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najia-cooks · 4 months

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[ID: A circle of overlapping semi-circular bright pink pickles arranged on a plate, viewed from a low angle. End ID]

مخلل اللفت / Mukhallal al-lifit (Pickled turnips)

The word "مُخَلَّل" ("mukhallal") is derived from the verb "خَلَّلَ"‎ ("khallala"), meaning "to preserve in vinegar." "Lifit" (with diacritics, Levantine pronunciation: "لِفِتْ"), "turnip," comes from the root "ل ف ت‎", which produces words relating to being crooked, turning aside, and twisting (such as "لَفَتَ" "lafata," "to twist, to wring"). This root was being used to produce a word meaning "turnip" ("لِفْتْ" "lift") by the 1000s AD, perhaps because turnips must be twisted or wrung out of the ground.

Pickling as a method of preserving produce so that it can be eaten out of season is of ancient origin. In the modern-day Levant, pickles (called "طَرَاشِيّ‎" "ṭarāshiyy"; singular "طُرْشِيّ" "ṭurshiyy") make up an important culinary category: peppers, carrot, olives, eggplant, cucumber, cabbage, cauliflower, and lemons are preserved with vinegar or brine for later consumption.

Pickled turnips are perhaps the most commonly consumed pickles in the Levant. They are traditionally prepared during the turnip harvest in the winter; in the early spring, once they have finished their slow fermentation, they may be added to appetizer spreads, served as a side with breakfast, lunch, or dinner, eaten on their own as a snack, or used to add pungency to salads, sandwiches, and wraps (such as shawarma or falafel). Tarashiyy are especially popular among Muslim Palestinians during the holy month of رَمَضَان (Ramaḍān), when they are considered a must-have on the إِفْطَار ("ʔifṭār"; fast-breaking meal) table. Pickle vendors and factories will often hire additional workers in the time leading up to Ramadan in order to keep up with increased demand.

In its simplest instantiation, mukhallal al-lifit combines turnips, beetroot (for color), water, salt, and time: a process of anaerobic lacto-fermentation produces a deep transformation in flavor and a sour, earthy, tender-crisp pickle. Some recipes instead pickle the turnips in vinegar, which produces a sharp, acidic taste. A pink dye (صِبْغَة مُخَلَّل زَهْرِي‎; "ṣibgha mukhallal zahri") may be added to improve the color. Palestinian recipes in particular sometimes call for garlic and green chili peppers. This recipe is for a "slow pickle" made with brine: thick slices of turnip are fermented at room temperature for about three weeks to produce a tangy, slightly bitter pickle with astringency and zest reminiscent of horseradish.

Turnips are a widely cultivated crop in Palestine, but, though they make a very popular pickle, they are seldom consumed fresh. One Palestinian dish, mostly prepared in Hebron, that does not call for their fermentation is مُحَشّي لِفِتْ ("muḥashshi lifit")—turnips that are cored, fried, and stuffed with a filling made from ground meat, rice, tomato, and sumac or tamarind. In Nablus, tahina and lemon juice may be added to the meat and rice. A similar dish exists in Jordan.

Turnips produced in the West Bank are typically planted in open fields (as opposed to in or under structures such as plastic tunnels) in November and harvested in February, making them a fall/winter crop. Because most of them are irrigated (rather than rain-fed), their yield is severely limited by the Israeli military's siphoning off of water from Palestine's natural aquifers to settlers and their farms.

Israeli military order 92, issued on August 15th, 1967 (just two months after the order by which Israel had claimed full military, legislative, executive, and judicial control of the West Bank on June 7th), placed all authority over water resources in the hands of an Israeli official. Military order 158, issued on November 19th of the same year, declared that no one could establish, own, or administer any water extraction or processing construction (such as wells, water purification plants, or rainwater collecting cisterns) without a new permit. Water infrastructure could be searched for, confiscated, or destroyed at will of the Israeli military. This order de facto forbid Palestinians from owning or constructing any new water infrastructure, since anyone could be denied a permit without reason; to date, no West Bank Palestinian has ever been granted a permit to construct a well to collect water from an aquifer.

Nearly 30 years later, the Interim Agreement on the West Bank and the Gaza Strip (also called the Oslo II Accord or the Taba Agreement), signed by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1995, officially granted Israel the full control over water resources in occupied Palestine that it had earlier claimed. The Argreement divided the West Bank into regions of three types—A, B, and C—with Israel given control of Area C, and the Palestinian Authority (PA) supposedly having full administrative power over Area A (about 3% of the West Bank at the time).

In fact, per article 40 of Annex 3, the PA was only allowed to administer water distribution in Area A, so long as their water usage did not exceed what had been allocated to them in the 1993 Oslo Accord, a mere 15% of the total water supply: they had no administrative control over water resources, all of which were owned and administered by Israel. This interim agreement was to be returned to in permanent status negotiations which never occurred.

The cumulative effect of these resolutions is that Palestinians have no independent access to water: they are forbidden to collect water from underground aquifers, the Jordan River, freshwater springs, or rainfall. They are, by law and by design, fully reliant on Israel's grid, which distributes water very unevenly; a 2023 report estimated that Israeli settlers (in "Israel" and in the occupied West Bank) used 3 times as much water as Palestinians. Oslo II estimations of Palestinians' water needs were set at a static number of million cubic meters (mcm), rather than an amount of water per person, and this number has been adhered to despite subsequent growth in the Palestinian population.

Palestinians who are connected to the Israeli grid may open their taps only to find them dry (for as long as a month at a time, in بَيْت لَحْم "bayt laḥm"; Bethlehem, and الخَلِيل "al-khalīl"; Hebron). Families rush to complete chores that require water the moment they discover the taps are running. Those in rural areas rely on cisterns and wells that they are forbidden to deepen; new wells and reservoirs that they build are demolished in the hundreds by the Israeli military. Water deficits must be made up by paying steep prices for additional tankards of water, both through clandestine networks and from Israel itself. As climate change makes summers hotter and longer, the crisis worsens.

By contrast, Israeli settlers use water at will. Israel, as the sole authority over water resources, has the power to transfer water between aquifers; in practice, it uses this authority to divert water from the Jordan River basin, subterranean aquifers, and بُحَيْرَة طَبَرِيَّا ("buḥayrat ṭabariyyā"; Lake Tiberias) into its national water carrier (built in 1964), and from there to other regions, including the Negev Desert (south of the West Bank) and settlements within the West Bank.

Whenever Israel annexes new land, settlers there are rapidly given access to water; the PA, however, is forbidden to transport water from one area of the West Bank to another. Israel's control over water resources is an important part of the settler colonial project, as access to water greatly influences the desirability of land and the expected profit to be gained through its agricultural exports.

The result of the diversion of water is to increase the salinity of the Eastern Aquifer (in the West Bank, on the east bank of the Jordan River) and the remainder of the Jordan that flows into the West Bank, reducing the water's suitability for drinking and irrigation; in addition, natural springs and wells in Palestine have run dry. In this environment, water for drinking and watering crops and livestock is given priority, and many Palestinians struggle to access enough water to shower or wash clothing regularly. In extreme circumstances, crops may be left for dead, as Palestinian farmers instead seek out jobs tending Israeli fields.

Some areas in Palestine are worse off in this regard than others. Though water can be produced more easily in the قَلْقِيلية (Qalqilya), طُولْكَرْم (Tulkarm) and أَرِيحَا ("ʔarīḥā"; Jericho) Districts than in others, the PA is not permitted to transfer water from these areas to areas where water is scarcer, such as the Bethlehem and Al-Khalil Districts. In Al-Khalil, where almost a third of Palestinian acreage devoted to turnips is located [1], and where farming families such as the Jabars cultivate them for market, water usage averaged just 51 liters per person per day in 2020—compare this to the West Bank Palestinian average of 82.4 liters, the WHO recommended daily minimum of 100 liters, and the Israeli average of 247 liters per person per day.

As Israeli settlement גִּבְעַת חַרְסִינָה (Givat Harsina) encroached on Al-Khalil in 2001, with a subdivision being built over the bulldozed Jabar orchard, the Jabars reported settlers breaking their windows, destroying their garden, throwing rocks, and holding rallies on the road leading to their house. In 2010, with the growth of the קִרְיַת־אַרְבַּע (Kiryat Arba) settlement (officially the parent settlement of Givat Harsina), the Jabars' entire irrigation system was repeatedly torn out, with the justification that they were stealing water from the Israeli water authority; the destruction continued into 2014. Efforts at connecting and expanding Israeli settlements in the Bethlehem area continue to this day.

Thus we can see that water deprivation is one tool among many used to drive Palestinians from their land; and that it is connected to a strategy of rendering agriculture impossible or unprofitable for them, forcing them into a state of dependence on the Israeli economy.

Turnips, as well as cabbage and chili peppers, are also grown in the village of وَادِي فُوقِين (Wadi Fuqin), west of Bethlehem. In 2014, Israel annexed about 1,250 acres of land in Wadi Fuqin, or a third of the village's land, "effectively [ruling] out development of the village and its use of this land for agriculture." Most of this land lies immediately to the west of a group of settlements Israel calls גּוּשׁ עֶצְיוֹן ("Gush Etzion"; Etzion Bloc). Building here would link several non-contiguous Israeli settlements with each other and with القدس (Al-Quds; "Jerusalem"), hemming Palestinians of the region in on all sides (many main roads through Israeli settlements cannot be used by anyone with a Palestinian ID). [2] PLO executive committee member Hanan Ashrawi said that the annexation, which was carried out "[u]nder the cover of [Israel's] latest campaign of aggression in Gaza," "represent[ed] Israel’s deliberate intent to wipe out any Palestinian presence on the land".

