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

cambridge khutabs and english music

Via Seekers Digest:

cambridge khutabs etc featured khutbas and other talks by Sh. Abdul Hakim Murad, among others.  Coolness.

And, playing follow the linkage, I stumbled upon this - Muslim Songs of the British Isles.   You can download/print out sheet music for a variety of english songs with muslim themes.  Coolness times 2.  I’m all over this.  Despite the husband coming from a musical family, I don’t think he knows how to read sheet music.  I think it’s time to change that.

Allah Akbar

Imam Zaid Days 2 and 3

This will be just a brief post on this weekend.  I took pages and pages of notes, and inshaAllah I will post a few highlights from the lectures and some of my thoughts.

First, the negatives:

• Where were the Minnesota Muslims at?  Seriously, one of the best speakers our american ummah has to offer is right in your backyard, and you don’t represent?  Granted, this meant more access to Imam Zaid, but come on!

Ok, there was really only one negative, and I shouldn’t really complain.  SubhanAllah, it was an awesome weekend for my deen, my iman and inshaAllah, for my marriage. 

• Imam Zaid presented a two day workshop on Islam, Marriage and the Family.  I’ve read probably half a dozen marriage/relationship books, both secular and islam based, and I benefited more from this workshop than I have from all those other books combined.  Some books in my collection are quite good (like Blissful Marriage), but there is nothing quite like having something presented to you by a dynamic speaker in a clear, concise manner. 
• The presentation differed from other Islam based marriage advice, in that it didn’t focus on the duties and responsibilities of the husband and wife.  Instead, it discussed common problems, and offered Islam based solutions that both parties could enact.
• Imam Zaid is funny.  Seriously, we were doubled over with laughter like, every 5 minutes.  No one could fall asleep during this presentation.
• Imam Zaid presented a lecture on the Ethical Foundation of Islamic Civilization at a local university.  Again, the information was presented in a clear and concise manner, and I learned quite a few things I didn’t know before. 
• Imam Zaid performed a marriage on Sunday, alhamdulilah.  It was something truly beautiful to behold.  Plus, we got to sing Tala’al Badru afterwards, so my years of singing along to various youtube versions has finally born fruit.
• I got a lot out of the presentation in part because I took notes.  I have tons of lectures from Imam Zaid, Sh. Hamza, Sh. Nuh, etc, but most of the time I listen to them on the bus and zone out.  inshaAllah in the future when I listen to something that conveys knowledge, I’ll have my notebook out to take notes.
• If this program comes out on CD or DVD BUY IT!!!!  inshaAllah when it does, I’m buying it in bulk and gifting it to all my married friends.  Even if one is not married, they would benefit from the lessons taught therein.  We all have relationships, be they with family, friends or work colleages, and the problems that face a husband and wife in communication aren’t necessarily unique to that specific type of relationship.

This is Jihad?

As much as I’d love to respond to this, posting on CF really isn’t good for my iman.  Also not good for one’s iman is nutters like those mentioned in the post.  What is good for my iman then?  Sh. Nuh Keller, may Allah (swt) be pleased with him.  There is rarely a time when I listen to his lectures and I don’t come away feeling my ruh lifted and enlivened. 

If you haven’t listened to Sh. Nuh’s lecture entitled “This is Jihad?” DO IT NOW!  The first half is a review of the rise and effects of wahabism, and the second talks about the rules and nature of jihad.   I’ve only listened through once, but it’s so chock full of good stuff, I’ll probably listen to it a few more times and take notes.  

I’d love to post this on CF, as the sheikh clearly and equivically teaches the opposite of what nutters in said post are preaching, but I worry that it’s too technical for non muslims, and even muslims in general.  If any of my readers listen to this lecture (do I have any readers left?), please leave some feedback on the accessablitily of the lecture.  jazakAllah khair.

(free!) Online Education

Via Seeker’s Digest:

 How spiffy is this?   Definately something that would be more worthwhile than television, don’t ya think?  Islam related courses include:

• Anthropology of the Middle East
• The Architecture of Cairo
• Religious Architecture and Islamic Culture
• A Passage to India: Introduction to Modern Indian Culture and Society
• Topics in South Asian Literature and Culture
• The Making of Modern South Aisa
• Islam, the Middle East, and the West
• The Middle East in the 20th Century
• Politics and Religion
• Issues in Foreign Policy since 911
• Islam, Global Politics and US Foreign Policy
• Democracy and Global Islam
• Kashmir and Afghanistan: Religion, Ethnicity and the Strategic Balance in South Asia
• Tariq Ali: War, Empire, and Resistance
• Conversations with Berkeley Faculty: Ira Lapidus

Ah Zaytuna

How do I love you?  Let me count the ways…

 Via Deenport, the quarterly Zaytuna Newsletter.  Can one make hijri within a non muslim country, cuz dang, I want to move out to Berkley! 

