Archive for the ‘Pens of all categories’
Ramadan Diaries – Aug 11 • 08.11.10
Yesterday we went to the masjid for Maghrib hoping that Ramadan would start today (Wednesday) There were a lot of people at the masjid, all waiting to here the announcement. There were two Nonmuslim women who came to learn more about Islam. One of them was really facinated while the other was quiet the entire time. They had a chance to taste some Arab sweets (one sister brought Baklava to celebrate that Ramadan was here) and I think they really liked it lol
So after maghrib, the president of the masjid announced that there was still no responce from the Hilal comittee so we decided to stay a little longer. By now our hopes for fasting on Wednesday were a lot less.
One thing I love about Ramadan is the warm and sisterly atmosphere in the masjid. Everyone – those who knew each other and those who didn’t – sat together and talked telling stories and joking around. Then we decided to use our time for something better and everyone got together into one big Quran circle and we all read Quran together.
When we finished the Surah that we were reading – Surah Yunus – they announced on the speakers that Ramadan would start on Thursday. So since there was no Taraweeh that night, we all went home after Isha prayer.
Gems & Quotes • 08.04.10
Bismillah ArRahman ArRaheem
Gems
- Islam is easy, but we are lazy
- You are late! Later!
- Don’t do one salaam inside the masjid and the other in the parking lot (rushing through the salah)
- I’m sending you a wireless hug
- Facebook or fasadbook or whatever you call it
- Ramadan is the month of training
- One hasanah in Ramadan is equal to seven hundred or more, one Subhanalla could be equivalent to more than 700
- Don’t waste yourtime with time wasters
- Your tongue is a lion! If you unleash it, it will devour you!
- Ponder over the blessings of Allah. Some people are fasting, yet have nothing to break the fast.
- Be charitable this Ramadan
- Fasting could be haram under one condition: if it will harm you.
- Beware of eating haram meat – backbiting – simply saying something about your fellow muslim that they will not like if said in front of them
- Eat less and sleep less! ramadan is not about feasting but feeding!
- Be early birds- get PRODUCTIVE. Fajr is the blessed time of the Ummah and the time the recitation of the Quran is witnessed
- Do lots of dhikr, it is sustenance to the soul.
- Keep your tongue moist with the rememberance of Allah
- Bukhari: Whosoever fasts in ramadhan with belief and submission asking the reward from Allah, Allah will forgive their sins
My Countdown Begins • 07.14.10
It’s that time of the year again. Ramadan is right around the corner. Last year I had a countdown on Pen Marks, this year I’m going to be doing that as well as posting something beneficial inshallah.
Ramadan will be starting inshallah on August 12th so that means there’s:
27 More Days
(correct me if I’m wrong)
Here’s some tips on how to get ready:
1) Become timely with all five of our daily prayers, and focus our hearts in our prayers.
2) Read more of the Quran each day.
3) Listen attentively to the recitation of the Quran.
4) Learn more about the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), his way, his life, etc. and send more greetings to him, sallalLaahu ‘alayhi wa salam.
5) Participate in wholesome community/masjid activities.
6) Listen to lectures (these are easily available online) or attend classes regarding Islamic matters as a way to inspire us to improve.
7) Find ways to express compassion to loved ones, colleagues, and those who we surround ourselves with.
8 ) Attempt voluntary fasts, perhaps three times a month (on the 13th, 14th, and 15th of each lunar month) or on each Monday and Thursday – both of which were practices of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). As a shaykh once said, “sawm nurtures taqwa” (fasting nurtures God consciousness).
9) Work on improving our character, rectifying our errors, and repenting for our sins.
10) Work on developing a relationship with Allah, a relationship that we are all responsible for developing ourselves. Whatever you consider beautiful and necessary in a relationship, even complaining, take it to Allah.
11) Make a sincere effort to reflect on the bounties, blessings, and signs of Allah in all aspects of our existence.
12) And if we cannot do any of that, then perhaps we can at least try to grasp the essence of our deen again.
IlmMarks • 05.15.10
IlmMarks page updated – Inshallah there will be new material posted soon
(I found my old notebooks) 
Surah Yusuf Miracle • 05.15.10
This is the layout of the plot of Surah Yusuf:
1 – Yusuf (alayhis-Salam) has a dream.