This, of course, was not the beginning of this strategy: untreated sewage from Gush Etzion settlements had been contaminating crops, springs, and groundwater in Wadi Fuqin since 2006, which also saw nearly 100 acres of Palestinian land annexed to allow for expansion of the Etzion Bloc.

All of this has obviously had an effect on Palestinian agriculture. A 1945–6 British survey of vegetable production in Palestine found that 992 dunums were devoted to Arab turnip production (954 irrigated and 38 rain-fed; no turnip production was attributed to Jewish settlers). A March 1948 UN report claimed that "[i]n most districts the markets are well-supplied with all the common winter vegetables—cabbages, cauliflowers, lettuce and spinach; carrots, turnips and and beets; beans and peas; green onions, eggplants, marrows and tomatoes." By 2009, however, the area given to turnips in Palestine had fallen to 918 dunums. Of these, 864 dunums were irrigated and 54 rain-fed. This represents an increase in unirrigated turnips (5.8%, up from 3.9%) that is perhaps related to difficulty in obtaining sufficient water.

Meanwhile, Israel profits from its restriction of Palestinian agriculture; it is the largest exporter of turnips in West Asia (I found no data for turnip exports from Palestine after 1922, suggesting that the produce is all for local consumption).

The pattern that Ashrawi called out in 2014 continued in 2023, as Israel's genocide in Gaza occurs alongside the continued and escalating killing and expulsion of West Bank Palestinians. The 2014 annexations, which represented the largest land grab for over 30 years and which appeared to institute a new era of state policy, have been followed up in subsequent years with more land claims and settlement-building.

Israeli military and settler raids and massacres in the West Bank, which had already killed 248 in 2023 before the حَمَاس (Hamas) October 7 offensive had taken place, accelerated after the attack, with forced expulsions of Palestinians (including Bedouin Arabs), and harassment, raids, kidnappings, and torture of Palestinians by a military armed with rifles, tanks, and drones. This violence has been opposed by armed resistance groups, who defend refugee camps from military raids with strategies including the use of improvised explosives.

Support Palestinian resistance by buying an e-sim for distribution in Gaza; donating to help two Gazans receive medical care; or donating to help a family leave Gaza.

[1] 918 dunums were devoted to turnips according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) report for 2009; the 2008 PCBS report attributes 253 dunums of turnip cultivation to Al-Khalil ("Hebron") for 2006–7.

[2] Today, Gush Etzion is connected to Al-Quds by an underground road that runs beneath the Palestinian Christian town of بَيتْ جَالَا (Bayt Jala).

Ingredients:

Makes 2 1-liter mason jars.

500g (4 medium) turnips

1 beetroot

1 medium green chili pepper (فلفل حار خضرة), halved

2 small cloves garlic, peeled

1 liter (4 cups) distilled or filtered water

25g coarse sea salt (or substitute an equivalent weight of any salt without iodine)

Some brining recipes for lifit call for the addition of a spoonful of sugar. This will increase the activity of lactic-acid-producing bacteria at the beginning of the fermentation, producing a quicker fermentation and a different, sourer flavor profile.

Instructions:

1. Clean two large mason jars thoroughly in hot water (there is no need to sterilize them).

2. Scrub vegetables thoroughly. Cut the top (root) and bottom off of each turnip. Cut each turnip in half (from root end to bottom), and then in 1 cm (1/2") slices (perpendicular to the last cut). Prepare the beetroot the same way.

If you need your pickles to be finished sooner, cut the turnips into thinner slices, or into thick (1/2") baton shapes; these will need to be fermented for about a week.

3. Arrange turnip and beet slices so that they lie flat in your jars. Add garlic and peppers.

4. Whisk salt into water until dissolved and pour over the turnips until they are fully submerged. Seal with the jar's lid and leave in a cool place, or the refrigerator, for 20–24 days.

The amount of brine that you will need to cover the top of the vegetables will depend on the shape of your jar. If you add more water, make sure that you add more salt in the same ratio.

#Palestinian #pickles #turnips #beets #gluten free #long post /#tarashiyy

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uma1ra · 11 months

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Dua for Dhul Hijjah: First 10 Days

Many of us fail to grasp the immense significance of the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, despite the fact that our Beloved Prophet (ﷺ) described them as the greatest ten days of the entire year (yes, even greater than the days of Ramadan)!

The Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ) said: “There are no days on which righteous deeds are more beloved to Allah than these ten days.” (Bukhari) That’s why we’re sharing some of the most important Dhul Hijjah duas for these exceptional days.

One of the simple and powerful Sunnahs of this month, especially during the first ten days isto be in a constant state of dhikr, especially to recite takbeer (Allahu Akbar), tahmeed (Alhamdulillah), tahlīl (Lā ilāha illā allah), and tasbeeh (SubhanAllah) - Try to recite these as often as possible at home, heading into work, while in the Mosque and even while you’re just walking down the street - give thanks and praise to Allah (SWT) during this special time and reap the countless blessings He has to offer us.

Dua for Fasting in Dhul Hijjah

Fasting during the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah – the greatest days of the year – will increase the barakah in your life and can even raise your Dhul Hijjah prayers directly to Allah (SWT).

We know from the tradition narrated by Abu Hurairah that the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said among those whose prayers are accepted by God are “...the fasting person until they breaks their fast.’” [Sunan Ibn Majah]

During the first ten days of Dhul Hijjah, and especially on the Day of Arafat, fasting brings even more abundant blessings. The Prophet (ﷺ) even said: “Fasting the day of Arafah erases the sins of two years: the previous year and the coming one.” (Muslim)

Given the unique blessings found in these days, our duas are even more important at this time. When you break your fast after sunset, be sure to recite the following dua for acceptance this month:

اللَّهُمَّ اِنِّى لَكَ صُمْتُ وَبِكَ امنْتُ وَعَليْكَ تَوَكّلتُ وَ عَلى رِزْقِكَ اَفْطَرْتُ

Allahumma inni laka sumtu wa bika aamantu wa alayka tawakkaltu wa ala rizq-ika-aftartu

“O Allah! I fasted for You and I believe in You and I put my trust in You and I break my fast with Your sustenance.”

Dua for the Day of Arafat

لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا اللَّهُ وَحْدَهُ لَا شَرِيكَ لَهُ لَهُ الْمُلْكُ وَلَهُ الْحَمْدُ وَهُوَ عَلَى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٍ

Laa ilaaha ill-allaahu, waḥdahu laa shareeka lah, lahul-mulku wa lahul-ḥamdu, wa huwa ‛alaa kulli shay’in qadeer

None has the right to be worshiped except Allah, alone, without partner. To Him belongs sovereignty and all praise and He is over all things omnipotent.

At-Tirmidhi 5:504

——————————

The Messenger (ﷺ) said: “The most excellent dua is the dua on the Day of Arafah, and the best of what I and the prophets before me have said, is ‘There is no god but Allah, alone, without partner.” [Muwatta Malik]

This particular dhikr, or way of remembering Allah, ‘There is no god but Allah’ is commonly known as the Tahlil (meaning rejoicing or jubilation). When you make dua during Dhul Hijjah, and especially on the Day of Arafah, face the Qiblah and raise your hands in complete submission, ask Allah for all that you desire from Him, ask sincerely for His forgiveness and call out to Him. Be sure to repeat this dhikr frequently:

لا إلَهَ إلا اللَّهُ

Lā ilāha illā allah

“There is no god but Allah.”

Dua for the 9th-13th of Dhul Hijjah

It is wajib (compulsory) for every adult Muslim to recite Takbeeraat-e-Tahreeq after fardh salah from the 9th-13th Dhul Hijjah. Men are advised to recite this Dhul Hijjah dua audibly, whilst women should recite this silently. The full dua for the Takbeeraat-e-Tahreeq is as follows:

اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ لَا إلَهَ إلَّا اللَّهُ وَاَللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ اللَّهُ أَكْبَرُ وَلِلَّهِ الْحَمْد

Allahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Laa ilaaha illallahu Wallahu Akbar, Allahu Akbar, Wa lillahil Hamd.

“Allah is the greatest, Allah is the greatest. There is no deity besides Allah and Allah is the greatest. Allah is the greatest and all praises are for Allah only.”

This is a great prayer to read with your family after each prayer and be sure to get the kids to join in too!

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apenitentialprayer · 1 year

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hi! i’m a young catholic learning about islam in school. I think i remember you saying you considered converting, but you obviously eventually became catholic. I feel called, on some level, to the Islamic faith and am super curious about your experiences with it, especially since you are now a devout catholic. would you feel comfortable talking about your journey? if you feel this is too private of a subject and would like for me to reach out directly, please let me know. thank you!

When I was in high school, my first exposure to Islam beyond "Muslim is an identity some of my classmates have" was my global history class in sophomore year, where we learned the basics of the faith as part of the background for the rise of Islamicate civilization.

