Ramadan 1433H Post #07

“Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability; for it is (the benefit of) what it has earned and upon it (the evil of) what it has wrought: Our Lord! do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake; Our Lord! do not lay on us a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us, Our Lord do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear; and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, Thou art our Patron, so help us against the unbelieving people.”

- Surah 2. Al-Baqarah, Verse 286 -

yesterday, my students and i, plus some other teachers broke our fast at an orphanage.

it was my first time.

and the feeling was different, but a nice kind of different. :)

to know how blessed i am to have a home to go to. to have parents to go home to.

and these kids,

no promises can be made to them if they'll even see their parents.

it was so hard to control the tears. :'(

i hugged my mum long & tight the moment i reached home. :'(

may these kids be given strength and patience to overcome the challenges that they faced, are facing and will face in the future.

on another note,

time flies doesn't it.

We're almost reaching towards the end of Ramadan.

It's usually towards the end when you just got into that fasting groove that you kind of not look forward to it's ending. :/

well, that's just me.

hope your Ramadan has been a good one for you.

Ramadan 1433H Post #06

“To all those broken or hopeless, I have learned this:

Be grateful for every single person who was part of your story. The ones that hurt you. The ones that helped you. The ones that came, and the ones that left. They all taught you. Don’t think for a moment that any of it was random. There are no oversights with God. Only perfectly crafted chapters in each unique journey.”

- Yasmin Mogahed -

---

everything is nothing, but a blessing.

Allah sure knows best.

we are already entering 17 Ramadan. more than half-way through.

masyaAllah.

time flies indeed.

Ramadan 1433H Post #04

another one of my favourite thing during Ramadan is of course the priceless pictures of people fasting all over the world.. :)

Street vendor plugs in decorations for Ramadan in Amman, Jordan, Thursday, July 19, 2012. (AP)

Muslim boys attend a mass prayer marking the start of Ramadan at the Golden Mosque in Quiapo, Metro Manila, Philippines, July 20, 2012. (Reuters)

Chinese Hui Muslim boys waits in front of food as they wait to break their fast on the first day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Beijing, August 1. (Andy Wong/Associated Press)

(via thereligionofpeace)

Ramadan 1433H Post #03

And every year, especially during this Ramadan month, i learn (and re-learn) to be grateful with what i have.. because really, not everyone has it easy.. and then you realise, how really, really fortunate you are.. that all your complains, your whinings, can never, ever compare to theirs.. the fact that i have a family, to go home to, to iftar with.. alhamdulillah..

---

"My family - aside from my 8 y/o brother  (Alhamdulilah for His guidance), don’t believe in Islam.
When I break fast, I break fast alone.
When I make suhur, I make suhur alone.
When I pray, I pray alone.

Everyone else celebrates with their families. They talk about the family activities they are doing. They talk about the special “Ramadan food” their mom cooked.
They talk about eating Iftaar together with their family.

It’s a month where I realise more than ever that my own family doesn’t believe.
It’s a month where I realise the differences more and more.

I suppose I can’t handle watching everyone else post about how happy they are with their families.
Not because I resent any of you the happiness you experience, but rather because it makes me realise that,
I can’t have that with my own family."

(via salamseeker)

---

may Allah grant ease for her.. insyaAllah..

Ramadan 1433H Post #02

This is how we fast:

Sehri (sahoor): OH MY GOD STUFF YOUR FACES!!! OH MY GOD WATER…. oh my god is that the adhan, did I just miss sehri (sahoor)?!?


Noon: eh, i could do this…not hungry at all.


4pm: thirstyyyyyy…. IS THAT FOOD ON MY DASH? omg is that my baby cousin drinking water, how dare she, why are you so insensitive you 3-year-old.


6pm: I think the clock is seriously messing with us.


10 mins before maghrib: WOW… can the time be any slower ya Allah.


Iftar time: YES FOOD YESSSSS *eats only one date* IM SO FULL.


