't go wrong be idhnillaah: grilled chicken and cheese burgers, homemadepizza (with a readymade crust), 15-minute marble cake, boiled egg patties and pasta in bechamel sauce...supplies the same calories and saves on the heartache (and heartburn) of an elaborate meal that came undone.

PS: This post is inspired by The Kitchen Diaries, of which reviewer Cathy Pryor writes:
IF there’s one thing you don’t find in the pages of the average cookery book, it’s admissions of failure. How often do you catch the Jamies, Nigellas or Gordons of this world saying something along the lines of: “Well, of course, the first time I made this I set the curtains on fire and it was a complete bloody mess”? You won’t find Elizabeth David ruminating on how she always tended to overcook the paupiettes of sole, or Jane Grigson letting slip that she found Mrs. Raffold’s Pie dreadfully tricky at first.

On the contrary: Most cookery writers make it sound so effortless that it’s daunting. And you get the feeling that they mean it to be. So Nigel Slater’s willingness to include the occasional cock-up in The Kitchen Diaries comes across as refreshingly frank.

Take the entry for Jan. 30: “The warm smell of baking pastry wafts into the rest of the house. Heaven. Halfway through baking, I check the tart’s progress, only to find the pastry case empty and the citrus filling forming a lemon-colored pool on the baking sheet. I pile the whole damn failure into a basin (and later eat it in secret after everyone has gone home) and start again.”

Or Aug. 2: “Ruined a perfectly good salad today... For some reason I decided to add a bit of blue cheese I had in the fridge. Don’t know what I was thinking of.”

....sounds like someone I know..*wry smile*

70 camels, 2-3 horses, 313 men

السلام عليكم و رحمة الله و بركاته

happy thinking :)))

1. When did Muslims start fasting the month of Ramadhaan?

a. 1 A.H

b. 2 A.H

c. 3 A.H
d. 4 A.H

2. Where was the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلّمwhen Allaah commanded him to change the Qibla from Jerusalem to Makkah?

a. Masjid al Aqsa
b. Masjid al Haram
c. Masjid Quba
d. None of the above

Masjid Qiblatayn (2 Qiblas): It is situated to the north-west near the valley Aqeeq. In this mosque, Allah directed Prophet Muhammad sallAllaahu 'alayhi wasallam, who was in the middle of a salaat to turn his face from Islam's first qibla, Bait-ul-Maqdis, (Masjid Al Aqsaa in Jerusalem) to the Ka'ba in Masjid al-Haram in Makka. Consequently, this mosque is known as a mosque with two qiblas

3. On which day was the Battle of Badr fought?

a.14th Ramadhaan
b.15th Ramadhaan
c.16th Ramadhaan
d.17th Ramadhaan

4. There's a night in Ramadhaan called The Night of Power which is equal to or better than a number of ordinary nights. How many?

a. 1001 nights

b. 1000 nights

c. 1000 months

d. 50,000 years


5. Who did the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلّمleave in charge of Madeenah when he left for Badr?

a. Ali رضي الله عنه
b. Zayd ibn Harith رضي الله عنه
c. Abdullaah ibn Umm Maktum رضي الله عنه
d. Uthmaan رضي الله عنه

6. Which of the Prophet's daughters died in Ramadhaan (not the same year)?

a. Ruqayyah رضي الله عنها

b. Fatimah رضي الله عنها

c. Both
d. Umm Kuthoom رضي الله عنها

7. Who said:" O Messenger of Allah, do what Allah has commanded you to do. We will not say to you what the children of Israel had said to Musa (as): ‘You and your Lord go and fight, we shall sit here’. Rather, we will say, O Messenger of Allah, ‘You and your Sustainer go and fight, and with you we too will fight, on the right and on the left, before you and behind you’.”

a.Miqdaad ibn Amr
b. Umar ibn al Khattab
c. Usama ibn Zayd
d. Sa'aad ibn Mu'aadh
(رضي الله عنهم

8.When did the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلّم enter Makkah at the head of a large army, but without a fight?

a. 2 Ramadhaan
b. 12 Ramadhaan
c. 20 Ramadhaan
d. 22 Ramadhaan

9. Which Muslim leader literally burnt his boats before meeting the enemy ranks, and opened Spain/al-Andalus in Ramadhaan ?

a. Salahuddin Ayyubi
b. Khalid ibn Waleed
c. Tariq bin Ziyaad
d. Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqaas

Each time a ship passes from the Mediterranean sea to the Atlantic Ocean or vice-versa, the passengers go past or even stop at 'Gibraltar', which lies in the south-West corner of Europe, opposite Morocco...Gibraltar stands for Jabal Tariq or the Mount of Tariq bin Ziyad,the Berber Muslim soldier who opened Spain in 92AH.

