Knaan!

Ambition and determination are admirable qualities that are especially difficult to maintain when the environment of your upbringing is harsh and life alone doesn't look promising the next day. Staying positive throughout the hardships and preserving hope and faith that you will make it through takes a lot of power. This is exactly the attitude and positivism our man Knaan kept throughout his years in Africa. He now shares his experiences with the world through spoken word and the masses clearly are impressed with his work because his piece 'Waving Flag' has been named the official anthem of the Fifa 2010 World Cup, that is HUGE!! If he wasn't a big name in the industry already, having an association with one of the biggest sporting events in the world is definitely going to put him on the map. 

Lesson: Keep the belief that life is but an interesting conundrum, and you should strengthen your resolution with the knowledge that whatever bad might transpire, something good will rise out of it as long as you keep your patience, and are ready to keep a level head. It is not naive to allow bad experiences run their course. In truth, most of the negativity we face stems from our perception – quite falsely – that we can get through life devoid of taking any hard knocks. We must acknowledge that there will be ups and downs.

Culture vs. Islam

Culture is an essential means of identity to many of us. We celebrate, dress, and behave in such a manner that is parallel to the customs of our particular culture. For those of us who were not raised in a society that practices the culture of our parents, we are domestically coerced to not only withstand this foreign practice, but uphold its traditions. 

Without any objections to our parent’s demands, we reluctantly engage in these cultural practices. What we don’t apprehend is how strongly the beliefs of these cultures infiltrate into our psyches and seamlessly influence our daily decisions and mould our developing characteristics. This occurrence becomes problematic when it contradicts or questions religious compulsions.I’m not pointing fingers but I would say majority of the cultures that I have come across are guilty of instilling practices that are not condoned in Islam. When Islam is constantly under a microscope by the mass media, it is common that some peculiar cultural practices by Muslims are directly linked back to the religion. 

Personally, I believe culture should define us in terms of our dress and delicious cuisines (so long as it is in accordance with the deen), further division from other Muslim states, that consequently causes pride and other such sentiments is not necessary. It is especially imperative and liable upon Muslims to filter out the extra baggage carried by cultural norms when approaching religious matters. 

Here’s a video that I viewed on this topic given by one of my favourite Dacees, Yasir Qadhi. He brilliantly explains the perfection of our deen and how unknowingly some cultures introduce beliefs that only end up tainting the perfectly structured deen subhanaAllah...

Dear Self.

Nothing is impossible. You draw your own boundaries. You map the route to your destiny. Your vision for the future is parallel to reality. Allah is with you on your journey.Exert energy only into matters that count and in which you are shown appreciation, recompense and affection.Recognize, evaluate and celebrate your qualities, for if you genuinely love yourself, it is much easier to love others and love is the greatest charity that you can provide.Fulfilling your obligations to others is a huge and arduous task simply because they understand you far less than Allah, be mindful of how you treat them.Be truthful to yourself by allowing your heart guide your actions, emotions and priorities.Through experience, you know that these are the guidelines to self actualization.Be Consistent. Achieve. Succeed. Love. Laugh. & above all Stay True, Be You!

My Wish List.

1) Going past the mystical curtain prior to which we believe there is no such thing, I believe there is such a thing. If it is truly intended for us to have a match in this world, I believe that in every instant, there is a soul in the world that wholly relates to our own. I seek that soul with faith.

2)Although I have attempted to pursue this in the past, I hope I am deeply inspired to go forth with it soon time.


3) Tears begin to flow off my eyes uncontrollably every time I touch on this subject. It is without a doubt one of my greatest wishes to have a stronger connection to the holy book.

4)One of the holiest cities that project Allah (SWT)'s countless reminders and mercies. I'm always fascinated about people's Hajj stories upon return, I hope one day I can be on the other side and share my wonderful stories.

I believe these are all Divine tasks that need to be fulfilled in this world. It grants us wholeness and nourishes our link to Allah (SWT). I have made intentions, and now I blow a wish into the wide abyss of the Universe.... 

Tajweed

 "And applying Tajweed is an issue of absolute necessity, whoever doesn't apply Tajweed to Quran, then a sinner is he" (Muhammad nib Al-Jazaree, Quran and Hadeeth scholar of the 9th century)

A good friend of mine convinced me to take a Tajweed class with her recently, and although I have only been in attendance for only 3 weeks now, I have benefited greatly already.  I pray that my learning this knowledge becomes sadaqah jariyah for her inshaa Allah. Anyway, after I read that quote I knew I had to be enrolled in this class! Imagine you spend your whole life reading the Quran, and later finding out its worthless in the sight of Allah (SWT), because you neglected to learn the proper recitation of the letters?! Crazy isn't it? The Quran has a right over all Muslims and a portion of that right is to recite it in accordance to how it was revealed. 

