2 sunday events

And they’re not at the same time, so you can go to both :D

On the authority of Abdullah bin Abbas, who said : One day I was behind the prophet and he said to me:

“Young man, I shall teach you some words [of advice]: Be mindful of Allah, and Allah will protect you. Be mindful of Allah, and you will find Him in front of you. If you ask, ask of Allah; if you seek help, seek help of Allah. Know that if the Nation were to gather together to benefit you with anything, it would benefit you only with something that Allah had already prescribed for you, and that if they gather together to harm you with anything, they would harm you only with something Allah had already prescribed for you. The pens have been lifted and the pages have dried.”
SunniPath is excited to announce a free live event on the 5th October, 2pm GMT with Ustadha Zaynab Ansari.
The event will be an explanation of this hadith focusing on the Prophet’s (Allah bless him and give him peace):
Great concern for young people
His ability to offer encouragement for proper action
How to be successful as a Muslim
The importance of total reliance on Allah Ta’ala and
How the hadith is a balm for hearts in troubled times
Seats are limited.
Register Now

eid is wednesday, dang it!

Mr. Moo is a genius:

ramadan linkage

I’m an online kinda muslim.  I learned about Islam online.  I nearly converted online.  I met my husband online.  And for the most part, my interactions with the ummah are on the interwebz.  I’m quite shy in the real world, but when I log on and start typing, all that shyness evaporates.  

It’s not that I don’t enjoy the real world masjid scene.  Ok, no wait, I don’t really enjoy the real world masjid scene.  I could go on and on about the issues I have, but inshaAllah I’m going to focus on the positive.   I enjoy the wonderful food the aunties cook for iftar.  My first fond memories of the masjid were the weekly iftars during college, where the community cooked copious amounts of delicious backhomelandia food for the hungry students.  And jummah prayer during Ramadan is awesome.   The hall is usually stuffed, and the energy is at its peak. 

However, when it comes to pumping myself up for Ramadan, I turn to Sheikh Google to see what the online ummah has to offer.   A few years back, I started a thread on one of the message boards I frequented to share the treasures I stumbled upon in my online wanderings.  I would post these so prolifically that other posters called me the Queen of the Links.  Gradually, that thread morphed into this blog.

With Ramadan fast approaching, the urge to muck around in online material is increasing.  And in honor of my humble beginnings as that crazy poster who could find a link for every occasion, I give you the best of the best (or at least what I could find in the past week from my old ramblings and new searching), my favorite Ramadan related interwebz content that I will be reading and listening to as the blessed month approaches and arrives.

~*~ rahma’s Ramadan register ~*~

Soundvision’s Ramadan Page - everything here is worth reading, although these are my favorites:

• 10 Great Goals to Set for Ramadan

• Inner Dimensions of Fasting - comes Imam Al Ghazali’s Inner Dimensions of Islamic Worship, which is a great book all round.

Zaytuna- a veritable treasure trove of iman boosting mp3s and articles

• Ramadan Reflections One One, Two Two and Three Three, Ramadan Preparations, Ramadan Mubarak!,  Approaching Ramadan, Towards Resolving the Recurring Moon-sighting Controversy, Farewell to a Blessed Ramadan and Ramadan Farewell Ramadan Farewell by Imam Zaid 

• Moon Sighting Moon Sighting, Ramadan Khutbah, Cesarean Moon Births and Ramadan Advice Ramadan Adviceby Sheikh Hamza

• Maliki Ramadan Fiqh One One, Two Two and Three Threeby Muhammad Rami Nsour 

• Hanafi Ramadan Fiqh One One and Two Twoby Imam Tahir Anwar

• Virtues of Ramadan One One and Two Twoby Shaykh Salek bin Siddina 

• Holy Verses of Ramadan Holy Verses of Ramadanby Qari Amar 

• Statement Concerning the Beginning of Ramadan, Zaytuna’s Policy Prescription For Determining the Start of Islamic Months

• The Night of the Fifteenth of Sha’baan (Nisf Sha’baan)by Mona Elzankaly

Sunnipath - search Ramadan and Fasting for more

• Ramadan and You - although it’s too late to sign up for this year, put it on your to do list for next Ramadan.  Awesome class.

