I’ve decided to take a break from the virtual world altogther. I could state all the cliched reasons but I’d rather not. You all are smart.
Just wanted to leave you with something funny. I also closed my Facebook account and when I asked them to deactivate it, they asked me to pick a reason for leaving. I liked this reason the best; Facebook is causing too much drama in my social life. LOL. It doesn’t apply to me (I’m not that pathetic yet) but I thought it was hilarious. I chose I don’t find Facebook useful. Haha.
For those of you who hang around, I love you and I’m gonna miss you! Have a wonderful Ramzaan and Eid, inshaAllah!

This was the nicest birthday in the past three years. I didn’t cry all day. Friends are a blessing, for sure. AlhamduLilah.

So I got this from this sister’s blog and she says she’ll send a hand-made gift to the three people who comment first. So now I owe three favors to three people. What should the favor be? Any suggestions?

Sometimes when people ask me why I wanna move back to Pakistan so badly, I wanna spare them my complex reasons and just say one word, “Cricket”!! Haha.. That’s a comprehensive enough reason in itself for a Pakistani to move back to Pakistan! If you’re even remotely a cricket fan, you’ll know what I mean when I say it sucks the joy out of life to live in a country where cricket is merely an insect and if you say you miss watching it, people look at you weird and ask you when you became an insect-watcher.
The 20/20 Cricket World Cup is the first of its kind and I stamp my feet in grave frustration every time I watch the updates in Ztv news and wonder why fate hates me so much! Can someone please tell me how I can watch some cricket, please? No, I can’t get Dish Network or DirectTv and don’t even get me started on that!! All I have is cable and they have one million channels; would it have killed them to dedicate one to cricket?
Pakistan beat Australia to enter the semi-finals yesterday. AlahmduLilah!! If you’re still reading this then you must know that’s as pleasant a surprise as you can get from this sport. Aussies usually kick everyone’s behind. They’re the world champions. So this is big. Pakistanis usually get a big boost to their morale by such a win so inshaAllah we can expect some good things from them. May God be with them! May we finally see the team win something!

I was looking for some tools online to learn Arabic and look what I found. Looks like some Muslim brothers have been watching too many of those late-night infomercials! Very amusing! I love these parts the best…

Now You can be the Prophet’s favourite follower by using this Arabic Language Course Online.(??!!!!!)

And if you order before midnight today the 18 September 2007 , I will throw in the following 5 bonuses I have lined up for you…..FREE. (The bonuses will be mailed to you within 24 hrs)

P.S. Only for A Limited period of time you can Register Now and get a chance to study TWO LESSONS FREE of charge from our main site QuraanicLessons.Com

What do you think, guys? Too many infomercials, no?

Note: I mean no offense to anyone. Just some light humor here. May Allah bless this person who has made this software for the purpose of propagating Allah’s word.

She and I were best friends. We were inseparable. People told us we even talked like each other. When I hung out with her, time grew wings and flew with abominable swiftness. Then something entirely unexpected happened and our friendship blew to smithereens. She stabbed me in the back. She denied it at first but the evidence was irrefutable. There were desperate apologies, pathetic promises of ever-lasting sincerity. I was weak. Who wouldn’t want to give her another chance with the tears streaming down her face like there was no tomorrow? As if tears by sheer volume should defy the betryael of her faithless heart? Of course, someone less naive than myself would have turned and walked away before letting her heart melt. But I stood there and heard myself forgive her and soothe her and promise her it was all forgotten. Only for her to pick up that same dagger and plunge it forth as soon as she found my back. Again. If you fool me once, it’s your fault but if you fool me twice, it’s my fault.

I’d tell you what her name was. If there was only one name. I’d tell you when it happened. If there was only one occasion.