Here are a few ahadiths that I found regarding the importance of reciting the Quran with Tajweed:

1) Prophet Muhammad (SAW) said "The one who has the one of the finest voice from among the people when reciting the Quran, is one whom you think fears Allah when you hear him recite"

2)Once when the Prophet (SAW) complimented Abu Moosaa al-Ash’ari on the beauty of his recitation, Abu Moosaa said " Had I known you were there, I would have made my voice more pleasant and emotional for you (Bukhari, Muslim)

3)Umm Salamah was asked about the recitation of the Prophet (SAW) and she described it as a recitation 'clearly distinguished letter by letter (Tirmidhi).

And the Quran: 'And recite the Quran (aloud) in a (slow and melodious) style (tarteela)' (Surah Muzzammil, Ayah 4)

Ali ibn Abi Talib (RA) said in the explanation of this aayah: “at-Tarteel is Tajweed of the letters and knowing where to stop (correctly)”.

Let us remember, that the Quran is the word of Allah where we find warnings, glad-tidings, parables, stories of the past, commands and prohibitions. Aayaat to make us think, reflect, weep, fear, hope, love, and even fall down in prostration! How can we recite all of this without feeling!? When we recite an aayah of Quran we should try to feel and express the full message behind that aayah. Perhaps some of us lack confidence. I believe that this lack of confidence comes partly from not knowing the rules of Tajweed accurately and becoming so concerned about making mistakes and partly from not comprehending the meaning of what we are reciting. So let us work hard to remove these two obstacles by learning Tajweed and working towards learning Arabic in order to truly feel the essence of the Quran.

One of the privileges that the student is rewarded with, provided that they complete the course following the proper rules and somehow stands out from the crowds of students eager for knowledge, they get admittance into the Imam's intense memorization program---make duaa inshaa Allah :)

Eid and Dress

We're slowly approaching one of the most anticipated days for the Muslim, the joyous festivities of Eid! The environment of that entire day is different. You wake up to the waft of deliciously home cooked breakfast and as you make your way out of bed, you are greeted with warm hugs and kisses from your family. You eagerly race your siblings down the flight of stairs to get your favorite seat at the breakfast table. Mom is thanked for the first time in many accounts for her efforts and you reminisce about past Eids with your siblings. Everyone then rushes to clean themselves up and throw on their freshly pressed outfits they have been savoring  for this occasion. This is the biggest dilemma for a girl. You open the closet and you are stumped on what to wear. Parents and siblings are of no help, in fact they pressure you to make a decision fast because the front rows of the Masjid are going to fill up! Thankfully this year I am semi-prepared for this moment. Heres a look into my Eid outfit.

                                                                                   

Inshaa Allah, I hope everyone has a happy fasting and an especially celebratory Eid! Make sure to ring in the special day with Dhikr (increased rememberance and praise to Allaah)  and Takbir :)

Technology is.....INSANE!!!

The other day, a friend and I were discussing how the new iphone operates to make us illiterate as well as geographically ignorant. It comes with a feature that allows you to point to a building and both its address and directions are read to you by the monitor. What happened to reading street signs and road maps?!?!?!!! OMG I dont want to imagine what kind of world younger generations will grow up in. This is just ridiculous.

Technology is slowly advancing to make us more and more dormant, its scary. Just when I thought nothing could top the 'convenient' quality of the iphone, I was proved wrong. I recently read about a new device posted on IslamOnline that is named 'the sixth sense' because it does exactly that. It is a system that works with the environment to project information about what surrounds you over objects' surfaces. It is a mini-projector coupled with a camera and a cellphone, which acts like a computer. You could be sitting on the bus and the passenger right next to you could potentially be researching your information and recieve it on the palm of their hands---INSANE.
Did you forget your cellphone and need to make a call? Simply extend your hand infront of the projector and numbers will appear for you to click--INSANE.
Forgot your watch as you were rushing out in the morning and need to know the time? Draw a circle on your wrist and a watch will appear--INSANE.
Anyways you get the point, I should have taken up marketing lol. Here's a link to the video.
Just as a heads-up, please expect more gadgets of this nature as more information emerges continually as a result of rapid research into the various subjects of science and technology...just what we need....DEEEE-LIGHT :)

