About half a dozen

Memorising Qur'an

2011-12-29T18:51:00.000Z

Best way to memorize the Quran AND never forget it! In shaa Allah.

And for motivation:

http://www.duacoach.com/

"Sit back and learn your Quran and Dua’s in a matter of days via email, using the latest learning techniques to help you achieve your desired goals, you can use some of them or all of them to increase your learning pace. We use established techniques that you can find in many memory books, and throw in a couple of new ones which are tailored to the rhythmic quality of the Quran, we mix in technology too, and instead of eating the whole of the cake, using our algorithm which breaks down your lesson to word level, we will email you up to 3 times a day, a smaller slice of the cake that you find tasty and that you can digest easily."

Talent

2011-12-13T21:08:00.001Z

"The society which scorns excellence in plumbing as a humble activity and tolerates shoddiness in philosophy because it is an exalted activity will have neither good plumbing nor good philosophy: neither its pipes nor its theories will hold water."

- John W. Gardner

Home made vapour rub - an alternative to Vicks

2011-11-09T13:57:00.000Z

2 tablespoons olive oil or other carrier oil
10 or more drops eucalyptus essential oil

Petroleum jelly, petrolatum or soft paraffin dosn't have any scientifically proved medicinal effect, but should not be applied to the inside of the nose due to the risk of lipid pneumonia. Vicks also contains camphor, which is toxic if swallowed or absorbed into the body.

In any case, this is a much cheaper alternative to vicks. To make a salve, one can experiment with beeswax, for a natural substitute.

Eid Mubarak!

2011-11-08T16:03:00.003Z

بسم الله

عيد مبارك

تقبل الله منا ومنكم

أحكام التجويد

2011-10-07T21:42:00.002+01:00

We're going back to studying tajweed, in shaa Allah walhamdu lillah.

Gem of a message from George Carlin

2011-10-07T20:36:00.000+01:00

A Message by George Carlin:

The paradox of our time in history is that we have taller buildings but shorter tempers, wider Freeways but narrower viewpoints. We spend more, but have less, we buy more, but enjoy less. We have bigger houses and smaller families, more conveniences, but less time. We have more degrees but less sense, more knowledge, but less judgment, more experts, yet more problems, more medicine, but less wellness.

We drink too much, smoke too much, spend too recklessly, laugh too little, drive too fast, get too angry, stay up too late, get up too tired, read too little, watch TV too much, and pray too seldom.

We have multiplied our possessions, but reduced our values. We talk too much, love too seldom, and hate too often.

We've learned how to make a living, but not a life. We've added years to life not life to years. We've been all the way to the moon and back, but have trouble crossing the street to meet a new neighbor. We conquered outer space but not inner space. We've done larger things, but not better things.

We've cleaned up the air, but polluted the soul. We've conquered the atom, but not our prejudice. We write more, but learn less. We plan more, but accomplish less. We've learned to rush, but not to wait. We build more computers to hold more information, to produce more copies than ever, but we communicate less and less.

These are the times of fast foods and slow digestion, big men and small character, steep profits and shallow relationships. These are the days of two incomes but more divorce, fancier houses, but broken homes. These are days of quick trips, disposable diapers, throwaway morality, one night stands, overweight bodies, and pills that do everything from cheer, to quiet, to kill. It is a time when there is much in the showroom window and nothing in the stockroom. A time when technology can bring this letter to you, and a time when you can choose either to share this insight, or to just hit delete...

Remember; spend some time with your loved ones, because they are not going to be around forever.

Remember, say a kind word to someone who looks up to you in awe, because that little person soon will grow up and leave your side.

Remember, to give a warm hug to the one next to you, because that is the only treasure you can give with your heart and it doesn't cost a cent.

Remember, to say, 'I love you' to your partner and your loved ones, but most of all mean it. An embrace will mend hurt when it comes from deep inside of you.

Remember to hold hands and cherish the moment for someday that person will not be there again.

Give time to love, give time to speak! And give time to share the precious thoughts in your mind.

AND ALWAYS REMEMBER:

Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.

George Carlin - comedian of the 70's and 80's

About half a dozen...

2011-10-07T10:46:00.000+01:00

I'm thinking of changing the title of this blog. Since I no longer have only half a dozen children (in case you missed it, number seven arrived this spring).

So, I'm renaming it to 'About half a dozen'.

Translating is so easy...

2011-10-04T18:15:00.002+01:00

especially with facilities like Google Translate :D

Then you can translate stuff like the hadeeth about the prohibition of wailing

قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه و سلم ليس منا من ضرب الخدود و شق الجيوب ودعا بدعوى الجاهلية

and get something like this:

"cheeks hit the pockets of the building"

!!!

*The meaning of the hadeeth is: the Messenger of Allah (sAas) said: Whoever hits his cheeks, rips his pockets (clothes) and curses with a curse of the time of ignorance, is not one of us.