Sometimes, when I tell someone that I’ve lost (by betrayel) so many people I loved, they laugh and say, I’m only so young, how many people could possibly have hurt me? I’m much too dramatic! Granted, to the average spectator, a six-year-old’s or a ten-year-old’s or a fifteen-year-old’s broken heart might not represent too much consequence but to that little heart itself, the pain can be as real as the stab of a knife. So real, in fact, that she feels it many years later when she is no longer little. So real, in fact, that she hesitates before she trusts anyone. Ahaan. So real. For it is strange how cruelty and faithlessness do not always wait to manifest themselves in one’s soul until one is old enough. Conversely, neither do honesty, kindness and love.

What leads people to think that children are not capable of real emotions? I don’t think that’s true at all. I think a soul’s size is of little significance in relation to its feelings. As a child I recall feeling very intense emotions that still dominate my current personality and that shaped me into the person I am today. Those heartaches were as legitimate as any I might have today as an adult and I won’t let anyone rob me of the right to grieve the love I lost only because I was not the legal age! Had those friends not treated me the way they did, I would still have them in my life. Perhaps they would have been an important part of my life like my other friends. So why can’t I lament thier betrayel and consequent loss? Why can’t I write a whole post about them and shed a tear or two for the anguish incurred by a little heart once upon a time?

Recieved these in an email and wanted to share them with you.

1. Make a resolve to win the maximum favour of Allah: perform extra voluntary prayers (Nawaafil), make frequent Du’a and increase remembrance (Dhikr).
2. Try to recite some Quran after every Prayer. In fact if you read 3-4 pages after every Prayer you can easily finish the entire Quran in Ramadan! Study the Quranic Tafseer (commentary) every morning.
3. Invite a person you are not very close with to your home for Iftar, at least once a week. You will notice the blessings in your relationships!
4. Bring life to your family! Everyday, try to conclude the fast with your family and spend some quality time together to understand each other better.
5. Give gifts on ‘Eid to at least 5 people: 2 to your family members, 2 to your good friends, and 1 to a person whom you love purely for the sake of Allah.
6. Commit to an Islamic study circles to enhance your Islamic knowledge and practice. Plan to complete reading a book on Prophet Muhammad’s (pbuh) life in these 30 days.
7. Donate generously to the masajid, Islamic organizations, and any where people are in need. “This is a month of sharing!”
8. Share Ramadan and its teachings of love & patience with your neighbours. Learn how at http://www.soundvision.com/info/ramadan/
9. Initiate a project to promote or revive a ‘forgotten’ social cause in the Muslim and non-Muslim community: fight against racism, AIDS, drugs, cancer, smoking…etc.
10. Did you know, our society, which constitutes only 20% of world’s population, actually consumes 80% of world’s resources! Volunteer at food bank or Anti-Poverty campaign, while fasting!
11. Seek the rare and oft-neglected rewards of ‘the night better than a 1000 months’, Laylatul-Qadr.
12. Weep in private for the forgiveness of your sins: It is the month of forgiveness and Allah’s Mercy! It’s never too late.
13. Learn to control your tongue and lower your gaze. Remember the Prophet’s warning that lying, backbiting, and a lustful gaze all violate the fast! Abandon foul language forever.
14. Encourage others to enjoin and love goodness, and to abandon everything evil. Play the role of a Da’ee (one who invites to Allah) with passion and sympathy.
15. Experience the joy of Tahajjud prayers late at night and devote yourself purely and fully to Allah in the I’tikaf retreat during the last 10 days of Ramadan.

Went very well. AlhamduLilah. I asked my new friend S to come over with her family so we wouldn’t be lonely for the first iftaar. So she came with some yummy samosas and we all broke fast together and it felt a little bit like home. How lovely it is to have friends or A friend! AlhamduLilah. I know I didn’t update you on her but we meet all the time and have lovely girlie fun together! She’s a God-send!