But, until the time where it’s actually possible to move out to California, I’m very excited about the distance learning courses offered, and inshaAllah will be taking the getting right with Allah (swt) one, if I can sign up for it before it starts this weekend.  Looking at it, a set of lecture CDs costs $20-60, and oftentime these are recordings of courses offered at Zaytuna.  This way, you get the lecture and access to the teacher via forums, alhamdulilah.  Then, when the course is done, burn em onto a CD and wa’la, you’ve got another set of CDs.

Ramadan Reflections - Days One and Two

 Alhamdulilah, after months of obsession, Ramadan is here!   Several bloggers out there have excellent Ramadan diaries.  Sis. Organic’s is one of my favorites.  I love her format, so I’m going to borrow (ehm, steal) from her a bit for my own ramadan reflections diary.

Feeling good health-wise, just a bit of a headache this morning when I woke up.  It really does help to do the sunnah fasts throughout the year, so when Ramadan comes, it’s not a big shock.  I did have a brush with an asthma attack yesterday though.   After work, I was walking to my bus stop when my bus pulled away.  I didn’t want to wait the 10 minutes for the next bus, so without thinking, I took off in a sprint after the bus.  Now, I’m a runner, but I’m a slow runner.  Sprinting in sandels and a skirt is not my idea of a good run.  Two blocks later, I finally caught the bus.   I staggered on board, wheezing, and collapsed into an empty seat.  I focused on my breathing, made dhikr, and alhamdulilah, didn’t need to use my inhaler.  However, I was very thirsty, blah.

Lessons

inshaAllah I’m planning on listening to at least one lecture each day.   Last night, while making iftar, I listened to In the Shade of Ramadan 1 - Taqwa, Good Deeds and Character.  Because it was so short (and making iftar took so long), I listened to it a few times, so that the message really stuck in my head.  The lecture reflects on this hadith by ibn Hanbal from Mu’adh ibn Jabel:

Have Taqwa wherever you are. Do good immediately after a sinful act to erase it, and always be well-mannered in your relationship with people.

Goals

Read one Juz of the Qur’an in Arabic and English.  Pray taraweeh at the masjid on Friday

Menu

I decided to go all out for the first iftar.  Unfortunately, I forgot that going all out requires time, so my ibadah time was severly curtailed.  However, the food was yummy, and now we have enough left overs for a few days.   I made Lesan al Asfor,  Bechamel, Tagin Firakh and Jello Cheesecake from a box.  Alhamdulilah, did well to remember this hadith of our Prophet (saws), which is good advice for all who are fasting.

It is enough to eat few morsels of food to keep one’s back straight.  If you must eat more, be sure that only one third of your stomach is filled with food, one third is left for water and the remaining one third for air.

Hadith Collection and Criticism

I can’t remember if I’ve posted this before or not, but in any case, I don’t think I’ve ever gotten around to watching this so here it is.  inshaAllah another thing to watch when I attempt to turn off the TV during Ramadan

A lecture by Prof. Jonathan Brown in 4 parts - one, two, three and four.

another online study option

Check it, Zaytuna’s Distance Learning Program is finally up and running mashAllah.

 The prices are very reasonable, you get access to an online discussion board with the teacher, and you can download the lectures onto your ipod.  Score!

All three of the current course offerings look most excellent.  I’m leaning towards Getting Right With Allah.

Islam, Iman, and Ihsan

One of the things that I often lament is how information geared towards new muslims is heavily fiqh based.  This is halal, this is haram, haram, haram.  Do this, don’t do that.   While all of this is an integral part of the deen, I know I felt overwhelmed by all the rules and longed to find a way to connect with Allah (swt).

So, I am thrilled to see this new CD set put out by Imam Zaid and Ustadh Abullah entitled “Islam, Iman, and Ihsan.”  From the description, it looks like an excellent introduction, covering not only the 5 pillars, but also issues of faith and worship.  inshaAllah it’s going on my wishlist.  I’m really hoping this will be a good CD set to lend out to new muslims, to provide them with  a solid and well rounded foundation in the deen.