I was fascinated by the corporate and ascetic elements of the faith. One aspect of Islam that I feel Islam does a much better job than (Western) Christianity does is instilling a sense of both; while Islam may have abolished the priesthood and monastic orders, many of the strands of those ideas were mainstreamed in a way that they weren't in Christianity - in my experience, they either often disappeared entirely (Protestants), or were limited to certain classes within the Church (Catholics).

Ramadan in particular caught my interest. Catholics have Lent, but it was often incredibly tepid in my personal experience, not at all like the all-day fasting that an entire community participated in. So participating in Ramadan of 2012 was my first little toe-dip into Islam, if you will.

I purchased Qur'ans of several different translations; even after my disability meant I could no longer fast, I would still try to read through the book over the course of subsequent Ramadans. I would memorize my favorite verses (in English, not in Arabic, as real huffaz do), I started giving to charity more, and even after my re-dedication to Christianity I would continue to go to events sponsored by local Muslim student organizations.

But it was really the question of Jesus that kept me from making the full plunge. Muslims do love and respect Jesus as far as they know Him; but is that extent the fullness of what is true about Christ? I noticed that in all of my favorite Qur'an and Bible quote collections, I unconsciously but in hindsight very conspicuously avoided verses in both texts that dealt with the nature of Jesus. And I had to think to myself, 'what does Jesus mean?' What does it mean if Islam is right about Jesus, and what does it mean if Christianity is right?

I admire Islam's dedication to the transcendence of God, who is beyond whatever limited categories we could ascribe to Him, and in comparison to whose Greatness we are all made equals. But (and I realized this was the case with much of what I admired about Islam) that idea already existed in the religious tradition I was born into, with an added element: that this transcendent God nonetheless chose to anchor Himself into Creation permanently, that this God who was totally separate from Creation loved it so much that He became a part of it. And that idea, which is central to Christianity, pulled me back into the faith of my childhood.

Islam helped me to fall in love with the aspects that it shared with Christianity because it defamiliarized me with those aspects, allowing me to see them in a fresh light. And Islam helped me to more fully appreciate those ideas in Christianity that Islam did not share, because I didn't realize just how important they were to me.

If you want to come off anon and talk more, I would be happy to do so, anon. But regardless of what path you take, know that I am praying that you find God and are satisfied in Him.

#asks #me

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drmaqazi · 6 days

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INTRODUCING ISLAM TO BEGINNERS, ESPECIALLY TO NON-MUSLIMS

Islam is the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad, peace and blessings be upon him (SallAllahu ‘alaihi wa Sallam) as the final Prophet of God Almighty (Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala).

In Arabic, Islām means ‘SUBMISSION,' from 'aslama which means to ‘SUBMIT (to the Will of God Almighty),' The word ISLAM in Arabic also means PEACE.

HOW DOES ONE BECOME A MUSLIM?

To become a Muslim, one simply declares the testimony of faith (in Arabic, it is called the Shahadah) with full conviction, in the presence of a witness.

We wish to clarify that the whole matter is very easy, plain and simple, No certificate. No money exchanged, and No water dipping.

The testimony of faith in Arabic is:

اشهدانلاإلهإلااللهواشهدانمحمدالرسولالله

Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illAllah

I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except God Almighty [Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala].

Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah,

and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah.

FIVE (5) PILLARS OF ISLAM

The Shahadah is the first pillar of Islam and that is what makes one a Muslim. The five (5) pillars of Islam consist of:

The testimony of faith (Shahadah)

2. Five daily prayers (Salat)

3. Giving charity to the needy (Zakat)

4. Fasting the month of Ramadan (Saum)

5. Performing the Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah) once in one’s lifetime, if able to do it.

ARTICLES OF FAITH

Faith is to believe in Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala), His Angels, His Books (including the Holy Torah and the Holy Bible), His Messengers (from Adam to Jesus to Muhammad), the Last Day (Day of Judgement), and to believe in the providence, its good and its perceived harm.

IHSAN

Excellence is to worship Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) as if you see Him, or if you do not see Him, know that He surely sees you.

REFERENCES:

Surah Al-Baqarah 2, Ayah 208

O believers! Enter into Islam wholeheartedly and do not follow Satan’s footsteps. Surely he is your sworn enemy.

_____________

Surah Ali 'Imran 3, Ayah 19

True Religion, in God’s eyes, is Islam [devotion to Him alone]. Those who were given the Scripture did not dispute ˹among themselves˺ out of mutual envy until knowledge came to them. Whoever denies Allah’s signs, then surely Allah is swift in reckoning.

_____________

Surah Ali 'Imran 3, Ayah 85

Whoever seeks a way other than [Islam] complete devotion to God Almighty, it will not be accepted from them, and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers.

_____________

Surah Al-Ma'idah 5, Ayah 3

Forbidden to you are carrion, blood, and swine; what is slaughtered in the name of any other than Allah; what is killed by strangling, beating, a fall, or by being gored to death; what is partly eaten by a predator unless you slaughter it; and what is sacrificed on altars.

You are also forbidden to draw lots for decisions. This is all evil. Today the disbelievers have given up all hope of ˹undermining˺ your faith. So do not fear them; fear Me!

Today I have perfected your faith for you, completed My favor upon you, and chosen Islam as your way. But whoever is compelled by extreme hunger—not intending to sin—then surely Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Merciful.

______________

Surah At-Tawbah 9, Ayah 33

He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with ˹true˺ guidance and the religion of truth, making it prevail over all others, even to the dismay of the polytheists.

_____________

Surah Al-Fath 48, Ayah 28

He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with ˹right˺ guidance and the religion of truth, making it prevail over all others. And sufficient is Allah as a Witness.

____________

Surah As-Saff 61, Ayah 6

And [mention] when Jesus, the son of Mary, said, "O children of Israel, indeed I am the messenger of Allah to you confirming what came before me of the Torah and bringing good tidings of a messenger to come after me, whose name is Ahmad." But when he came to them with clear evidences, they said, "This is obvious magic."

______________

Surah Al-Anbya Surah, 21 Ayah 77

And We made him [Noah] prevail over those who had rejected Our signs. They were truly an evil people, so We drowned them all.

______________

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christophertuckerupperdarby · 2 months

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Maintaining a Balanced Ramadan Fast with Christopher Tucker (Upper Darby, PA)_ Practical Guidance for Muslims

Maintaining a Balanced Ramadan Fast with Christopher Tucker (Upper Darby, PA): Practical Guidance for Muslims

As Muslims around the world prepare for the sacred month of Ramadan, observing a fast from dawn until sunset, it's essential to maintain a balanced approach to ensure both spiritual fulfillment and physical well-being. Fasting during Ramadan is not just about abstaining from food and drink; it's a time for reflection, self-discipline, and spiritual growth. In this guide, we will explore practical strategies with the help of believers like Christopher Tucker (Upper Darby, PA) for maintaining a balanced Ramadan fast, combining the spiritual aspects of the fast with the necessary attention to physical health.

Christopher Tucker

Begin with a Nourishing Suhoor

The pre-dawn meal, known as suhoor, is crucial for providing the necessary energy to sustain throughout the day. Start your fast with a balanced meal that includes complex carbohydrates, protein, and healthy fats. Opt for whole grains like oatmeal or whole wheat bread, paired with protein sources such as eggs, yogurt, or nuts. Hydration is also key, so be sure to drink plenty of water to prevent dehydration during the day. Avoid excessive caffeine and sugary foods, as they can lead to energy crashes later in the day.

After suhoor, engage in spiritual practices such as reading the Quran or performing voluntary prayers under the guidance of believers like Christopher Tucker (Upper Darby, PA) to set a positive tone for the day ahead. By starting the morning with nourishing food and spiritual reflection, you'll be better equipped to maintain a balanced fast throughout the day.

Pace Yourself During Iftar

Breaking the fast, or iftar, is a time of celebration and gratitude. However, it's essential to approach iftar mindfully to avoid overeating and digestive discomfort. Begin by breaking your fast with dates and water, following the tradition of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). Dates provide a quick source of energy and help prepare the stomach for the meal to come. After consuming dates and water, take a moment for Maghrib prayers before sitting down for the main meal.

When preparing iftar, focus on wholesome, nutrient-rich foods that provide sustained energy and nourishment. Include a variety of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains in your meal. Avoid excessive fried or sugary foods, which can lead to feelings of lethargy and bloating. Remember to eat slowly and mindfully, savoring each bite and paying attention to your body's hunger and fullness cues. By pacing yourself during iftar with the help of believers like Christopher Tucker (Upper Darby, PA), you can avoid overeating and maintain a balanced approach to breaking the fast.

Stay Hydrated Throughout the Night

Hydration is crucial during Ramadan, especially during the long hours of fasting. Aim to drink plenty of water between iftar and suhoor to prevent dehydration and ensure proper bodily function. Avoid caffeinated beverages, as they can increase dehydration, and opt for water or herbal teas instead. Consider keeping a water bottle nearby throughout the night to remind yourself to stay hydrated.