My inlaws are coming tomorrow for a night’s stay. I told them about this awesome restaurant in our area and so they’re eager to go there. It’s a new Pakistani restaurant with a rural village theme; very authentic and great ambiance (rare for a desi restaurant.) Perhaps I’ll post you some pictures. They’ve really invested in the decor and it’s done very tastefully. Even the restrooms are elegant with bowl-like sinks and antique-style taps. The restaurant itself has various Pakistani handicrafts adorning the walls and the furniture pieces are all authentic hand-carved. Oh and the food is awesome! Oh their brunch buffet on weekends is the best; nihari, puri, halwa, cholay, and bar-b-q chicken are just some of their delectable dishes!

Anyways, back to the update on fasting; I really want to try and finish reading the entire Quran (with translation) this month. I used to do it all the time when I was small but I must confess, ever since I’ve gotten married, one thing or another has prevented me from doing it. Sometimes I’m not sure if I should be grateful or not that my husband is not too religiously inclined. Ok that was a joke, haha. You know what I meant. I want him to be more religious, of course, because I miss that spiritual connection with him. Anyway, he’s a good man and in Allah’s eyes, that’s more important than anything else.

Sorry I’m missing a theme here; just rambling. I can’t get to sleep, its 3:40am and I’m just waiting until I can have sehri and just go to sleep then. Have to do something about this insane sleeping pattern. Ugh.

…bother me. Tell me, why do women bring their children to the mosque every day knowing their children will cause disturbance and distress to other namazies? I understand their desire to go to the mosque and pray in congregation, I understand that they don’t want their little children to come in the way of their ibadah (worship) but what about letting their children come in the way of others’ ibadah (worship)? I don’t mean to sound uncharitable and intolerable but it’s my belief that since going to the mosque to pray is not mandatory for women, it would be better if women with little children stayed at home or hired a baby-sitter to stay with the children if they really want to congregate.

I tell you, this one time I went to this one mosque which had this spare room that all the women used to leave their kids. The kids in that room created such a ruckus that you could hear them all over the huge mosque. There was screaming emanating from that room the likes of which I had never heard before! I couldn’t even hear the imaam!

Today, this lady next to me is praying with her 2-year-old son who thinks the space between the rows is his playground. Another baby starts screaming in the back row and even the imaam has to pause to remember what he was saying!

I’m sorry if I offend someone here, please know that that’s not my intention. I really do want to know what’s up with these women; what are they thinking? Am I wrong to feel this way? If I am, please do so tell me why. I know that the situtation is different in The Ka’aba Mosque but I’m talking about regular mosques where the attendance of women is not mandatory. I think there is a reason why Allah did not make it mandatory for women to congregate. No? Ok, let me know what you think and again, no offense meant.

P.S. This little boy next to me actually stepped on my hand while I was in sujood and I had to bite my lip from screaming! Don’t worry, I’m not holding it against him. haha.

Note to readers: I’m going to update my blogroll and since I have to fiddle with HTML, I don’t do it as often as I should. If someone would like me to add them to my blogroll, please email me or reply here. I mean if you read me and have your own blog then I’d love to link you so drop me a line… thanks.

Ramzaan.. yep, that’s how we desis say it.

This is the first time that I’m really looking forward to it. Usually I sort of dread it (Allah forgive me) becasue my migraines make it impossible for me to enjoy my fasts. However, this time around, alhamduLilah my headaches have given me a big break and I have reason to believe I’ll be ok, inshaAllah. Someone was saying to me that chriopractors are not to be trusted and I should be wary; all I can say to that is that he’s the only guy who’s been able to give me peace, alhamduLilah. If he twists my neck and it makes the headaches go away, I’ll let him, thank you very much.

Ok here are a few reasons I love Ramzaan.
1- I get to go to the mosque and do congregation prayer every night. I love that.
2- Iftaar time – great excuse to eat some guilt-free deep fried food!
3- Lovely opportunity to invite people over to show off my culinary skills.
4- Oh and get invited over.

What are your favorite things about Ramzaan? (Apart from the fact that you can earn loads n loads of reward.)