Category Archive

Heh.  I turned this video on last night, and Squeaky came running (which I will have to film someday, because it’s hilarious -  her big fat belly is swinging back and forth as she runs).  I picked her up so she could be closer to the speakers, and she proceeded to have a conversation with the video kitty.

…that my non muslim sister has been to ISNA and I haven’t?  Yes yes, I know it’s one big meat market and fitna fest, but they have some awesome speakers and a kick behind bazaar.  One of her muslim friends was in DC for ISNA and my sister went with her to the bazaar.  *pouts in the corner*

Ah well, at least they have some of the sessions from last year up on the web.   Still waiting for this years.

• This is in no way a review of any sort, just my thoughts. A review would actually require concentration, and with little sleep, I have none.
• Alhamdulilah it was 90 minutes.  I wish it had been longer.
• On the other hand, that meant I was up past 11:00 p.m.  And I’m here at work with 5 hours of sleep.  And I don’t do good on anything less than 8.  Ur.
• loved the muslim version of ring around the rosy: Ring around the kaaba/follow the sahaaba/sajda, sajda/we all bow down.
• MashaAllah those brothers were rocking some awesome beards and thobes
• Ditto mashaAllah rocking those tasbih.
• Didya hear Imam Zaid? I’m pretty sure it was him introducing the event in Chicago.
• I was speculating from the beginning that the masjid was related to Uthman dan Fodio in some way. I was right.  I found an interview with Br. Hamza done last year after watching the movie that mentions it, but can’t find it now.  Dur.
• Now I have an urge to go dig up my african history books from my freshman year of college and reaquaint myself with muslim west africa. 
• Also, need to introduce AbuS to Uthman dan Fodio (ra), cuz he needs to know some kick butt sufis.
• The way Br. Hamza talked about the Prophet (saws) is exactly how I feel about him.  You read more, you change for the better and your love for him increases.
• The dawah Br. Hamza was doing in the prison was awesome.
• Can’t say I’m a fan of gender mixing crowds at hip hop concerts.
• Overall, I thought the movie presented muslims in a very positive light.

Thanks to Rebecca for the reminder.

New Muslim Cool on P.O.V.

It’s on at 9 pm here, which is my bedtime (after maghrib), but I think I’ll make an exception and stay up late tonight

So if you look up at the top of this blog, right there above the beloved Squeakster, you’ll notice a bunch of links.  One of these says “converts.”  If you could, please click it and look through the list. 

Is there anything missing that you think a new convert absolutely must read/listen to/watch?

I am adding this video.  MashaAllah excellent advice that doesn’t scew too heavily towards any one group.  I’m really liking this post-sufi/salafi/traditionalist infighting that has been emerging recently.   At the fundraiser last weekend for Imam Siraj (btw if you haven’t donated yet, DO IT!) it nearly brought me to tears that these beautiful brothers of knowledge from all across the spectrum came together in their love for another brother, who was from a completely seperate part of that spectrum.  If there is hope that the sufi and the salafi can live together not only peacefully, but with a high level of respect for the “other” inspite of our differences,  it’s coming here in america inshaAllah.

Umm Adam has a post up with pictures (and video!) of her recent umrah and family vacation to Makkah.

Check out the video of people waiting for fajr prayer.  MashaAllah, can you imagine praying fajr with so many people?

Oh Allah, please allow us to visit your house soon and to follow in the footsteps of Adam, Huwa, Hajar, Ibrahim, Ismael, Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon them all) and millions of your slaves in hajj and/or umrah!  Ameen.

visiting the beloved

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coming to PBS in June inshaAllah.

another sing along

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I have this song stuck in my head.  Sing along with me!  Allahu Allahu Allahu!

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When I listen to Qur’an after a period of time where I have not, I’m overwhelmed.  My gets this weird full sensation and I’m just swept up in it.  It’s like nothing else I’ve ever felt.

7:26 O CHILDREN of Adam! Indeed, We have bestowed upon you from on high [the knowledge of making] garments to cover your nakedness, and as a thing of beauty: Asad(7,17)   but the garment of God-consciousness (taqwa) is the best of all. Herein lies a message from God, so that man” Asad(7,18) might take it to heart.

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If Americans Knew - what every american needs to know about Israel

Remember these Children

Since September 2000

982 Palestinian Children

and

119 Israeli Children

have been killed

 Innaa lillaahi wa innaa ilayhi raaji'oon

to God we belong and to Him is our return

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Ohh let's not cry tonight I promise you one day is through
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!
Ooh shine a light for every soul that ain't with us no more
Ohh my brothers! Ohh my sisters!

