Moving On

Asalaamu alaykum rahmatallahi wa barakato ~

May the peace, mercy and blessings of God be with you ~

In two months I will (in sh Allah (God Willing)) graduate from college.  And although I am feeling incredibly excited,  blessed, happy; I'm also filled with a multitude of other emotions --

mainly, anxiety.

I am a girl who does not deal well in change.  I've gone through several "adjustment periods" in the past four years, just to cope with changes that I've undergone.

I mean, if I move -- there goes my sanity.

New school -- forget the calm, normal Albie you know and love.  And hello neuroses.

I don't know what it is.  I think because my parents stressed making my life as continuous as possible when I was a kid, I'm now sort of paralyzed when it comes to any major life events.

Which stinks.  

How did I end up marrying a foreigner, changing my religion, and moving hours from home?  I mean, you would think someone like me would end up in the same place she grew up, doing the same exact thing day after day.  Picture a cat lady eating bran flakes and watching the exact same T.V. show for years.  That's what I would be like, if I let my anxieties get the best of me.

Whatever God wills, that's what happens.  And it just so happens that I am meant to have a life fraught with huge changes every couple years or so.

So I gotta learn to deal.  Goodbye, cat lady obscurity -- hello, brave new world.  Here I come, ready or not.

May Allah (subhanahu wa ta'ala (glorified and exalted be he)) teach me to be more resilient in the face of fear and change.

Ramadan is Coming!

Asalaamu alaykum wa rahmatallahi wa barakato,
May the peace, mercy, and blessings of God be upon you,

I just wanted to make a pre-Ramadan post because things are about to get REAL real quickly.  I am so excited for Ramadan this year!  What a great time to grow in Islam and get closer to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala (glorified and exalted be He).

I want to start having some Ramadan traditions this year -- since I live in the U.S. and am a revert and all, (and I don't know many other Muslims) I think it would be nice to have an activity that makes me feel more involved and festive-y.  Crafts maybe?  Make some cute lanterns, a banner, a garland?  Invite the neighbors to Iftaar (I saw that idea on the internet, so cute and nice, masha'Allah (God has willed it)? I dunno though, because when I fast, I don't have too much energy.  It can be challenging to keep up with chores, do homework, and study the Qur'an when your brain is muddling by on a few calories from the iftaar (after sunset meal) you ate the night before.

Here's some cute crafts that I could make in sh Allah (god willing):

My spiritual goals for Ramadan:  I want to learn two new surahs a week.  That may sound ambitious (or not, I dunno) but my summer classes are over soon, so ins ha'Allah (God willing) I'll have enough time to do more memorization.  I also want to work on my Arabic and read the Qur'an in Arabic.  In sha'Allah!

Lastly, Ramadan Kareem to anyone and everyone out there!  Hope you all enjoy a blessed month from Allah (swt), insha'Allah.  :)

What is hijab?

Assalaamu alaikum wa rahmatallahi wa barakato~
May the peace, mercy, and blessing of God be upon you~

I recently started covering (alhamdulillah (praise God)) and I decided to do a post on what hijab is, because before I educated myself on the subject, I really had no idea.  Being a revert, you begin from the ground up.  And I'm the sort who doesn't accept anything unless I learn it myself.

One day, I was doing a Google search and randomly happened upon the I Love Hishma blog.  I have no idea how, it was for something completely unrelated, if I remember correctly.  Anyway, after I read some blog posts, I really felt the need to research the hijab more fully.  When I looked into religious verses, this is the conclusion I came to.

Is hijab mandatory?
You betcha.

What is hijab, anyways?
What I consider hijab is based on revealed scriptures:  

"And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision (lower their gaze) and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment except to their husbands, their fathers, their husbands' fathers, their sons, their husbands' sons, their brothers, their brothers' sons, their sisters' sons, their women, that which their right hands possess, or those male attendants having no physical desire, or children who are not yet aware of the private aspects of women. And let them not stamp their feet to make known what they conceal of their adornment. And turn to Allah in repentance, all of you, O believers, that you might succeed." 24:31

And secondly,

"O Prophet, enjoin your wives and your daughters and the believing women, to draw a part of their outer coverings/cloaks/jilabib around them. It is likelier that they will be recognized and not molested. Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful." 33:59

And lastly, hadith:

"Ayesha (rad.i-Allahu `anha) reported that Asma’ the daughter of Abu Bakr (rad.i-Allahu `anhu) came to the Messenger of Allah  while wearing thin clothing. He approached her and said: 'O Asma’! When a girl reaches the menstrual age, it is not proper that anything should remain exposed except this and this. He pointed to the face and hands." [Abu Dawud] 

From these three evidences, one can deduce that hijab must 

a) consist of a headcovering that covers the chest

b) a loose outer garment -- i.e., jilbab -- that is not see through nor form fitting

c) not show anything except face and hands

That is all :)))

Beautiful Things

I love Islam, with my whole being.  Subhan'Allah -- praise Allah (SWT) that I have been led to Islam.