In addition to water, consuming hydrating foods such as fruits and vegetables can also contribute to your overall fluid intake. Water-rich foods like watermelon, cucumbers, and oranges can help replenish electrolytes and keep you feeling hydrated. By prioritizing hydration throughout the night, you'll support your body's physiological needs and maintain optimal health during Ramadan.

Incorporate Physical Activity

While fasting during Ramadan, it's essential to maintain a level of physical activity to promote overall health and well-being. Engage in light to moderate exercise during the non-fasting hours with the help of believers like Christopher Tucker (Upper Darby, PA). Physical activity not only helps prevent muscle loss but also improves mood and boosts energy levels.

Consider incorporating exercise into your daily routine either before suhoor or after iftar, when energy levels are typically higher. Be mindful of your body's limitations and avoid strenuous activities that may lead to exhaustion or dehydration. Remember that the goal is to maintain a balanced lifestyle during Ramadan, which includes both spiritual devotion and physical health.

Prioritize Rest and Sleep

In the hustle and bustle of Ramadan activities, it's easy to overlook the importance of rest and sleep. However, getting an adequate amount of sleep is essential for overall well-being and energy levels during fasting. Aim for seven to eight hours of quality sleep each night, making adjustments to your schedule as needed to accommodate late-night prayers and pre-dawn meals.

Create a relaxing bedtime routine to help signal to your body that it's time to wind down and prepare for sleep. Avoid stimulating activities such as screen time or heavy meals before bedtime, as they can interfere with your ability to fall asleep. Instead, engage in calming activities such as reading, meditation, or gentle stretching to promote relaxation.

By prioritizing rest and sleep during Ramadan, you'll support your body's natural rhythms and maintain the energy levels needed to observe a balanced fast.

Maintaining a balanced Ramadan fast requires a holistic approach that addresses both spiritual and physical needs. By beginning the day with a nourishing suhoor, pacing yourself during iftar, staying hydrated throughout the night, incorporating physical activity, and prioritizing rest and sleep with the help of believers like Christopher Tucker (Upper Darby, PA), you can ensure a fulfilling and healthful fasting experience. Remember that Ramadan is a time for self-reflection, gratitude, and spiritual growth, and by taking care of your body, you'll be better equipped to fully embrace the blessings of this sacred month.

#christopher tucker

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ahlulbaytnetworks · 1 year

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It is advised that one should consider sticking with the positive health and nutrition habits that they are following during Ramadan. I feel it is highly recommend that even after a month of abstaining from food and drink from sunrise to sunset, that one should return to their pre-Ramadan schedule in a balanced manner, using what we adapted to “such as mindful eating and stopping when we feel relatively full, and including mild to moderate exercises daily. During the times of the Prophet(SAWS) and the Imams(عليه السلام) they didnt need to focus on an exercise routine or go to gyms, as their lives were physically hard enough having to farm, build masjids by hand, fight intense battles that went on for days or weeks on end and probably involved different amounts of intermittent fasting by the sheer virtue of the battle and other tasks at hand. These men founght battles with huge heavy swords into and beyond their 60s! They were by far in better shape than we are these days, unlike any of us where we have to make plans, to put the effort to get into shape. Their diet consisted of whole foods that werent loaded with fake ingredients or high fructose corn syrup. However Im not at all saying there werent some out of shape people back then, especially amongst the more well off class, but in general, people werent sitting around all day staring at a TV or computer screen. Here are some hadith that support one for healthy habits.

🗞️ The Messenger ص of Allah said: “Whoever eats a date to break his fast, the reward of their prayers is increased to that of 400 prayers.”

📚 𝑩𝒊𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒍-𝑨𝒏𝑤𝒂𝒓. Vol: 98, Page: 12,

Num: 2.

🗞️ It is narrated that Imam Ali ع would prefer to break the fast with milk. Other narrations suggest that in the absence of milk or dates, Ahlul Bayt ع would break their fast with water. For it will cleanse the stomach and liver and relieve headaches.

📚 al-Kafi. Vol: 4, Page: 152.

🗞️ The Messenger ص of Allah said: “Only eat when you are hungry, and stop eating while you are still hungry (do not eat to your full)”

📚 𝑩𝒊𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒍-𝑨𝒏𝑤𝒂𝒓. Vol: 62, Page: 290.

🗞️ Imam Ali Zayn al-Abidin ع said: “Verily filling the stomach, weakness of will, the intoxication of being fully satiated and the delusion of power, all hinder and delay one from the performance [of good deeds] and cause one to forget Allah.”

📚 𝑩𝒊𝒉𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒍-𝑨𝒏𝑤𝒂𝒓. Vol: 78, Page: 129,

Num: 1.

🗞️ Imam al-Kazim ع said: “Diet control is the fountainhead of remedies and the stomach is the house of all ailments, so condition your body while it can be conditioned.”

📚 Makarim al-Akhlaq. Vol: 2, Page: 180, Num: 2468.

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ruinanxi · 1 year

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Karagöz

Theatrical performances such as the Turkish shadow theater (Tietze 1977: 19) spread with the increase of coffeehouses in the Ottoman Empire dating from about the seventeenth century and continuing on into the nineteenth century. Especially during Ramadan, the fasting month, theatrical performances by the nineteenth century attracted audiences interested in the political satire and sexual humor in karagöz. Throughout this most holy month in Islam, no food or drink was consumed during the day, so feasts and entertainments were held after sundown. People flocked to coffeehouses for food for the body and the mind through enjoyment of a karagöz show (22).

The political stance of the karagöz had always been that of the little guy criticizing the powerful. Puppeteers and audiences in the coffeehouses were largely common people, and the theatre presented a bottom-up critique of the powerful of Ottoman society and the social constraints that framed their normal life. Even the myth about the theatre’s origin tells of a man who wanted to make the sultan see his offificials’ corruption. He created shadow fifigures and performed a karagöz presenting such behavior before the sultan. The sultan, impressed by the play, punished his corrupt offificials and appointed this puppeteer as his grand vizier. Many people followed the example of this ur-puppeteer, infusing karagöz shows with critique (And 1963–1964: 39). The performances of karagöz at nineteenth-century Ottoman coffeehouses were full of political satire, and high offificials and grand viziers were fair game.

Karagöz and the Culture of Coffeehouses

Controlling Content

Top-Down Politicization

Play at People’s House

Modern Karagöz Returns to the Coffeehouses

----‘Karagöz Co-Opted: Turkish Shadow Theatre of the Early Republic (1923–1945)’, Serdar Öztürk

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tawaifeddiediaz · 2 years

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something about guacamole makes me ascend

#zee rambles #especially in Ramadan after a full day of fasting?#just that whole chip #packed full of guacamole goodness #zee stop using tumblr as your personal diary challenge

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espressokiri · 3 years

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Heyy, I’m Muslim and I’m also a huge simp for Todoroki, Bakugo, Iida, and Kaminari. Soooo can I have them with a Muslim (possibly hijabi) s/o?

Todoroki Shoto, Bakugou Katsuki, Iida Tenya, and Kaminari Denki x Hijabi!reader

In which reader is a hijabi Muslim.

Warnings: None

Genre: Fluff (literally half these ideas came from late night talks with my bestie @that-weirdo-in-the-corner)

Note: My first headcanon <3 I hope you like it!

Todoroki Shoto

We’re all aware of this mans lack of physical affection and aloof nature, along with his social awkwardness. That’s a recipe for odd encounters and hilarious misunderstandings.

This man gained interest in you when he noticed you were elegant even while in training/battles, along with your sweet nature and fashionable modest wear.

He researched about your religion and had found out that only women who are married are allowed to go out alone with their partners.

Poor boy didn’t read/research enough.

He decides to get to know you from a distance, respecting your boundaries and it wasn’t that hard to avoid physical contact as he himself was not one to initiate it.

When you did get closer and formed an emotional bond, you’ll be met with the weirdest encounter;

“Shoto, what are you doing?” You blinked, not understanding what the half-and-half male was doing bent on one knee with a ring box outside your family home.

“I read that we can only go out on dates together if you’re married.”

You want to smack your head on the wall but you were flattered at the same time.

Had to tell him that you were allowed on dates if you were chaperoned by a family member or friends.

Had Fuyumi chaperone you two, she was very delighted but had kept watch from a distance.

Shoto has the best time learning about your religion, curiously asking questions and gains a deeper understanding of how things were in your perspective.

He keeps a respectful distance even during dates, making sure he wasn’t crossing boundaries.

Would scour the whole of Japan to find halal food.

Tells you that he called Endeavour shaytaan and you choke on the water you were sipping on, laughing out loud.

Fasts with you one day and is betrayed at how full he felt after one bite.

Hands you Endeavour’s exclusive credit card for Eid.

Todoroki is just very genuine and he tries his best to keep you comfortable around him, also carries hijab pins in his backpack just in case you need some.

Bakugou Katsuki

Oh God.

Listen, he’s very respectful in his own way but it took him time to work through it with his competitive nature.

Man has done his research thoroughly and he is ready to commit.

“I can cook us a vegetarian meal that won’t be boring to the tastebuds like the crap they sell out there.”

That’s his way of asking you out, making sure his parents would be home too because he knows two people of different genders should not be left alone.

Makes the best damn vegetarian dish. Vegetarian because he has yet to figure out what halal is.

Tries to learn some words, does excellent but his way of speaking is even more aggressive than an Emirati accent. He has your Arab friends shaking in their shoes.