(via justkeepingithalal)


HAHAHA!
this is so me especially the iftar time (NOT the rest.. promise.. hahahaha).
i ate 3 dates on the first day & i was already full.. lol!

Ramadan 1433H Post #01

“Often we find that the darkest times in our lives are followed by the most precious. Sometimes it’s at the moment when everything looks broken that something least expected lifts us and carries us through. Like the sun that rises at the end of the night, our dawn has come. In His infinite mercy, Allah has sent the light of Ramadan to erase the night. He has sent the month of the Qur’an so that He might elevate us and bring us from our isolation to His nearness. He has given us this blessed month to fill our emptiness, cure our loneliness, and end our soul’s poverty. He has sent us the dawn that we might find from darkness – light.”

- Yasmin Mogahed -



This quote shall start off my yearly ritual of Ramadan postings. :)

Approaching Ramadan

“How we see God is a direct reflection of how we see ourselves. If God brings to mind mostly fear and blame, it means there is too much fear and blame welled inside us. If we see God as full of love and compassion, so are we.”

- The Forty Rules of Love, Elif Shafak -

Ramadan is approaching in 2 days' time.

1 more day to first night of terawih. :)

I'm pretty excited. :)

But this happens to me every single time. Will get all excited before the start of Ramadan, only to falter half-way through. Sigh.

And every single year I will make the same resolution - for my Ramadan to be better than the previous one. Hopefully this year I can be proud of my Ramadan.

Yang penting, niat tu ada eh. Hehe.

Whatever your niat may be,

may we all receive a blessed Ramadan this year.

InsyaAllah.

Ramadhan 1432H post #6

#Somalia

Somalis from southern Somali pray outside their makeshift shelter during Ramadan, at a refugee camp in Mogadishu, Somalia, Saturday, Aug, 6, 2011.

(AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

(via drsonnet)

Ramadhan 1432H post #5

Let's be thankful today that we can fast without having to hide it from anyone.

Because some people don't have it that easy.

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"Even though my family knows I converted to Islam I am still hiding my fasting. Alhamdulillah! I’ve fasted every day so far without them knowing!

Working makes it super easy to keep from breaking my fast. I make my “lunch” the night before and I eat that for suhoor the next morning. Then I take the empty containers with me to work so that when I get picked up for work it looks like I ate my lunch at work. Our family usually eats super late so its not hard to make iftar on time. I offer to cook dinner a lot this month too.

Sundays are going to be more difficult because my family usually likes to cook something special and eat it pretty early in the day. At least earlier than we do on non “special” days. Its special because its church day. Anyways this Sunday my prayers were answered and it was made easy! We didn’t go to church because my mom had a really bad toothache and didn’t get any sleep the night before. Alhamdulillah I appreciate any break from church I can get. So I didn’t eat at all and around 4 my sister started talking about dinner so I talked her into watching her favorite movie with me. That killed two hours. I stalled the last two hours by “helping” her cook dinner. Or basically taking a one hour job and dragging it out to a 2 hour job.

Alhamdulillah please make dua’a that the next 3 weeks can be as easy as this week was, insha’Allah."

I <3 Ramadan :]

 

(via perica786)

Ramadhan 1432H post #4

Reading about someone who is not a Muslim but wants to actually try practice the religion, somehow touched my heart. :)

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"I’m not muslim. I know very little of the religion. But this month I’ll be participating in Ramadan and learning as much as I can about the religion. This will include reading the Quran from start to finish. I’m not sure if practicing this will be a slap in the face to “true” Muslims due to my lifestyle choices but I firmly believe that this practice is a great opportunity to gain self discipline and humility.

I’ve never been a huge fan of religion despite the importance my dad pounded in my head. I went to church like most children but I guess the lord’s word never spoke to me. However I was well aware what Christians thought were abominations translated by my father: Homosexuals and Muslims.