To watch when I get home from work:

Clip from SunniPath Answers Live event. This answer addresses the issue of Ashari vs. the Maturidi tenets of belief. Answered by Shaykh Hamza Karamali.

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by Dawud Wharnsby Ali

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Alhamdulilah for youtube nasheed videos with lyrics.  The husband and I are having a "Praise of the Prophet (sallallahu alaihi wa salaam) " sing along this weekend.  Granted, it will just  be the two of us, but I'm uber excited.

Any videos with lyrics out there that I haven't posted yet that we should include?

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Lyrics from TurntoIslam

Tala3al-Badru 3alayna, The Full Moon has risen over us!
min thaniyyatil-Wada3 From the valleys of Wada3,
wajaba al-shukru 3alayna, Oh we must be grateful,
ma da3a lillahi da3 for the invitation of the preacher to [the way of] God
Ayyuha al-mab3uthu fina Oh You who have been sent to us,
ji2ta bi-al-amri al-muta3 You came with orders that [we have] obeyed [in advance]
Ji2ta sharrafta al-Madinah You came and honoured this town*
marhaban ya khayra da3 Welcome, oh greatest of preachersTala3al Noorul Mubeen The clear light has come out
Nooru Khairul Mursaleen The light of the best of Messengers
Nooru Amnin Wa Salaam The light of Security** and Peace
Nooru Haqqin wa Yaqeen The light of Truth and Awareness of God
Sadaqallahu Ta3aala Allah (Ta3ala^) has been truthful
Ra7matan Lil3aalameen [Muhammad PBUH is] a mercy to the worlds
Fa 3alal Barri Shu3aa3 So on Land there is a radiance
Wa 3alal Ba7ri Shu3aa3 and on the Sea there is a radiance../CHORUS/

In opposition of Pakistan’s banning of youtube, I hereby dedicate this post to my favorite youtube videos, in no particular order:

• Abd al Basit’s recitation of Surah Dhuha
• Yusuf Islam in Praise of the Prophet
• Dangers of Heedlessness by Sh. Hamza
• A Land Called Paradise
• Asma’u Allah
• Imam Suhaib at GPU 2006
• Pause for Prayer

Alhamdulilah, watched Episodes 2 and 3 of the Retreat yesterday, and once again, I was on the brink of tears at several points.  Seriously, the last 20 minutes of episode 3 are a must watch.

Random thoughts:  I would have liked to have seen more of the classes.  If they’re in class every day for 4 weeks, they must have covered quite a bit of ground.  Of course, since it was reality tv, they “needed” to show conflict, and the classes probably didn’t fit that category.  

I was very disapointed at Abdullah’s comments when Aisha didn’t want to hike up her shirt and pants to stomp on grapes in front of the menfolk.   Seriously dude, Islam has rules.  The Qur’an is full of em.  The example of the Prophet (saws) is full of em.  You don’t get to throw them away just because you’re treading the spiritual path.  Balance people, balance.

I’d also like a follow up show.  They had a little “6 months on” thing in the credits, but I would love to see more of how they did (or didn’t) put what they learned into practice in the outside world.

After some digging, I found a wee bit more info about Abdullah.  He’s apparently a murshid of Sh. Hamza al Qadiri al Boutchichi.  Amazing what one can find on the internets.

Alhamdulilah, I had been wanting to watch this for quite some time, but just managed to stumble upon it today.   Well, at least episodes one and three anyways.

I watched episode one this evening, and my overall impression was favorable.  The best part was around the 45 minute mark where a recition of al Fatiha brought a non practicing muslim to tears, which got me all choked up.

I was happy to see that there was a lot of dhikr in the program, although I felt that the leaders could have explained the role of sufism in Islam better.   I don’t know if it was just the parts that were selected for the program, but it would have been nice to hear an explanation of Islam as both a set of rules (like the participant Aisha is focused on) and striving to know Allah (swt).  I wonder if the leaders talk with Aisha about bidah hasana.  It’s not simply enough to say, oh we know the Prophet (saws) didn’t do dhikr like this, and we don’t care, nah nah nah nah nah.  No, explain how the science of tasawwuf developed alongside oher islamic sciences, and how it fits into the framework of traditional islam.

I’m also interested in finding out more about the hosts of the Retreat.  What’s their tariqa?  Who are they  affiliated with?  Who were their teachers? 