It’s Ramadan? Prepare for three am calls that consist of him yelling at you to get up. Yes, he breaks his sleep pattern to wake you up to eat. Yes, he makes you video call him so he makes sure you eat well and hydrate. Yes, he ends up fasting with you so you don’t feel alone. Will he tell you that? No.

Sometimes he makes Iftar for you and brings it in a bento, giving it to you after school so you can have a good meal.

Watches you with wide eyes and mouth open in shock when he sees you eating when you’re supposed to be fasting;

“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING? YOU’RE NOT ALLOWED TO EAT YET!”

“I- I’m on my period?”

“SO?”

“We’re not allowed to fast while we’re on our period.”

He stays quiet the rest of the day.

Admires different styles of hijab you do.

Eid? He’s the best dressed alongside you.

Bakugou would be a good partner, respectable, and tries his best to understand and make you feel comfortable in his own way.

Iida Tenya

This boy knows everything already.

Has done research the second he realized there was a Muslim classmate, and as a good fellow class president it was his duty to make sure everyone was comfortable.

Has extra scarves with a small tin full of pins for you kept under his desk in case of emergencies or if they get damaged in training (which wouldn’t happen as Hatsume had created one that would resist damage.) It was a nice thought.

He does slowly wants to get to know you more as your sweet nature made him feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Keeps a respectful distance at all time.

“Asalam Alaikum, Y/n! It has come to my attention that Ramadan is nearing soon so I have made a list of dietary necessities you may need to intake in order to help your quirk during the holy month.”

“Iida, that’s so sweet of you! You didn’t have to! Also, how did you pronounce that so well?”

“As you class president and friend, I am honoured to do such! To answer your question, I had listened to someone say it on repeat before I practiced.”

This man has every word on repeat just to soak it in his brain.

Averts his eyes even if he sees your ankle, angry at himself for accidentally glancing.

Sir, I promise it’s not a sin to look at an ankle accidentally.

Sees your Hijab bunching up and start showing bits of your neck and shoulder? Grabs the end of the scarf and pulls it down to cover again, avoiding touching your skin.

Checks the ingredients list of the snacks you’re buying for gelatine or alcohol, making sure it’s halal/vegetarian/vegan friendly.

Upset you can’t find halal gummies? This man goes online and orders a bag of certified halal sweets for you to enjoy because you deserve simple joys like this.

Makes sure you pray on time, has the MuslimPro app on his phone to keep track.

He also scrolls through the app to learn more.

Iida is a perfect gentleman and he’s also making sure that you stay spiritually on track and don’t get distracted <3

Kaminari Denki

This man is a physically affectionate person.

He will make the mistake of bounding over to you and slinging an arm around your shoulder or pull you into a hug.

But he will learn and try to control the affectionate urges, limiting himself to hand holding if you allow it.

He thinks you look wonderful with the different coloured hijabs.

Tries making you wear a yellow and black one to match his hair.

Forgets that you can’t eat everything and anything, especially casual things like gummies.

Will apologize profusely when he realizes after you tell him it has gelatine.

Tries to stave off of gelatine infused products.

“Not even water???”

“Denki, I swear to God I’m going to smack you.”

Yes he’s that guy.

Tries fasting with you, just sleeps through the whole day till it was time to eat.

When he see’s you dozing off in class because of staying up all night either because of suhoor or special night prayers during the last ten days, he’ll zap you to keep you paying attention.

He is honestly your hype man when it comes to modest fashion, especially during Eid. This boy will dramatically kneel on the floor and look at you like you’re the light of his life.

Get’s excited when you hand him Eid money because you love him and he has cute child-like tendencies.

Tries greeting your family members, comes out as gibberish.

“Asalamasjdaskjdhashjs”

“Not quite there yet, Denki. A-plus for effort.”

He’s a fun guy who tries to better himself around you, making sure he’s aware of his actions and makes an effort to not mess up around you because he’s never felt so in love with a person as he has with you.

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ladychlo · 2 years

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do you have any tips for those who will go through ramadan for the first time in life?

and what's your view on those who aren't muslims but yet fast with them during this month? personally i don't pray/don't go to mosque, but i am going through some tough time and thought of trying experience fasting to help myself and others if i have a chance.

Hi love <3 I hope you're doing well!!

Fasting can be really tough for the first time because your whole body must adapt to a new diet and it can be difficult to manage that. So first of all, you should know the limits of your body, and sort of communicate with it, and don't overwhelm it, or force it to adjust to full fasting from the first go.

So for my tips (can be many other helpful ones for your first fasting) Try to do your fasting gradually to help your body get familiarized with it. For example:

- Start with short fasting. fast for half the day, instead of doing the whole day (for example I fast for 14/15 hours a day but I'm used to it sinceI was 12yo) you can do half of that or even less. Also you can do three days per week and have breaks. you just need to be careful with how your body will react to change

-also during this, don't cut the food completely if it's your first time, try just to induce it bit by bit, until you feel that your body is ready to not be fed for several hours, and let your body bit by bit know how to consume the stashed energy.

-water and hydration can be the difficult part. stay hydrated at the start again until you feel like your body is able to go without any liquids for hours and it's not gonna be that case from the first go. keep drinking water even if you are not eating and if you cut the water too, be attentive to your body when it will alert you that it is dehydrating.

-be active while fasting!! do gentle and manageable activities, I loved loved swimming while fasting when Ramadan came during the summer, go for small walks, I always had work and finals during fasting so don't let your body go inactive make fasting part of your daily activities

-Also food consumption must be different, avoid greasy and heavy food that takes so long to digest, because it's gonna make you thirsty. make your meals light, eat lots of fruit, fruit is good when you wanna break your fasting. Especially watery food, I love eating Watermelon and ice cream after my fasting, also Dates (fruit) it's good to balance your energy. soup is good!! don't try to eat everything at once after your fast, dont dont eat more than what your body can handle.

-sleep well, and breathe and don't think about it as hard work or arduous tasks.

I think its genuinely nice when people who arent muslim and fast too, fasting is really a cross-cultural tradition and its really not exclusive to islam. I grew up in a city and a culture that is influenced by Jewish culture too. Not only islamic one but fasting is a shared tradition and there is a beautiful understanding on that matter.

For me personally, I do pray and go to mosque but It's really about where you find your peace and feel you're held. and fasting is not just about dieting or food or summat like that.

fasting calms me, it gives me serenity and I really avoid raising my voice, bickering, control my anger, I learn more how to be patient how to listen and to see how much I can reconnect with my body, feel lighter a bit, I try to make it more about others, check on loved ones more, help with what I can. pray and just think of people I know and people I dont when I pray and sending wishes after my prayers I send them to people I know and to strangers too, it humbles me tbh. because it's kind of breaking from the cycle of I'm hungry, I eat , then everything is grand.

its a spiritual state of being, and it involves your body , its about grounding yourself learning to be kind and gentle to others stripping from your ego, practice love through an understanding of others's hardship.

I hope your weight lessen, I'm here if you have any questions or you just wanna talk <3

#hope this helps #Ramadan #long post

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b-lessings · 3 years

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10 lessons I learned from the first 10 days of Ramadan 🌙

(personal, subjective, and in no particular order)

1) It's a constant work and it doesn't get easier. This is the first thing that came into my mind. As a matter of fact, the daily routine of this month is no joke, whichever deeds you try to perform and incorporate in your deen from the 5 obligatory prayers, to the sunnah, to the nawafil, to the azkar, to the Qur'an recitation, to the daily x number of istighfar you promised yourself you'd achieve, it is a lot of work, especially if you have a family to take care of, a job or school to go to, or more critically, if your mental health is not at its best condition. Every day (or night), you get out of bed and you're back at square one, you have all this list of tasks to do, and it gets a lot some times, and you do feel exhausted (but if you are among the lucky ones, then it is the good kind of exhausted), and it's not like your prayers are gonna perform themselves, you have to ger up, you have to act. That's why you need to constantly remind yourself why you are doing this in the first place. What is the point of fasting and waking up in the middle of the night to pray and spending hours throughout the day just remembering Allah swt and reading his book, etc. You have to remind yourself of the ultimate purpose of this month, that we are sacrificing the worldly pleasures for the sake of Allah swt, to gain Taqwa, to be in a state of constante awareness and consciousness of Allah's presence, to get closer to Allah swt the most gracious the most merciful, and that if we don't actually put on some work and effort, we won't get to where we want to go, we won't achieve any of that. It is good to keep things in perspective. Be aware of what you are doing, where you are now, where do you wanna go and what it takes to get you there. If it's constant work and effort, then be it.