It is said that on landing in Spain, he burnt all the ships that carried them to the Iberian Peninsula and said: O people, where is the fight? The sea is behind you and the enemy is in front of you..." [Heroes of Islam, Prof. Mahmoud Ismail Sieny]

10. Who united the Muslim army and met the Mongols at the battle of Ayn Jaloot on 25th of Ramadan, 458 A.H?
a. Salahuddin Ayyoobi
b. Saifuddin Qutz
c. Syed Qutb
d. Sa'ad ibn abi Waqqaas

In the seventh century A.H. the Mongols were sweeping across Asia destroying everything that lay in their path. Genghis Khan called himself “the scourge of God sent to punish humanity for their sins. “In 617 A.H. Samarkand, Ray, and Hamdan were put to the sword causing more than 700,000 people to be killed or made captive. In 656 A.H. Hulagu, the grandson of Genghis Khan continued this destruction. Even Baghdad, the leading city of the Muslim world, was sacked. Some estimates say that as many as 1,800,000 Muslims were killed in this awesome carnage. The Christians were asked to eat pork and drink wine openly while the surviving Muslims were forced to participate in drinking bouts. Wine was sprinkled in the masjids and no Azan (call to prayer) was allowed.In the wake of such a horrible disaster and with the threat of the whole Muslim world being subjected to the same fate, Allah the Great One raised up from the Ummah, Saifuddin Qutz, who united the Muslim army and met the Mongols at Ain Jalut on 26th Ramadhan, 648 A.H. [Ramadan in History: Abdul Hakim Murad]

10. Who said this and why: "O Messenger of Allah, you have hurt me and Allah has sent you with truth and justice, so give me my requital.”

a. Abu Sufyaan at the time of his conversion to Islaam

b. Sawad ibn Ghazbah before the start of the battle of Badr

c. Abu Hurayrah

d. Abu Dharr

رضي الله عنهم

Sawad (one of the prophet’s companions) stood on the day of the military expedition of Badr to pray. Sawad was overweight and the Prophet kept telling him “stand straight, Sawad” but still Sawad would stand out of line. The Prophet then turned around and found that Sawad was still standing out of line, so he nudged him with a “siwak” (a small and short stick made of wood, used to clean the teeth) saying, “Stand straight Sawad, we are in battle and this is serious.” Sawad said, “You hurt me (with the siwak) O messenger of Allah”. The Prophet then raised his clothes until his stomach was revealed and said, “take your revenge, Sawad”. Sawad radiyyAllaahu anhu started kissing the Prophet’s stomach saying, “This is what I wanted! This is what I wanted!” [An Introduction to Manners: Amr Khaled]

My favourite Ramadhaan story

A sister in Madeenah told me this (may Allaah grant her good in this life and the next and help me to reach the purity of heart and purpose that she has achieved, Ameen).

She'd been living in Makkah for around 13 years and each time she'd go to the Haram for iftaar, she'd notice that people were distributing food to the fasting people. She decided she'd like to do that too.
Since she couldn't afford anything else, she bought packets of buns (10 buns for a riyaal) and went to the Haram, wondering whether anyone would like to take them, when there was so much more on offer.

Around the time of iftaar, she starts distributing the buns and soon they're all over. Satisfied that she's done her good deed for the day, she waits for the adhaan.
When the mua'dhdhin completes his call, she reaches inside her handbag and takes out her iftaar : a chicken sandwich.
As soon as she took the first bite, she felt engulfed by a sense of shame, she said. What was she thinking when she bought plain buns to give away, and a delicious chicken sandwich for herself?
That was the longest night in Ramadhaan for her, she recalled. She prayed all night to Allaah to forgive her and to not take her soul in this state..not until iftaar the next day, so that she could give/share with others what she loved for herself.