• An Excellent Article on Ramadan

• Fasting in Ramadan - a Muslim Pharmacist’s Perspective

• Chapter on Fasting from the Book of Assistance

• The Book of Fasting, Its Secrets, Its Tasks and What’s Associated with It

• Prophetic Guidance on Fasting from Riyad al Saliheen

• The Basics of Fasting according to the Shafi’i School

TJ Ramadan Resources - oodles of Ramadan activities for the youngins and not so youngins.  I’m plumbing this resource for the post iftar activities that our masjid will (inshaAllah inshaAllah inshaAllah) be having this year.

In the Shade of Ramadan- a series of videos that went up last year.  There’s one for each day, and make an excellent little listen after iftar.

Yahoo News Photos- I can almost hear the puzzlement at this one.  Ah, but get this - if you search “ramadan,” Ramadan related photos pop up.  There are usually a goodly amount of new ones each day.  When I was an internet only muslim, this was my only link to the ummah.  I lived vivaciously through the joyous celebrations of others that I saw in the pictures.

I Profess - goodies for newbies including Getting Ready for Ramadan.

Ramadan FAQs - Health and Safety of Islamic Fasting

Crescent Life Ramadan Section - in particular Diet During Ramadan

Saudi Aramco World- check the archives under Ramadan for past articles.  Don’t forget to subscribe (for free!) while you’re there.  My favorite article isn’t in the archives, but there is a pdf scan of it (lots of patience required, it’s huge and takes awhile to download) - Ramadan USA.

Path to Peace Ramadan Section

Mutmainaa Ramadan Section

Sunnah Online - in particular Ramadan: Have you got what it takes?

Deviantart- search “ramadan” and “eid” for spiffy art

Islam Online’s Ramadan Section- it’s from last year, but inshaAllah the new one will be up soon.

Ramadan: It’s not just a food fast

Lord of Ramadan Music Video

Teen Imams- PBS piece on teens leading taraweeh

Amr Khaled’s In Thy Name we Live series- done a few Ramadans ago.   Discusses a different name of Allah (swt) every night.  Great to watch before/after iftar.  Viewable with english subtitles at google video.

Ramadan Commercial - good for an LOL.

Ramadan/Eid Cards:

• Your True Greetings

• Sakkal Greetings

• Silver Envelope

Call Tyson…

…and thank them.  At a plant in Tennessee, Tyson Foods has agreed to the union’s request that Eid be considered a holiday and a paid day off.   Between 250 (Tyson’s number) and 700  (the unions number) muslims, mainly somalis, work at the plant.  Is that a majority of union members?  A majority of the workers?  If the 700 number is correct, then they are, according to this source.  If this is the case, why not give them eid off?  After all, many employers give their workers Christmas off (which is also a holiday at this Tyson plant).  There’s obviously nothing wrong with giving the majority their religious holiday as a paid day off, according to that precedent.

As always, stories like these have taken on a life of their own.  Those of us here in Minnesota are used to a local story involving muslims blowing up into something huge and out of proportion.  People huff and puff without asking questions to get the full story.  I wonder if that’s what is happening here as well?  I’ve gone to the websites of local papers and fallen down the rabbit hole of linkage, trying to get a local view on the story.  This blog piece in particular is quite informative in the sifting and winnowing of all the information out on the interwebz.  And speaking of rabbit holes, if you have time, read through the series the local paper in Shelbyville did about the Somali Community in December. 

 In any case, the usual calls for boycotts have sprung up in the right wing blogosphere.  If you have a minute, please write or call Tyson to thank them for accommodating their workers.