There’s a mosque two minutes from our neighborhood. Every Friday I remembered heavy traffic around the church making it impossible to get in the neighborhood. There were even police to direct the chaos because so many people attended. It was notoriously known as Muslim Friday or Raghead Friday by all the high school kids caught in the traffic on their way home to start the weekend. I always associated the religion with racial slurs and terrorism. In fact, when the mosque was developing over the years my dad would drive by and call it the satan worshiper church. He truly believed that they didn’t believe in god and “if you don’t believe in god, you believe in Satan”. My how Christianity is often construed with a selfish and jealous deity!

Anyways, this post is not about my lack of faith and the reason why I don’t practice a religion. I guess I’m keeping a record of how this experience goes for me. I also want to inform my friends and family that every religion can be beautiful one if we step away from the ignorance. ..."

(via thirdtry)

Ramadhan 1432H post #3

This definitely gave me goosebumps.

"The Earth becomes silent for an eternity as your foot pain subsides and the whispers of a million believers rises above."

(via calabazamia)

Ramadhan 1432H post #2

How people all over the world celebrated the start of Ramadhan.. :)

Here are 2 of my favourites..

Pakistanis pray before their Iftar (fast breaking) at the Dervesh Mosque in Peshawar.
[A Majeed/AFP]

Women in Jakarta attend a mass prayer session marking the start of Ramadan at the Istiqlal mosque.
[Supri/Reuters]

(via InPictures)

Ramadhan 1432H

Remember how this blog had Ramadhan posts last year?

Will be doing the same again this year, insya-Allah.. May we all benefit from it one way or another.. :)

For a start, i shall post 2 of my favourite Ramadhan songs.. :)

Kemuliaan Ramadhan by Unic & In-Team

Harapan Ramadhan by Raihan feat. Man Bai

Have a blessed Ramadhan! :)

bulan beribadah

(the month of) Ramadhan, i miss you.
Please, run.

Final Ramadhan post

“May Allaah subhanahu wa ta’ala accept our fasting, our prayers, our worships and all our good deeds done in the month of Ramadan.
Our Lord! Accept (this service) from us. Verily! You are the All-Hearer, the All-Knower - Rabbana taqabbal minna innaka antas Sameeaul Aleem.”
Ameen.

Image via - Flickr.

(via hammazilla)

every end of Ramadhan, akan terasa sebak sangat. :'(
semoga bertemu di Ramadhan yang akan datang. Insya-Allah.

Ramadhan post #17

via (sabrinajali)

Ramadhan post #16

Day 11: Masjid Al Mu'mineen, Houston - Unfortunately, we had visited this mosque, but didn't have time to write a story about our experiences there. We'll get to it, one day.

Day 14: Denver, Colorado - The brilliant Shaikh Abu Omar gets irritated by how close my camera is to his face and sticks his tongue out in hopes of ruining the photo. If only he knew how he saved it.

(via 30 mosques, 30 states)

Above are 2 of my favourite photos from these 2 guys. :)

do check out their website. it's just awesome how they mosque-hop across all these states in the US. :)

Ramadhan post #15

Muslim pilgrims pray inside the Grand Mosque, with the Mecca Clock in the background, on the second day of the fasting month of Ramadan in Mecca August 12, 2010. The giant clock on a skyscraper in Islam’s holiest city Mecca began ticking on Wednesday at the start of the fasting month of Ramadan, amid hopes by Saudi Arabia that it will become the Muslim world’s official timekeeper.

(REUTERS/Hassan Ali)

via (The Boston Big Picture)

just feels weird seeing a skyscraper in Mecca.
or maybe it's just me.

Ramadhan post #14

A Palestinian Muslim girl looks out from her family house which is decorated with festive lights during the holy fasting month of Ramadan, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Wednesday, Aug. 25, 2010. Ramadan, is the month where devout Muslims fast from dawn until dusk.

(via daylife)

the girl is sho cute!

Ramadhan post #13

“Turn not your cheek away from people in scorn and pride, and walk not on earth haughtily; for God does not love anyone who acts proudly and boastfully. Be modest in your bearing and lower your voice; for the ugliest sound is the donkey’s braying.”

- Surah Luqman 31:18-19 -

(via gorgeousmuslimah)