Abou ben Adhem

ABOU BEN ADHEM
by Leigh Hunt

ABOU BEN ADHEM (may his tribe increase)
Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,
And saw- within the moonlight in his room,
Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom-
An angel, writing in a book of gold.

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said,
'What writest thou?'- The vision raised its head,
And, with a look made of all sweet accord,
Answered, 'The names of those who love the Lord.'

'And is mine one?' said Abou. 'Nay, not so,'
Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,
But cheerly still, and said, 'I pray thee, then,
Write me as one that loves his fellow men.' -

The angel wrote, and vanish'd. The next night
It came again with a great wakening light,
And show'd the names whom love of God had blessed,
And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest

A five-year-old's first fast

"Wake up," I whisper to my son.
He looks frail, minus the bluster and boisterousness of the day, curled in his grey woollen pyjamas under a comforter, eyes half-open and little red blood vessels visible under his pale skin.
"my body is hurting me" he groans with the peculiar turn of phrase that he's developing lately, where he'll say "my tooth is hurting me" instead of "I have a toothache."
"Well, maybe if you do a little less karate chopping in the day and get more sleep and eat food instead of playing with it," I begin.. only to realize that he's gone back to sleep.

This is the kid who'd been manfully fighting sleep late last night to make sure he didn't miss suhoor for his very first fast? He's sleeping like a baby now that it's time ...and short of physically lifting him out of bed (and waking the others in the process) there's no way I can get him to wake up.
So I let him sleep and move on to the other room, where R-R and my husband are eating.
"He didn't wake up?" they ask
"No.. maybe he can fast another day in shaa Allaah."

In the morning, all hell breaks loose.
He jumps out of bed with an accusing: "You didn't wake me!!"
'But I did! You didn't wake up..now have your bath and breakfast and let's tackle all that homework."
He has determination written all over his stubborn square jaw.
"I'm not having breakfast..I'm fasting." "You can't ..not like this…you have to get up and eat suhoor and make a niyah "
"I did. I made my niyah last night before sleeping that I'm fasting today." Needless to say, there's nothing I can do about it.

A couple of hours later, he has homework sheets strewn all over the study and is watching his siblings eat.
"You sure you're fasting? You could keep a half-day fast you know, or a half-jaw one," I tell him.
"What's that?"
"Well, only one side of your mouth is allowed to eat," I explain
"chuh.. that's for babies..just keep my share of the fudge brownies for iftaar".

Mid-morning I get a call from an acquaintance who's invited us to iftaar, could I prepare a small presentation on the fadeelat of Ramadhaan? Yes, technically I could; but just then it feels like short-notice…plus I wasn't really planning on going to the iftaar.

I planned on spending the day at home, to give my son special memories of his first fast. I remembered mine..dressing up in a green, glittery outfit made by my grandmother, followed by a shop-for-all-the-food-you-feel-you-can-eat fest , topped by the promise of post-iftaar pistachio ice cream at Monginis' ..can indulgences get better than that?
Today, I'm determined to find out.

to read the rest of this entry and other Ramadhaan diaries, click here

What did the Prophet eat for iftaar?

3:45 pm

we're expecting guests for iftaar (of the elderly, scholarly, male variety)

In the middle of choppingswishingbakingwashingfrying, I find myself thinking aloud: Rasha, Rida what do you think Rasoolullaah صلى الله عليه وسلم ate for iftaar?

Rasha: dates, of course

Rida: water, bread and milk, if there was any...

Me: look it up, will you?

so we looked it up and this is what we found:

عن ابي اوفى رضي الله عنه قال: كنا مع رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم في سفر فقال لرجل : انزل فاجدح لي قال يا رسول الله الشمس قال انزل فاجدح لي فجدح له فشرب ثم رمى بيده ها هنا ثم قال : إذا رايتم الليل اقبل من ها هنا فقد افطر الصاءم

تابعه جرير و ابو بكر

Narrated Ibn Abee Aufaa:

We were in the company of Allaah's Messenger sall Allaahu 'alayhi wassallam on a journey, he said to a man: Get down and mix for me [saweeq: powdered barley with water]

The man said: the sun has not yet set yaa Rasoolullaah

The Prophet sallAllaahu'alayhi wasallam again said:Get down and mix for me. The man again said: yaa Rasoolallaah, the sun!

