Beautifully Hearted Muslim Women

Carrots, Eggs, and Coffee A young woman went to her mother and told her about her life and how things were so hard for her. She did not know how she was going to make it and wanted to give up. She was tired of fighting and struggling. It seemed as one problem was solved, a new one arose. Her mother took her to the kitchen. She filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Soon the pots came to boil. In the first she placed carrots, in the second she placed eggs, and in the last she placed ground coffee beans. She let them sit and boil; without saying a word. In about twenty minutes she turned off the burners. She fished the carrots out and placed them in a bowl. She pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl. Then she ladled the coffee out and placed it in a bowl.  Turning to her daughter, she asked, 'Tell me what you see.' 'Carrots, eggs, and coffee,' she replied. Her mother brought her closer and asked her to feel the carrots. She did an...

"PLASTIC?...NOT SO FANTASTIC..." Look around you and see how many objects surround you. How many entirely or partly made of plastic can you count? How many in your workplace, kitchen, garage, bedroom, car? How many do you eat or drink from and with? How many do you carry, wear, touch, hold, use for storage? How many do you re-use? or buy for your children? " Many ", would be everyone's most likely answer. So what if i asked you now, " how much do you know about the components and behaviour of Plastic? ". Wouldn't you be inclined to think, just like i did, " not a great dea l"? Finally, what would you say if asked about how safe you feel around plastic? If your answer is " pretty safe " then I recommend you explore the reason why you haven't said " very safe". But if like me, your answer is " don't know, never gave it much thought ", then I invite you to the journey I've recently been on. My Plast...

"O Allah, grant us beautiful patience and perseverance! Aameen" Make this duaa, read the following and it will change your life (at least the way you react to situations) inshaallaah. What is this principle? 10% of life is made up of what happens to you. 90% of life is decided by how you react. What does this mean? We really have no control over 10% of what happens to us. We cannot stop the car from breaking down. The plane will be late arriving, which throws our whole schedule off. A driver may cut us off in traffic. We have no control over this 10%. The other 90% is different. You determine the other 90%. How? ……….By your reaction. You cannot control a red light. but you can control your reaction. Don't let people fool you; YOU can control how you react. Let's use an example. You are eating breakfast with your family. Your daughter knocks over a cup of coffee onto your business shirt. You have no control over what just happened. What happens next will be dete...

Why we love him. The Love of the Prophet peace and blessings be upon him By Sha ykh Hamza Yusuf, founder of Zaytuna Institute (transcript of a piece he did for the BBC World Service's In Praise of God programme in 2006) 26 years ago I became a Muslim largely because I fell in love with a beautiful human being. 'I was only sent to perfect noble character,' said the man declared as a 'mercy to all the worlds.' As time passed, this love grew as my knowledge of him increased. I painfully watched his religion hijacked by some for their own ends distorting his message and forgetting that he was indeed a mercy to all the worlds. I am troubled by the media's portrayal of him sometimes in the worst of lights. How could the man I came to know and love be so vilified and maligned by those who claim to represent him and also by those who aim to be unbiased interpreters? Muhammad, peace be upon him, was a shy, reticent man who lived among his people with such high mo...

Prayer priority A non-Muslim friend once asked me: -"In the early days of Islam, Muslims did not have many things to do. It was fine for them to pray five times a day. But our modern life leaves us with little spare time; so is it difficult for you to find the time to pray?" My reply was, "it's all about priority..." Prayer, in its prescribed form,i.e. as taught to us by God through his final messenger, Muhammad peace & blessings be upon him , is the second of the 5 fundamental pillars of Islam. Allah tells us (in the 3rd verse of the second chapter of the Quran), that in addition to the declaration of faith I bear witness there is no one/thing worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger, Prayer is to be "established". Prayer is a real institution in Islam, not just an informal act. It is the major medium Al lah has offered us to co u mm n icate with him, and that it 5 times throughout each and every day. Beyond its b...

WHY have you become Muslim?!... The other day, a work colleague who had only recently realised I was Muslim asked me this question. "Why have you become Muslim?!.." In an attempt to answer I felt the need to check I had correctly heard the question. I asked her " did you say How? or Why? ". I guess I was hoping she might have said How? in which case the answer would have been nice and short. After all, it doesn't take a great deal of expertise nor some kind of complicated ceremonial ritual to become Muslim... If anything it starts with a hygienic routine most of us practice several times a week...I mean a SHOWER or bath, followed by the following declaration of faith, which doesn't necessarily have to be done in public. " Ashhadu a-llaa ilaaha illaLLaah, Muhammad rasooluLLah " meaning " I bear witness there is no one/thing worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is his messenger . Pretty straightforward and simple answer to give, d...

About Finding your other half ... Our last beloved prophet, may peace & blessings be upon him and all those that follow in his path, taught us that marriage is half our faith ( deen ). In a nutshell this is because a good life partnership which is found in a sound marriage brings stability and moderation to one's life. Not only does it provide ultimate companionship but it also protects us from the harm confined in both extremes of celibacy and multiple hedonistic relationships. By submitting to the laws of our creator and his guidance in looking and choosing our life partner, one should find true love and mercy in the bond of marriage. After all our creator, Allah, is the designer of life and all that it involves for each and everyone of us. Today in the UK and to some extent throughout the world; many Muslims are struggling to find a suitable partner. Be it because of cultural influences or economical and social pressures or both, one thing is sure: Marriage has been ma...