2) You can't achieve anything by yourself, your intentions are not enough, you need Allah's support. In fact, for the first couple of days I was so confused, I had to ask my sisters " If the devils are all locked away, why do I feel like I can't focus? " And I was constantly asking myself, if I have already prepared, downloaded the calendars and planners, put up a big board on my bedroom wall, etc., Why do I feel like my Iman is getting low?, AstaghfiruAllah. Aren't we supposed to feel on cloud nine? In a state of pure bliss? And then I came across a khutbah where the Sheikh may Allah swt bless him answered my question. He explained that even though Shaytan is locked away, he has already programmed us, for 11 months (he even made a joke that Shaytan deserves a month off because he has been working too hard for the rest of the year). Anyways, what I realized is even your will and your plans and your excitement about Ramadan and your promises to do so and so deeds is not enough if you don't ask Allah swt for support, for sabr, for guidance, for help, for strength to be able to fulfill those ibadat and carry out the plans you have made for this month. You need to constantly ask Allah swt because who else is our refuge? Who else is our source of strength and patience ? Who else will keep us steadfast on the straight path? And who else is gonna help us against the traps of Shaytan? No matter how willing or excited or determined you are to perform your prayers, finish reading the Qur'an, etc, you still need Allah swt to bless your deeds, every step of the way. Without Him, nothing can be achieved. So in your sujood, ask Him that He give you enough strength to finish that prayer in full Khushoo' and concentration, and after that prayer, ask him for sabr and strength to manage to perform the next one and the one after. Tell Him that you seek refuge in Him from the traps of Shaytan, from laziness and lethargy, from the disoriented heart and the distracted mind. Show Him that you are vulnerable and that even though you are trying to do this for Him, you actually can't do it without Him. SubhanAllah.

3) Forgive yourself when you fall short.

{يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلَا يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ}

{God intends for you ease and does not want hardship for you}

Allah swt literally said this in Surat Al Baqara (The Cow) when he prescribed Fasting upon us and introduced us to the holy month of Ramadan. Soz read it again. As simple as that, I am not gonna develop this idea further.

4) No matter how much you prepared before Ramadan came, you aren't prepared enough. Well, are you familiar with the saying that Ramadan is like a marathon and you have to prepare for it way before? That's actually true. And guess what? No matter how much you think you are prepared, there are still gonna be some moments when you'd still feel out of breath, where you wish you'd have prepared more. May Allah swt make us reach the end of this month smoothly and seamlessly. May Allah swt bless us and accept our deeds from beginning to end.

5) Our deeds don't get accepted because they're good enough, they get accepted because Allah is merciful. I heard this in a youtube khutba just last night and it resonated with me. Put this in your mind, learn it by heart, print it out on your forehead if necessary! No matter how perfect you think your deeds are, they won't get accepted because you're an amazing slave of Allah swt and you win at worship and ibadah. Don't get too confident, beware of arrogance, control your ego. Stay humble and know your place. The only reason why your deeds would be accepted is because Allah swt will have mercy on you, not because you are so good that your deeds would qualify you for forgiveness and acceptance. So pray that Allah swt accepts our deeds and pray that he encompasses us with His mercy.

6) Don't compare to others, don't get intimidated by others, we are not on the same journey. Walk your own rocky path. I can't stress this enough. I know a lot of brothers and sisters Mashaa'Allah, Allahuma barik, are overachievers, or they might just be out of our league. And sometimes, through social media, we see what they share (in their attempt to motivate us and share some tips and good deeds, spread the knowledge, May Allah swt bless them, accept their deeds and reward them), so we get intimidated. Sometimes it feels like what we are doing is not good enough because it doesn't even compare to what X or Y are doing. And we feel a bit scared that we are not good enough of slaves for Allah swt or that Allah swt wouldn't be pleased with us like He swt would be pleased with them, and we can even feel unworthy and get discouraged ( beware it's a shaytan trap). It is simple though, your path to Allah swt is very personal. What a brother or a sister does only get to inspire you not discourage you or intimidate you. When you see someone sharing something good or beneficial, make duaa for them and make duaa for yourself then leave it at that. Competition is taking over every aspect of our worldly life, we shouldn't let it mess with this sacred part as well. And remember, we are not all on the same journey to Allah swt. It is okay if you can't recite the Qur'an in such a beautiful way or if you can't pray 10 rakaas of Taraweeh, it is okay if you can't read in Arabic or if you don't learn any hadith by heart. Allah swt is patient enough and considerate enough. Scratch that, He swt is the most patient, the most considerate, the most gracious, the most generous, and He appreciates your effort. What matters for Him is your sincerity and the purity of your intentions.

7) The less food you take, the more energy you will have. FACTS. I mean, imagine the struggle of having to pray Ishaa and Taraweeh on a full stomach where every time you get down for sujood you feel like your soup is coming up :/ Allahu almusta'aan. This month is not about feasting. It is literally about giving up pleasures (food being one of them) to focus on Allah. So, Focus on what's important and set your priorities straight.

8) Don't overdue it. Beware of the ghost of Burnout. So yeah, like I already said earlier, it is a lot of work and it requires preparation and constant effort. The aim is to be at our best shape of health and Iman on the last 10 nights because they are the most sacred, the most important, the most blessed. You might wanna consider starting small with your deeds and building up slowly. Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Do good deeds properly, sincerely and moderately and know that your deeds will not make you enter Paradise, and that the most beloved deed to Allah is the most regular and constant even if it were little." [Al Bukhari]

9) Personalize your ibadat / plans. In other words, do what's best for you and what's beneficial for you. Define your weaknesses and the areas in which you want to improve. Don't just do this or that deed because everyone else is doing them. Do not follow blindly. What is good for you might not be the thing recommended or done by the others. And what you need on your faith journey is not what X or Y needs. You will be judged on your own deeds, your own journey. Have a purpose and a reason for what you are doing and why you are doing that. Also, the more you feel like your plan or your routine is personal, the more you can relate to it and connect with it, the more sincere you will be, the more excited and enthousiastic you will be, and the easier it will be for you to perform your ibadat in Shaa Allah.

10) Too much information can be poisonous. If ,like me, you got into a habit of watching lectures and videos of speakers this Ramadan, then breaking news: it might get confusing. I don't want you to feel lost and confused. Allahima barik the resources are countless and limitless. But also, you have to beware whom you listen to. There are different sects, different perspectives, different rulings on certain things. So, try not take things blindly. Take them with a pinch of salt and always try to do a background check. And eventually, when it gets too much, always choose what's best for your heart, because we are created with an innate sense of "right" , our fitrah is sane, Alhamdulillah. So, try to be critical. Allah swt even recommends that.

I hope this post can be beneficial. Tell me which part you related to the most, and if you have any extra tips, please share. May Allah swt accept our deeds and grant us forgiveness, amen. 🤍

#ramadan thoughts #tips #ramadan experience #islam #رمضان١٤٤٢ #شهر رمضان #رمضانيات #sabr #muslims on tumblr #muslims #Allah

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inmyarmswrappedin · 4 years

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The good:

Skam España set up Amira’s crush on Dani (and Dani’s crush on Amira) in s2 and, regardless of how it ends, they are following through with that storyline, instead of dropping it like a hot potato.

The bad:

Okay, so first off I have to say I’ve never vibed with Lucas Nabor (Dani)’s acting. And by never I truly do mean never, as in the first day of Cris’ season, I found the way Lucas N played Dani in the confrontation with Cris after they get home extremely cringy. This was way before I could’ve ever dreamed that Skam España would whitewash Yousef’s character and turn him into a white character.

So, for me, it’s not just an issue of whitewashing (which is already bad enough on a show with no meaningful male characters of color), but eskam pairing one of my favorite Skams character ever with the character I like the least for acting reasons.

But I figured eskam wouldn’t really have the audacity to whitewash a love interest and not give us a Yousef of color in another form. Just like the way we got that 5-second glimpse of Lucas Rubio hooking up with a boy named Iván in the s2 finale, so people could see the male Isak had also found an Even, or the way we got a full season of Miquel being the abusive boyfriend that Spanish viewers saw William as, but for Noorhelm fans, Alejandro still got to be Nora’s endgame.

And so, when Sofian in the trailer was blatantly posited as a love interest, juxtaposed with shots of Dani with the same expression and filmed from the same angle, I thought, “Okay, so Amira will have an additional love interest who is actually Moroccan, and he’ll probably be around much less (like Iván in s2 and Alejandro in s3), but he’ll be the endgame.”

Like... Never in my wildest nightmares would I have thought that Skam España would take... idefk... Lito from Skam and turn him into a full fledged character who’d play the fuck out of Amira and attempt to talk her into bearding.

When Kasim was introduced and people immediately noticed the look between Lucas and Kasim, I thought, “no fucking way Skam España would pull an Elite.” WHEN, when has Skam España looked towards Elite for inspiration before? Not even just to “fix” Elite storylines and turn them into good storylines. Elite and Skam España have never existed in the same sphere or tried to do the same things or impacted each other.

When the spoilers came out, I thought back to the time in s3 when the same hackers said that Alejandro would hit Miquel with a bottle. At the time, I heard of the Alejandro spoilers and wondered to myself, “is this something Skam España would ever do?” And I thought nah, no way, Skam España has never been concerned with toxic masculinity or romanticized it. And I was right!

So I did the same thing with these spoilers, and I was SO SURE that I had understood the show, that I had understood what Skam España had been trying to do all these three seasons, that Skam España was so disinterested in men as a whole that they’d never try something so complex with either Dani (a conversion storyline) or Kasim (a closeted storyline). Both of those storylines are storylines Skam España gives to GIRLS. Because men in eskam have always been more about what they symbolize for the girls, than their own entities. And I liked that! So, on that level I feel betrayed, because Skam España had been telling it was one thing for three seasons, until in s4 they decided Amira didn’t deserve the same treatment as all the other mains, where she doesn’t get to be by far the most complex character in her own season. (I’m not saying Amira isn’t complex - she is. She is the most complex Sana and the most nuanced.)