The Power of Language

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

Entering a foreign country, whose culture and language is completely different from our existing practices is an experience that is all too familiar to many of us, whether we left for travel or even worse, decided to settle in this new country. This can be a devastating experience as many of their beliefs and values not only differ but sometimes even contradict your very own. Adopting this new culture and ambitiously forcing yourself to learn the language in order to communicate and assimilate can be extremely time consuming and at times raise feelings of anxiety. Many times, you feel isolated and ignored simply because there is a barrier separating you from the inhabitants of this new land, and you almost always can't benefit from their social services because of this language constraint. In an attempt to survive and maintain your sanity, you vigilantly bring yourself to learn this new language. 

Years later, after many hardships of mistakenly grabbing the wrong items in grocery stores because you failed to read the label, and chuckles across the street as you nervously stumble upon words to ask for directions, you master this new language. Upon doing so, you feel a sense of liberty and are no longer confined and dependent on others for survival. You are an independent person and you happily pat yourself in the back for working hard at eradicating your own barriers and integrating yourself into the body of this new society. 

This is how I feel about not being able to understand the language of Islam. It is in a way a form of entrapment and I can only free myself by learning this beautiful language. Many questions are raised and I always feel dependent on people of the language to interpret the written texts for me and I am incapable of contributing my thoughts and ideas so they're tucked away and ignored. Although, I consider myself a person who is well aware of the religion (Alhamdulilah) I will not feel completely assimilated into Islam so long as I can't understand the language. I have made a decision to embark on a quest to find my voice in Islam and learn this language upon graduation inshaa Allah. Similar to the need in learning the language of an unfamiliar country for purposes of survival, I want to learn this language for survival of my beliefs, values and devotion in Islam bi ' ithnillah.

2010 Fifa World Cup!

My family and I are the biggest soccer fans! Especially my father, the house could be burning and his eyes would still be glued to the television screen. Although the same four teams usually make it to the final rounds, it still remains one of the most highly anticipated events at my house (at times I think its even more festive than Eid). Anyway, this upcoming year marks another exciting FIFA world tournament in South Africa! I was sadly reminded today because the second sales phase is nearing its end, and soon enough its going to be a sold out affair *tears*. I always wanted to go to South Africa, with its beautiful natural scenery (sunny skies, fluffy clouds and plenty of rays of sunshine) and wildlife parks. Back in 2006, during the last world cup (btw still stands as one of the most watched events in television history), since my brothers didn't have the slightest interest in travelling with me, I used to kid and say I was going to attend 2010 games as a honeymoon trip upon graduation. But I didnt realize how fast four years passes us by subhanaAllah. Maybe I'll be taking the trip to Brazil come 2014. But back to the issue at hand, I'm still super excited even though I'll be watching it from home. I am rooting for Portugal to take it. They just recently secured their position, and with Cristiano Ronaldo's recent recovery I am hopeful it will happen or maybe its just wishful thinking...

Life and Work.

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم
David Foster Wallace's commencement speech that he delivered back in 2004 is by far one of the most thought provoking pieces I have read up to date. Here's a link to the speech: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122178211966454607.html


My thoughts on the article:
I admit, the article is a little extensive. So, if you dont have the time to read it I'll quote a sentence that struck out to me:
"There is no such thing as not worshipping. Everybody worships. The only choice we get is what to worship. And an outstanding reason for choosing some sort of God or spiritual-type thing to worship -- be it J.C. or Allah, be it Yahweh or the Wiccan mother-goddess or the Four Noble Truths or some infrangible set of ethical principles -- is that pretty much anything else you worship will eat you alive."
This is undoubtedly the truth. By way of example, one of the possessions that many of us hold dear is our wealth. If you spend so much of your time and effort investing, working or even gambling (for those of us that like fast cash) we are worshipping wealth. You fall in depths of despair however, come recession and wealth slowly departs. All the time and hard work you have dedicated to its attainment, and it has nothing to offer you in times of hardship. This is likewise for any material possession. It is only through spirituality where loyalty and aid dont dissipate. Through his many writings and experiences he concluded with such an intriguing rationalized thought.