Greetings

I stumbled upon an artist’s website a few days ago that I hadn’t seen before.  ‘Ah, better save it so I can blog about it later,’ I thought to myself.  ‘Nah, I’ll remember it.’  Dur.  Never ever ever rely on my memory.  I did remember that the site sold greeting cards, so in an attempt to find the site, I googled “islam greeting cards.”  Well, I haven’t found the site (yet), but I am reminded that there are several beautiful options available for those who want to send cards with islamic themes:

Your True Greetings - Cards for eid and assorted occasions, as well as quite a few blank cards with gorgeous designs on the front.  Also, must see beautiful tile renderings of the names of Allah (swt).

Crescent Cards - from the other side of the pond.  If only the exchange rate wasn’t a killer, I’d stock up.

Sakkal Greetings - I’ve adored the “Love and Peace” design for years now.

Islamic Expressions - another from the UK.  Handcrafted, quasi 3-d, quotes fro mthe Qur’an inside.

Longing for the Divine cards - because the calendar just isn’t enough, one needs to get these cards.  Still waiting for their website launch, though.

Islam on NPR

In addition to Islamic lectures and Qur’an, NPR podcasts always have a place on my ipod.  Every once in awhile, a good islam related story will come up and I’ll say, ooo, I gotta blog this.  Alas, in one ear, out the other, and it’s soon forgotten.

 Well, not today.  Here’s a list of all the NPR pieces that I’ve been meaning to put up, but haven’t, and some that I came across while looking through the NPR website.  One of the reasons I *heart* NPR is that it provides a wider range of stories and news coverage than the television media does, and the pieces they do are well researched and in depth.   I’m only putting up the more “story” like pieces, as opposed to ones covering breaking news.

Recommended:

• Muslim Holiday Eid Keeps Texas Butcher Busy - about a non muslim butcher who provides halal meat.
• Learning to Endure the Hajj - american muslims practice before making the hajj
• The Partisans of Ali - history of the shia in politics and faith
• Iraqi Radical Cleric Al-Sadr Studies for Ayatollah - looks like he’s following my study plan - books and cds. 
• Comedy Troupe Mines the Humor in Islam - the Allah Made me Funny brothers
• Plan Would Replace Cairo’s Calls to Prayer
• Zarqa Nawaz on ‘Little Mosque’
• Ellison to Take Oath on Thomas Jefferson’s Quran

To listen to:

• Did ‘Siege of Mecca’ Give Birth to Al-Qaida?
• Yaroslav Trofimov on the Siege of Mecca
• Clerics’ Letter: Signatories Show Global ‘Handshake’
• Imam’s ‘American Crescent’ Sheds Light on Muslim Culture
• A Biographical View of the Koran
• American Muslim Family Chooses Polygamy
• Two Mosques, Two Different Reactions in Germany
• Young Imam Serves as Islam’s Face to Community
• Sept. 11 Message Challenges Young Imam
• A Day in the Life of a Tireless Imam
• Muslim Leader Tells Personal Story of Religious Conversion
• Evangelicals, Muslims Have Milestone Meeting
• Walking the Faith Line with Eboo Patel
• Mosques Reflect on Padilla’s Islamic Education
• Asra Nomani, ‘Standing Alone’ with Muslim Women
• Prospect of Devout Muslim President Divides Turkey
• Documentary Examines Muslim Brotherhood

From Minnesota Public Radio (one of the awesomest local public radio stations in the country, and one of the few things that makes Minnesota livable)

• Muslim women confront clash of cultures 
• Breaking the Ice: Muslims and the Media 
• Islam and the West
• Celebrating Ramadan in Minnesota
  

Takbir!

I feel a happy dance coming on…tomorrow is Eid, which means it’s almost time for the eid takbir! 

Boston Khutba

Imam Suhaib’s khutba before eid, via his blog.  To watch later, so I don’t have any comments on it at present:

 

Online Eid Event with Imam Zaid

 Click here to register.

Presenting…

…my eid outfit!  In the end, practicality won out, and I purchased things that would fit right in at work.

This scarf in pink

 

This skirt in the first color and

 

This skirt in “black tulip.”  Everything from Shukr, so inshaAllah it will be good quality that I can wear for years to come (literally, I still wear the skirts and shirts from the first shukr order from almost 4 years ago).