And finally, I’ve added Alqueria de Rosales as a place I must visit.   Despite being the granddaughter of dairy farmers, I’ve never felt an attraction to farm life.  But after seeing this video, I can’t help but wonder how my relationship with Allah (swt) would be if I removed myself from the distractions of the modern world and could live in a community devoted to Allah (swt), even if it was on a farm.  I guess at the present, I should do my best to create that atmosphere in my very own home, right here in the frozen metropolitan northwoods of Minne-snow-da.  inshaAllah.

This is quite possibly the first country song that I’ve ever liked:

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No comment yet, to watch when I get home

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

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It's been a busy few weeks for Little Ms. Paralegal.  Yesterday, my heart actually started hurting (literally) because my blood pressure was through the roof after a frustrating hour running here, there and everywhere trying to gather some (non existant) exhibits for a filing.  Ah, it will be done soon, I thought to myself.  Unfortunately, not so.  This morning, I was informed that we're getting quite a few more big cases, and that things will be crazy busy at least through February.  Ack! 

SubhanAllah, Allah (swt) always knows what's best for His servents.  What should show up in my inbox an hour ago, but this beautiful music video by Sami Yusuf.  Seriously, beautiful sound, beautiful imagary.  Despite all our problems I *heart* our ummah, and you can find people from every corner in this video.  Definately going to check if it's available for download.  Between this and the Qur'an, inshaAllah that will help keep the blood pressure down these next few months.

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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.

To watch when I get home – the Sheikh Hamza ISNA speech from which I quoted earlier.

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Another ISNA convention has passed, and yet again, I did not make it down to Chi Town for the shopping…er lectures.  Lucky for me, webcasts of the lectures are available on their website.  Now, if only they could put the bazaar online…

Wake up oh ummah and quit the blame game.

Totally awesome site – Muslim Video – streams a variety of islam oriented television and radio stations, as well as playing back taraweeh prayers from Mecca. The husband was very happy to find Qur’an Radio – Egypt on the site.

Definately a good site to have handy to play during iftars, throughout the month of Ramadan and beyond, inshaAllah.

Man oh man, the muslim youtube imitators are multiplying like bunnies, I can’t keep up! Could some of these industrious brothers and sisters maybe collaborate and consolidate, pretty please?

On one such site that I stumbled upon today, I found the recent ITV1’s Muslim Jesus program. It’s decent, and although anyone with a basic understanding of Islam’s view of Jesus (as) won’t learn much, it’s worth watching. Sheikh Hamza is excellent as always.

Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four
Part Five

Looks like a brother has put up a 30 part series of short videos titled In the Shade of Ramadan. Could be something to watch each night at Iftar time, or watch one a day as we enter the month before Ramadan.

Brother Neurocentric wrote the drama the Demise of Imam Faustus for a group of british muslim secondary students. You can buy the book, and now, you can see parts of it online. Haven’t done either yet, but the book is on my to read list, and I’ll watch the videos when I get home inshaAllah.

The story of ‘Faust’ has become an important part of modern European mythology as the tale of a man who sold his soul to the devil in return for unlimited power and wealth. Here Faustus rears his head once more at a moment of religious controversy when the role of religion—and of Islam in particular—in society is the subject of fierce debate. The Demise of Imam Faustus, a drama by Matthew Wilkinson deals unashamedly with religious themes: the relationship of man with God and the impact of his conduct in this life on the eternal destination of his soul.

It’s been a long time since I’ve written any scripts, or much of anything of substance asside from college papers. In junior high and high school, I enjoyed writing for the sake of writing, and wrote several short plays to be performed by my church’s youth group. But since college, I haven’t had that same spark. Br. Neurocentric has written some about his struggles and embrace of writing as a muslim. Definately something to reflect on as I contemplate picking up the pen (or keyboard as it were) again.

Via MR:

The comedian Dave Chappelle has been shy about broadcasting his muslim faith. Rumors abounded when he absconded to South Africa and dissed his highly rated comedy central show. Had he finally cracked, or was he seeking spiritual solas with fellow muslims.

Now, it looks like he’s finally embracing his muslim identity and producing a full length video of the Allah Made me Funny Comedy Tour. Br. MR has a press release on his blog, although I can’t seem to find it on the tour website. I hope he talks about his faith more often.

To watch for later. Work is cracking down on watching videos.

Via HAhmed

Music video with Zain Bhikha, Dawud Wharnsby Ali and Abdul-Malik of Native Deen. I’m glad to see more muslim music video, and Dawud is just hilarious. The look on his face while he and Zain sing the chorus is priceless.

The documentary by Canadian film maker Zarka Nawaz is up on YouTube. Posting it for viewing after work.