The Prophet said to him for the third time: Get down and mix saweeq with water for me.The man dismounted and mixed saweeq with water for him.

The Prophet sall Allaahu 'alayhi wasallam drank it and beckoned with his hand [towards the East] and said:When you see the night falling from this side, then a fasting person should break his fast."

33:162 SaheehBukhaari

and another time:

عن طاووس عن إبن عباس رضي الله عنهما قال : خرج رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم من المدينة إلى مكة فصام حتى بلغ عسفان ويديه ليراه الناس فافطر حتى قدم مكه وذلك في رمضان. فكان إبن عباس يفول : قد صام رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلّم وافطر فمن شاء صام ومن شاء افطر

Narrated Tawoos: ibn Abbaas said: Allaah's Messenger sallAllaahu alayhi wasallam set out from Madinah to Makkah and he fasted till he reached 'Usfaan, where he asked for water and raised his hand to let the people see him, and then he broke his fast, and did not fast after that till he reached Makkah,and that happened in Ramadhaan

Me: so, I'm thinking, wouldn't we be better off serving iftaar according to the sunnah?

Rasha-Rida : yes!! (getting up..abandoning chopping boards and knives)

Me: not so fast...maybe some other time

*smiles to self*

إنا لله و إنا إليه راجعون

ان لله و إنا إليه راجعون

May Allaah have mercy on the people affected by the earthquake in Pakistan-India...if anyone knows of a charity/individuals who need help, please let us know.

ازفت الازفه

The (Hour) ever approaching draws close

ليس لها من دون الله كاشف

No one except Allaah can disclose it

افمن هذا الحديث تعجبون

Do you then wonder at this recital?

وتضحكون ولا تبكون

And will you laugh, and will not weep?

وانتم سامدون

And you are wasted with vanities

فاسجدوا لله واعبدوا

prostrate to Allaah and worship/adore/obey/serve Him.

(57-62: 53)

Before the Sand Slips Away

Imagine that you are on the beach. You are four years old. The camp leader has told you that you have five minutes to build a great castle. "Quickly," your three year old Ameer tells you, "the sand here is too soft. Run closer to the water and get better sand!"

Off you run and grab, with your tiny hands, as much sand as you can hold. But, as you run back, plop, plop, plop, you feel the sand slipping through your fingers. You can do nothing about it. In your haste, all the sand has slipped away. Bang. The competition is over. This is the analogy of our lives. This is the analogy of our time in Ramadan.

For many living in Western countries, Ramadan is passed daily with 9 to 5 jobs or school - nights where we may or may not go for Taraweeh. A peek at the TV (may Allah protect us) and the night is over. Back to work where all around us people are eating and drinking from crystal water fountains. Blink. Ramadan is over.
The question of the hour is: how do we take full advantage of this gift of Allah? This is our topic, before the sands of Ramadan slip away.

To read the complete khutbah, go here

رمضان اتى والقلب هفا

every Ramadhaan has a 'theme', a recurrent motif that confirms, yes , it's Ramadhaan again...

...it could be the sound of Shaykh Sudais reading taraweeh at the Haram or a commercial for SunQuick orange juice or even this song that Rasha wrote out -- it features on the AlMajd channel and is sung in the most soulful kiddie voice and has such an upbeat melody ..vintage Ramadhaan 1426

الصوم زكاة النفس لنا نستشعر فيه أخوتنا

ونعين المحتاجين فما خير الصدقات تطهرنا

شهر القران وشهر الذكر ودعاء الضارع عندالفجر

وغنيمة خير طول العمر رحماك الهي يا ذا الأمر

^ that's the part Rasha forgot to write

Rida

moving? maybe...

in case we decide to move the blog we'll keep you posted here
in shaa Allaah...

Eclipsed in the Month of Mercy

Allaah's aayaat are everywhere ..there was an eclipse on the eve of Ramadhaan and just when we tried getting online to wish everyone Ramadhaan Kareem we found that Blogger was blocked. There are signs all around us -- maybe this was Allaah 's way of reminding us to stay focused on really important things... w'Allaahu aalam.

تقبل الله منا و منكم صالح الاعمال

Taqabbal Allaah minnaa wa minkum min saalihil aamaal..

May Allaah accept our deeds done only for His sake.

please, (as in PUHLEEEEASE )keep us in your prayers this Ramadhaan