2 – His brothers plot against him
3 – His owner’s wife attempts to seduce him
4 – Her friends attempt to seduce him
5 – He (as) is imprisoned
6 – The king has a dream
6 – The king’s dream is interpreted
5 – Yusuf (as) is released from prison
4 – The ladies confess
3 – His former owner’s wife confesses
2 – His brothers learn their lesson
1 – Yusuf (as)’s dream is interpreted and realized.
This is spread out in exactly this order over 100 ayaat. Problems are introduced and solved in reverse symmetric order. Remember, these are verses of speech. Qur’an wasn’t revealed as a book. It was revealed in parts over 23 years! The thing is, humans just don’t think like this! You need a stack to process a story and say it like this.
To have this kind of consistency in speech over 23 years, forming what would later be compiled as a book and analyzed as a book is beyond human capacity. Armies of the best authors couldn’t do it, even with the luxury of being able to make mistakes the first few times and correct them.
Addicted • 04.20.10
Hifdh Timetable • 04.12.10
From QuranHifdh.com
Get yourself a pen and paper and sit down with your mushaf and a calendar and formulate a day to day memorisation timetable that outlines the exact number of aayaat you will be memorising for that day and the date by which you aim to complete it. We suggest you make a timetable for the Juz you are starting on and once you complete that Juz, spend two weeks or so consolidating that Juz before drawing up another timetable and starting to memorise the next Juz. If the following Juz starts or ends in the middle of a soorah, then set up your timetable so that you complete the whole of that soorah too. For example, the 27th Juz starts halfway in Soorah adh-Dhaariyaat, so you would draw up your timetable to include the whole of Soorah adh-Dhaariyaat not just the portion that is included in that Juz.
If you know that you are weak at motivating and disciplining yourself, ask a close friend or family member to help you by giving them your timetable and asking them to monitor you and to make sure that you are meeting your targets.
Please note that it is important for you to set yourself realistic targets and are aware of your limitations. Do not over-load your memory because this will only cause you to forget it. As the famous saying goes, ‘Whoever tries to acquire knowledge quickly, he loses it quickly’. Also, remember not to set up a timetable that spans a large chunk of the Qur’aan. The reason we advise you to draw it up Juz by Juz is because you will find initially it takes you longer to memorise because it is new for you but once you have several ajzaa under your belt, you’ll be able to memorise twice as much as what you were memorising before. And this is from the beauty and wonders of the Qur’aan that the more you memorise, the easier it becomes for you to memorise.
Here is a sample timetable for Juz Tabaarak (the 29th Juz of the Qur’aan) for you to look at.
Imam Siraj Wahhaj’s New Class • 04.08.10
Assalamu Alaykum,
Subhanallah I don’t know how I missed these videos. I stayed up until 1 AM watching them until I decided that I better get to bed if I wanted to wake up for Fajr.
“The Life of Malcolm X” a class taught by: Imam Siraj Wahhaj
My Pen exercises! • 04.06.10
I love writing exercises when they have nothing to do with school and I don’t have to worry about what grade I’ll get on them.
Here a few prompts that I tried this week, give them a try:
Write 100 words on the bed you currently occupy, what’s in it, what surrounds it, what you do in it, etc. we spend one third of our lives in bed but no one seems to write about it!
Write a short story. Very short. One hundred words. You have ten minutes. Now Change the Gender of one of the character of the story, without changing anything else, and read it out again alongside the original. What happens? How much of the story is the same? How much of it changes or shifts and why? This is an excellent way to bring preconceptions to surface or to spot them in the prose.
Describe your world to yourself as you move around it. What best describes your living room? your street? Your town? Who lives here? Write lists of words and phrases and try to be as precise as possible in your observations.
Write down five sounds that you can hear. Then list the things that associate with those sounds. A car engine may remind you of being picked up after school, clanking crockery of that summer you worked at Pizza Pie, an aeroplane of your holiday to Ibiza.
Write down five sounds that you can hear. Then list the things that associate with those sounds. A car engine may remind you of being picked up after school, clanking crockery of that summer you worked at Pizza Pie, an aeroplane of your holiday to Ibiza.
Let it be people, music, objects, or anything else, what inspires you in your life?
What is the best advice you ever received?
Is there someone important in your life that you have lost touch with?