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6

Related content around the net:

Flickr set of the premiere
Izzy Mo review
Islamica Magazine article

via HAhmed

The Lion King and Islam. Could it get any better?

Via NPR

Ok, there is a lot that could be changed in Cairo. Pollution control would be at the top of my list. Spend any time there, and you’re sneezing black snot for weeks afterwards. Doing something about the piles of garbage all over the place is pretty high up there too.

Athan reform doesn’t even crack the top 10. For a westerner, where religious sounds in the public sphere are limited to church bells ringing on Sunday, to live in Cairo and be surrounded by religious sounds 24 hours a day is something almost magical. When it is time to pray, and athans echo from all corners of the city, I can’t help but fall silent and appreciate the sounds. Ok, maybe it’s not quite magical when the athans are all amplified to the point of distortion, but those echoing calls to prayer are part of what makes Cairo Cairo.

If I had a magic wand, I would wave it and replace the distorted microphoned calls with natural voices calling. After all, you don’t need to inform people half a mile away that it’s prayer time in your masjid, because there are probably 5 mosques that are closer where it’s also prayer time.

Plus, now with the athan possibly coming from the radio, everyone will crank up their radios to the point of distortion, and it won’t be pretty anyways.

Cairo Asr Athan

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And, the athan from the Hussein Mosque in Cairo. Oh, I had issues with this mosque here. The women’s section isn’t anything to write home about, but the men’s section is beauuuutiful. I wanted to go inside for some pictures, but the shoe guys wouldn’t let me in. dur. I had a brief argument with them with my husband translated, but alas, I didn’t persuade them. What really got me though, was that there were plenty of male (presumably non muslim) tourists inside. Dur!

When I embraced Islam in 1977, one of the first things I learnt, even before I learned al Fatiha, was to say assalamu alaikum. Even before I was taught al Fatiha, I was taught how to say assalamu alaikum. peace be with you. And our Prophet (saws), peace be upon him: “You will not enter heaven until you believe. And you will not believe until you love one another. Shall I not guide you to a thing which if you do it will increase love amongst you? Spread salaam.”

Give the salutation of peace to the world. That is our responsibility.

At around 11 minutes, he sings “The End,” which was originally composed for 1985’s Live Aid, and is on his new album An Other Cup.

Islam Channel is showing Mina and Mecca at the moment. Path to Peace has the feed a little bit clearer.

Thus young brothers and sisters, chachas and chachis, uncles and aunties, you have been blessed and chosen by Allah (swt) to belong to an ummah that prophets wanted to be in and prophets are part of the ummah of Muhammad (saws).

And this ummah has certain characteristics, certain qualities, that distinguish it, that make it unique. Number one, that this is the moderate ummah, the ummah of balance. Allah (swt) says

Wakathalika jaAAalnakum ommatan wasatan litakoonoo shuhadaa AAala alnnasi wayakoona alrrasoolu AAalaykum shaheedan

That thus we have made you a balanced ummah, a moderate nation. Moderate between materialism and spirituality. Moderate between work and home. Moderate between my commitment to my community and my commitment to my family. I’m moderate, as the Prophet said, to give everything it’s haqq, everything it’s right. And this verse appears as number 143 in surat al Baqara. Verse 143 describing us as a moderate ummah and surat al Baqara has 286 verses. Thus this verse is smack dab in the middle of the surah.

Yusuf Islam has been especially interesting to watch lately. After converting to Islam in the late 1970s, the former Cat Stevens withdrew from the music world. He re-emerged in the 1990s, tentitively, with islamic songs, nasheed, in english. He tip toed back into the pop world, re-recording his pop hit Father and Son with Ronan Keating. Most recently, he has released his first full pop album in decades, An Other Cup.

But, out of everything he has done as Cat Stevens and Yusuf Islam, it is this video from a celebration of the Prophet’s birthday in Abu Dhabi.

I think these songs appeal very strongly to me because they mix the traditional muslim style of nasheed with a more western, almost a gather around the campfire feel.

National Geographic has produced an excellent documentary on Hajj called Inside Mecca, just one of the many islam themed videos available for free online.

This video provides an insider’s view of the hajj and can be especially insightful for non muslims. It’s an excellent little dawah piece, easily accessable and easy to understand.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock this past year, you’re probably familiar with the internet phenoms YouTube and Google Video. The online ummah has created it’s own version, Muslimr. No matter where you surf, videos on Islam are bound to pop up.

I have a list a mile and a half long of my favorite online islam related videos that I’ll be putting up periodically. Islam related videos are some of my favorite things in the online ummah.