There are a couple things that gave me a bad vibe about this season from the start: one was the fact that Kasim wasn’t introduced in episode 1. Skam España always introduces the characters that are significant for the main in episode 1, so for Kasim to not show up in episode 1, that was a sign. The other one was that Skam España gave the bonus clips to Alejandro. This is a show that refused to give Lucas bonus clips in s2, because his experience as a gay boy just wasn’t relevant to Cris. Not in the same Viri’s experience was relevant to Nora. And suddenly, Alejandro (and not Nora) gets the bonus clips in a season about Amira? Like, it was just fucking weird. It is weird as shit that a show that has always gleefully centered the female experience to the detriment of the male experience, would decide in their Muslim woc season, that it was time for the whitest, straightest, cisgenderedest, richest character on the show to be the first one to get some focus.

Because Sana seasons across the board have underperformed compared to the seasons that came before them (because of racism and islamophobia in Europe), I thought that maybe Movistar had decided to lean on the romance a bit more heavily this season, in order to make it seem more appealing. Kinda makes sense, no? We’re tired of seeing straight white girl seasons, so making Nora’s season lean a bit more on the educational side of Skam isn’t a risk. People will still tune in. But a Sana season is a bit of a harder sell, so we have to sweeten the deal with romcom tropes and all the other couples in the show making out and about to have sex, to make up for Amira not getting those scenes. I thought I could live with that.

But like, there’s adding some background fanservice from established couples and then there’s this monstrosity that leans into EVERY islamophobic Muslim trope ever (because it’s super commercial and high stakes drama and excitingggggg). Like, in Western media, Muslim men are either oppressors (abusive, strict husbands who beat their wives and are terrorists or thugs or thieves) or oppressed (closeted gay boys who resort to extreme means, such as bearding or dealing drugs, in order to stay under the radar). They never get to be the leading love interest. I have never seen a Muslim man of color on Spanish TV be the male love interest, and especially not the love interest to a Muslim woman. And Skam España will be no different.

I also hope people understand the way it undermines literally every other thing they’re trying to do with the show. Amira already explained at length both her own stance towards gay people and Islam’s stance towards gay people, in s2 and her bonus video with Lucas. if you want to be a Muslim in good standing, you can be gay as long as you don’t act on it. But you can also be a Muslim who eats pork, or a Muslim who doesn’t fast in Ramadan, or a Muslim who doesn’t pray five times a day, because ultimately it’s about every individual’s relationship with Allah. To go back on this for a homophobic Muslims storyline undoes everything they did in s2.

It also undermines Dounia as a character. Here’s a practicing Muslim who longs for a safe space, who doesn’t want to answer questions from non Muslims, who thinks it’s better not to even open the door to a relationship with a white non Muslim, and who’s really confident in all those decisions. And if you think the show isn’t setting her up to be confronted with the fact her brother doesn’t feel safe among Muslims, who prefers questions from non Muslims over telling the truth to Muslims, who has happily opened the door to a relationship with a white non Muslim, who thinks that Dounia is a homophobe in short, and that she will be made to reexamine all her beliefs because of her brother... I just don’t know what to say to you tbh.

And also, this clip made it seem like Amira’s Muslim world wouldn’t accept her crush on Dani, undoing everything the show has done until now. Dounia didn’t disapprove when Amira told her she had a crush on a white non Muslim. She understood and shared her experience. Amira’s mother knew about her crush on Dani and never tried to stop it, nor did she discourage it when Amira told her about it. Why is Skam España suddenly acting like Amira can’t tell anyone about her budding relationship with Dani, when every anon on tumblr dot com will tell you that relationships between Muslim women and Christian men happen all the time?

And finally, it just makes me reexamine previous Skam España seasons and wonder... Did they make Amira only start wearing hijab in the first day of s1 because they knew a character like Sana wouldn’t contemplate a relationship with a white character who makes islamophobic jokes, drinks and makes out with the Sana’s friends in front of her after specifically inviting her to a party? Did they make Amira the show’s Isak’s best friend just so they could whitewash Yousef? Was the whole purpose and trajectory of Amira on the show, everything they did with her, a justification for whitewashing one of the few positive men of color on Western TV? For refusing to show a Muslim girl in a happy relationship with a Muslim boy? To only portray and devote time to Muslim poc/white atheists relationships? (Amira’s parents not withstanding.) As if the most positive outcome for a Muslim person living in Europe is to marry a white atheist. That is what Skam España did to Sana’s season, to Sana, to the balloon squad.

#skam españa #anti damira #anti dani soto #if you are a damira or dani stan and click on this post #then you have been warned #if you come on anon to attack me for this post #do not expect me to be polite

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mongoose232323 · 3 years

Text

April 26, 2021

This Year's First Supermoon,

The 'Pink Moon,' Will Rise On Monday.

From The Article

The Next Full Moon is the Pink Moon, the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, the Fish Moon, the Paschal Moon (for Eastern Christianity), Hanuman Jayanti, Bak Poya, and a Supermoon.

The next full Moon will be late Monday night, April 26, 2021, appearing opposite the Sun in Earth-based longitude at 11:32 p.m. EDT. This will be the next day from the Atlantic Daylight Savings timezone eastward across Africa, Europe, Asia, and Australia to the International Date Line. Most commercial calendars are based on Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and will show this full Moon occurring on Tuesday, April 27, 2021. The Moon will appear full for about three days around this time, from Sunday night through Wednesday morning.

In the 1930s the Maine Farmer's Almanac began publishing American Indian Moon names for the months of the year. According to this almanac, as the full Moon in April, this is the Pink Moon, named after the herb moss pink, also known as creeping phlox, moss phlox, or mountain phlox. The plant is native to the eastern United States and is one of the earliest widespread flowers of spring.

Other names for this Moon include the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and among coastal tribes of North America, the Fish Moon, as this was when the shad swam upstream to spawn.

For Eastern Christianity (which bases its calculations on the Julian Calendar) this is the full Moon before Easter, called the Paschal Moon. This is one of the years where the different calendars used by Western and Eastern Christianity make a difference. Eastern Christianity will be celebrating Easter on Sunday, May 2, 2021. Western Christianity celebrated Easter on Sunday, April 4.

For Hindus, this is Hanuman Jayanti, the celebration of the birth of Lord Hanuman, celebrated in most areas on the full Moon day of the Hindu lunar month of Chaitra, which (in India's time zone) is Tuesday, April 27, 2021.

For Buddhists, especially in Sri Lanka, this full Moon corresponds with Bak Poya, commemorating when the Buddha visited Sri Lanka and settled a dispute between chiefs, avoiding a war.

This Full Moon is a Supermoon

This full Moon is the first of two supermoons for 2021. The term "supermoon" was coined by astrologer Richard Nolle in 1979 and refers to either a new or full Moon that occurs when the Moon is within 90% of perigee, its closest approach to Earth. Since we can't see a new Moon (except when it passes in front of the Sun), what has caught the public's attention in recent decades are full supermoons, as these are the biggest and brightest full Moons for the year.

These two full Moons are virtually tied, with the full Moon on May 26, 2021, slightly closer to the Earth than the full Moon on April 26, 2021, but only by about 98 miles (157 kilometers), or about 0.04% of the distance from the Earth to the Moon at perigee.

Full Moons, New Moons, and Calendars

In many traditional lunisolar calendars, the months change with the new Moon and full Moons fall in the middle of the lunar months. This full Moon is in the middle of the third month of the Chinese calendar and Iyar in the Hebrew calendar. In the Islamic calendar, the months start with the first sighting of the waxing crescent Moon shortly after the New Moon.

This full Moon is near the middle of the holy month of Ramadan. Ramadan is honored as the month in which the Quran was revealed. Observing this annual month of charitable acts, prayer, and fasting from dawn to sunset is one of the Five Pillars of Islam.

As usual, the wearing of suitably celebratory celestial attire is encouraged in honor of the full Moon.

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1818/the-next-full-moon-is-a-supermoon-pink-moon/

Artwork by @moonomens

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drmaqazi · 22 days

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INTRODUCING ISLAM TO BEGINNERS, ESPECIALLY TO NON-MUSLIMS

In Arabic, Islām means ‘SUBMISSION,' from 'aslama which means to ‘SUBMIT (to the Will of God Almighty),' The word ISLAM in Arabic also means PEACE.

HOW DOES ONE BECOME A MUSLIM?

To become a Muslim, one simply declares the testimony of faith (in Arabic, it is called the Shahadah) with full conviction, in the presence of a witness.

We wish to clarify that the whole matter is very easy, plain and simple, No certificate. No money exchanged, and No water dipping.

The testimony of faith in Arabic is:

اشهدانلاإلهإلااللهواشهدانمحمدالرسولالله

Ash-hadu an laa ilaaha illAllah

I bear witness that there is nothing worthy of worship except God Almighty [Allah Subhanahu wa Ta’ala].

Wa ash-hadu anna Muhammadar Rasul Allah,

and I bear witness that Muhammad (Peace and Blessings be upon him) is the Messenger of Allah.