As humans our natural propensity is to search for answers regarding life and purpose. All the works produced by renowned philosophers,scientists, innovators and even leaders always had the objective of fulfilling this inclination. Throughout their many years of experience, they generated numerous theories but to their disbelief, none of them proved successful, simply because they needed empirical evidence. Science claims to be revolutionary, in that they work towards objectivism and incorporating all relevant ideas into their sphere of knowledge. Why have they then limited themselves to empiricism and discarded rationalism? 

Science has proved many times, namely through the visual spectrum that humans are extremely limited. The human visual system is sensitive only to a small portion of the electromagnetic field. SubhanaAllah this is a clear example of how limited we are as creation. Alhamdulilah though Allah (SWT) has provided us with the ability to REASON and submit our worship to a higher power. Despite the many complex technological advances that are being produced we will never be able to find the exact composition of oxygen, or process in which plants supply themselves and procreate asexually (can you tell I'm a science student) simply because of our bounded dimensional spheres. I find it hard to believe that many of the learned scientists we've studied, have absolutely no attachment to faith. Having personally studied the intricate field of science, I find this extremely peculiar. Science has been around as early as the 16th century, and there are still many natural processes we fail to explain, this should indicate a superlative existence which should ultimately lead to submission. They instead, dig around mess and bring themselves to believe that there will eventually be an explanation. The Quran states : "That is the Book, wherein is no doubt, a guidance for the God-fearing who believe in the unseen.." (2:1) Emphasis on UNSEEN. We are unable to empirically substantiate the power of the unseen but our rational capability (proving the restriction of man) should be sufficient proof of existence beyond man. This is the solution to the meaning of life. The rest of the struggles and experiences we go through serve minimally to the relevance of the recondite purpose of life...

The Day I Realized..

سم الله الرحمن الرحيم
Alhamdulilah, I have been wearing the Hijab a little over 15 years now and throughout the years I have witnessed the many faulty notions that have manifested regarding its meaning.


I will take you back in history to the year 1994.
Islamic customs and practices constantly surrounded me growing up. I was intrigued by and absolutely enamored by the beauty of the Hijab. My mother was always hesitant in allowing me to start wearing it at such a tender age, but after carefully persuading her into buying me one, she slowly but surely accepted my incessant plea. I was thrilled to begin showcasing my new image. First day as a hijabi was a comforting feeling. My mother didn't tug at my hair that morning, I didn't have tears trailing down my cheeks from tightened braids and I was sent off to school with the gentle kiss of my mother and the warm praises of my father, who was overjoyed to see his eldest daughter taking a giant leap into adulthood. My parents happiness, was my happiness and to think I elicited such strong jovial feelings for a piece of cloth? that was unbelievably exciting to me, little did I know however, the many distressing events that were ahead.....
I skipped all the way to school that day and upon arrival to the schoolyard, I remember many of my teachers and peers inquiring about this cloth that covered my head. They instantly started labeling me and I noticed many of the children distancing themselves from my proximity. Now, as a child the bondage you build with other children delineated your inclusion in school activities. I couldn't manage the dilemma of rejection, I was steadily on my way up the social ladder of popularity. It was just another extra piece of clothing I had to wear in the morning right? They shouldn't have a hard time understanding it. I tried my best to explain it to them in my accent ridden, incredibly shaky voice but to my disappointment, my articulacy failed and I was ridiculed, ostracized and shamed.
That night, I sat alone contemplating to myself...why was this a blameworthy fabric? Why did it evoke such strong negative messages? This is when I realized the striking distinctiveness of this beautiful cloth as well as the many contemptuous feelings it carried...

Getting Started...

سم الله الرحمن الرحيم

A warm welcome to my blog readers! May Peace and Blessings be Upon You..

Organic Muslimah is a term I came up with that, in short describes me or what I aspire to be. Organic means a product that is in its natural form, it is not defected by refining it with external additives. This process only harms the product and disengages it from its original roots. Muslims are in a constant battle to stick to their scripture and adopt the natural mannerisms of Islam. There are many environmental congestions that aim to obliterate the message of Islam and in doing so they disfigure and distract Muslims from their focus. This typically leads to extreme misconceptions of Islam and the unfortunate occurrence of misguidance. The Muslim is therefore consequently left tainted and is extracted from their native state. Despite the diligent attempts at reinventing my identity, I choose to distill from the scores of impurities and stick to my roots as an Organic Muslimah...


I will share my various struggles at trying to stay focused while amongst various diversions. I am in no way perfect, it is a composite course of development that requires plenty of patience and the convoluted procedure of ingraining meticulous discipline. Stay tuned :)