FIVE (5) PILLARS OF ISLAM

The Shahadah is the first pillar of Islam and that is what makes one a Muslim. The five (5) pillars of Islam consist of:

The testimony of faith (Shahadah)

2. Five daily prayers (Salat)

3. Giving charity to the needy (Zakat)

4. Fasting the month of Ramadan (Saum)

5. Performing the Hajj (Pilgrimage to Makkah) once in one’s lifetime, if able to do it.

ARTICLES OF FAITH

IHSAN

Excellence is to worship Allah (Subhanahu wa Ta’ala) as if you see Him, or if you do not see Him, know that He surely sees you.

REFERENCES:

Surah Al-Baqarah 2, Ayah 208

O believers! Enter into Islam wholeheartedly and do not follow Satan’s footsteps. Surely he is your sworn enemy.

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Surah Ali 'Imran 3, Ayah 19

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Surah Ali 'Imran 3, Ayah 85

Whoever seeks a way other than [Islam] complete devotion to God Almighty, it will not be accepted from them, and in the Hereafter they will be among the losers.

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Surah Al-Ma'idah 5, Ayah 3

You are also forbidden to draw lots for decisions. This is all evil. Today the disbelievers have given up all hope of ˹undermining˺ your faith. So do not fear them; fear Me!

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Surah At-Tawbah 9, Ayah 33

He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with ˹true˺ guidance and the religion of truth, making it prevail over all others, even to the dismay of the polytheists.

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Surah Al-Fath 48, Ayah 28

He is the One Who has sent His Messenger with ˹right˺ guidance and the religion of truth, making it prevail over all others. And sufficient is Allah as a Witness.

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Surah As-Saff 61, Ayah 6

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Surah Al-Anbya Surah, 21 Ayah 77

And We made him [Noah] prevail over those who had rejected Our signs. They were truly an evil people, so We drowned them all.

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oceanspray5 · 3 years

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I don't know if your still doing these or if you are still up for requests but if you want to could you write a head-cannon of Syrian!Percy please? Maybe not even Syrian but just him being of Arabic descent? I am never able to find any head-cannons for Arabic!Percy. Love all your writings BTW your my favorite blog!

Omg Anon I am SO SORRY that I never answered this ask. I just checked my inbox after forever and realized that I never answered this. I hope you see this even though its been forever. Also thank you SO MUCH for saying I’m your favorite blog. That makes me so happy, you don’t even know.

I will do my best to write Syrian!Percy headcanons. I’m not Arab myself so there’s not much I know so I’m sorry if these are very cookie-cutter and not at all full of depth because I’m going to be using Google to help me write these. So here we go:

Loves Arabic poetry. His dyslexia makes it difficult to read it but Sally always quoted verses so he learnt a lot of them in this way.

Woos Annabeth with aforementioned Arabic poetic verses (because seriously, Arabic poetry is something else especially romantic verses).

Annabeth learns Arabic from him and Sally just because Percy won’t stop reciting them around her and she ends up enjoying the challenge despite the language learning barrier.

Doesn’t really like hummus unless its his mom’s recipe. Sure he CAN eat anyone else’s recipe but no one will beat Sally’s cooking because she has her own secret recipe (and it totally doesn’t have to do with the fact that she adds food coloring to make it blue, pfft)

Loves lamb meat. When Sally was working to make ends meet it became a special treat she’d bring home occasionally and would season and cook to perfection. It became a more frequent dish after Gabe was gone cuz there was more money when it wasn’t wasted on his gambling and Sally was able to publish her book.

He loves finding opportunities to dress up in his Kaftan. He has a lot of pride of where he comes from. He even dresses up Estelle in a traditional Syrian dress and takes her with him once when there’s a cultural day going on at his university in New Rome.

Do not put Baklavah in front of him. He will finish a whole platter by himself if you let him.

He will then complain about the sweet taste in his mouth that won’t stop lingering for hours and of the inevitable tummy ache but the cycle will repeat the next time he sees the sweet.

Speaking of, he loves dates filled with cream. Awaits Ramadan eagerly just to break his fast with those. He whines about not having those the rest of the year until Annabeth points out there is nothing stopping him from eating them year round.

Him and Grover go out for Falafel often. They found this nice little restaurant operated by some Syrian locals right outside New Rome and they become the shop’s favorite customers.

In that same vein, he and Piper enjoy going out for Fattoush. There is no other reason for this headcanon other than that I like Pipercy bromance and I feel its a type of dish Piper would enjoy.

Loves both Sufi music and Arabic rock music which are two opposite sides of the music spectrum but he loves them both anyway.

I tried my best anon so I really hope you enjoy these! I’m so sorry they’re so basic but again, I’m very ignorant about Syrian and Arab culture in general. Thank you so much for requesting though! And once again thank you sm for thinking my blog is great 💕

#pjo #hoo #percy jackson #syrian!percy jackson #arab!percy jackson #annabeth chase #percy jackson and the olympians #heroes of olympus #poc!percy #poc!percy jackson #piper mcclean #grover underwood

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pac-wo-man · 3 years

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Miracles of Ramadan

Since I made this tumblr nearing the start of the fasting month, I would like to dedicate my second post to the miracles I have experienced during the holy month of Ramadan. Disclaimer, this may sound rather like a personal spiritual reflection…

And this brings me back to the Ramadan I had in 2019, one that I thought would be the hardest, but Allah made it one of the easiest. --- It was on May, close to the summer solstice, when the day in the northern hemisphere was notably long. I was still living in the Netherlands, and so the fasting hour was long: it would begin at 3:00am CET before sunrise, and ends at Maghrib (sunset hour, the time when we broke our fast) which would call at around 9:30pm CET. Yet, in that month, I had to travel even far north to Tromsø, Norway; for a course study trip that worth 15 credits of my masters. A place where the sun does not even set. Of course it was trip I highly anticipated on, coming from Indonesia, trekking the vast snowy mountain range of the arctic is indeed listed somewhere on my bucket list. On the other hand, I was worried that the trip would ruin my rituals in Ramadan. It crossed my mind to skip a few days of fasting, especially that my family convinced me I was actually eligible to have the exception of not fasting, considering I was a ‘musafir’ (meaning traveler--in which in Islam they may be excused for not fasting). Although, referring to the old tales, its not like I resembled the musafir that spent days on a camel travelling through the dry desert of Sahara in a mission to deliver an important message to….. ok lets not go into that. But anyways, I had my doubts. And as far as I remembered, no one on the trip was fasting too, so I was reluctant.

But somehow my heart whispers: no. don't compromise. keep your fast, because-- I don't actually know because of what. But I felt I really wanted to challenge my faith at that time. And subhanallah, as I set the intention firm, it felt like the world rotated to my favor (at least in my perspective):

1. It was with Ingrid, Judit, Malavika, and Nicole that I shared the cabin with during the extended road trip days. I actually hesitated to let them know as I did not want my routine to disturb them, such as having to wake up early for sahoor or seeking my iftar food in the rural north. But after I let them know, they had my sahoor and iftar food prepared, asking what is halal for me to eat, and say things like 'we won't let you eat bad food after having to starve all day'. Tears! I did not expect such help and tolerance.

2. As I mentioned, the sun only set halfway before it rises back up again in Tromso, Norway. And that’d be around 1 am. So I decided to break my fast at 8pm, following the time of the nearest Muslim country. I don't know how, but I managed to fast that lengthy hour, even on the day where we planned to go trekking up the mountain. Not a recommended activity during the fasting month, but how can I miss an opportunity I may not get another time? Indeed, there is no way a strength like that came from any other but the Creator. I never trained myself to hike, let alone in the fasting month? The exhaustion from the long walk also disappeared instantly as we found a picturesque waterfall of 100 meters tall that is so beautiful I instantly fell to my knees and cried (hehe). MashaaAllah. The moment itself was the most remarkable gift I ever had.

3. We spent most of the time on the road roaming around the site of our fieldwork. Ingrid and Judit were the two taking turns driving the wheels. They always offered to stop every time its my praying time. And the place where I stopped? It's always in the middle of nowhere -- a truly scenic, mesmerizing, *insert more bewildered adjectives here* Norwegian landscape which overwhelmed me as I begun thinking how would ‘a better place than the earth’ look like.

Please allow me to share the view that kept sending me shivers back then (I swear they are better in real life!):

In the end what really what got me was: I don't think it was my even my will anymore to have the determination to keep fasting.

But it was Allah who did not want me to skip it, and he made every situation easy, possible, and beautiful for me to enjoy doing the worship. Alhamdulillah. And so that remained as a precious memory.

The Ramadan in 2019 changed my perspective on how I view obstacles and how to have taqwa (full trust) on Allah when you have already set your intention straight. This helped me to go through the Ramadan in 2020, which was at the start of the worldwide lockdown, as He blessed me with a tiny circle (Hi Wida, Yasmin, Widya, etc!) to quarantine together and venture on a journey inwards. But that’s another story. I pray that you too shall experience the miracles of Ramadan, or get you flying to the Arctic Norway (again if you already have!), and for those of you who are fasting in this pandemic Ramadan--may Allah make it easy for you and grant you barakah in all your efforts.

Ramadan Mubarak,

PAC

#norway #tromsø #ramadan #muslim #nature #roadtrip #islam

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