2011-08-29T20:00:00.000+01:00

Our last iftar for this year.

At the end of Ramadaan Allaah has prescribed that His slaves should recite takbeer. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):

“(He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allaah [i.e. to say Takbeer (Allaahu Akbar: Allaah is the Most Great)] for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him”

[al-Baqarah 2:185]

“that you must magnify Allaah” means venerating Him in your hearts and on your lips, by pronouncing the takbeer.

So you should say: Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, wa Lillaahi’l-hamd (Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, there is no god except Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, and all praise be to Allaah).

Or you can say Allaahu akbar three times, so you say:

Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, laa ilaaha ill-Allaah, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, Allaahu akbar, wa Lillaahi’l-hamd (Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great, there is no god except Allaah, Allaah is Most Great, Allaah is Most Great , Allaah is Most Great, and all praise be to Allaah).

Both are permissible.

This takbeer is Sunnah according to the majority of scholars. It is Sunnah for both men and woman, in the mosque, in the home and in the marketplace. Men should say it out loud, and women should say it quietly, because women are commanded to lower their voices. Hence the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “If you notice something during the prayer, men should say ‘Subhan-Allaah!’ and women should clap.” So women should say the takbeer quietly and men should say it out loud.

The time for this takbeer begins when the sun sets on the night of Eid (i.e., the night before) if it is known that the new month has begun when the sun sets, such as when the people have completed thirty days of Ramadaan, or when it is proven that the new moon of Shawwaal has been sighted. And it ends when the prayer begins, i.e., when they start the Eid prayer then the time for the takbeer ends.

Majmoo’ Fataawa Ibn ‘Uthaymeen, 16/269-272.

Al-Shaafa’i said in al-Umm:

Allaah says concerning the month of Ramadaan (interpretation of the meaning):

“(He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allaah [i.e. to say Takbeer (Allaahu Akbar: Allaah is the Most Great)] for having guided you”

[al-Baqarah 2:185]

I heard from some scholars whom I trust and who are knowledgeable about the Qur’aan:

“(He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allaah [i.e. to say Takbeer (Allaahu Akbar: Allaah is the Most Great)] for having guided you” it is completed when the sun sets on the last day of the month of Ramadaan.

Then al-Shaafa’i said:

When they see the new moon of Shawwaal, I like all the people to recite takbeer together and individually in the mosques, the marketplaces, the streets, the houses, travellers and non-travellers in all situations, no matter where they are. They should pronounce the takbeer openly and continue to recite it until they come to the prayer-place the next morning, and after that until the imam comes out to lead the prayer, then they should stop reciting the takbeer.

Then he narrated from Sa’eed ibn al-Musayyib, ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr, Abu Salamah and Abu Bakr ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan, that they used to recite takbeer on the night before Eid al-Fitr in the mosque, reciting the takbeer out loud.

It was narrated from ‘Urwah ibn al-Zubayr and Abu Salamah ibn ‘Abd al-Rahmaan that they used to recite the takbeer out loud when they came to the prayer-pace in the morning, and that Naafi’ ibn Jubayr used to recite the takbeer out loud when he came to the prayer-place in the morning of the day of Eid.

It was narrated from Ibn ‘Umar that he used to come to the prayer-place on the morning of the day of Eid al-Fitr, when the sun had risen, and he would recite takbeer until he reached the prayer-place, then he would recite takbeer in the prayer-place until the imam sat down and stopped reciting takbeer.
http://islam-qa.com/en/ref/48969

Laylatul Qadr

2011-08-29T06:14:00.002+01:00

The Virtues of Laylatul Qadr - Sheikh Sajid Ahmed Umar

In Depth Analysis & Tafseer of Surah 97 al-Qadr by Nouman Ali Khan (the video is from a different lecture!)

Hassan ibn Abdullah al-'Awad

2011-08-29T05:09:00.002+01:00

Muhammed Taha al-Junaid

2011-08-29T03:36:00.004+01:00

Abdur-Rahman, the 3 year old Haafidh

2011-08-29T03:21:00.002+01:00

Abdur-Rahman, the youngest haafidh (who has memorised the Qur'an by heart) in the world. He was three years old, 1430 (2009).

Thirty Lessons For Those Who Fast

2011-08-29T03:16:00.003+01:00

Thirty Lessons For Those Who Fast

From the book with the same name by Aa’id Abdullah al Qarni, on the above blog by a dear sister, may Allah reward them, ameen.

Ramadaan - the month of the Qur'an

2011-08-16T05:19:00.002+01:00

Seven year old boy (he looks younger than seven to me?) leading taraweeh prayers (special Ramadaan night prayers, in which you recite a big portion of the Qur'an while standing - traditionally these prayers would go on the whole night).

Ramadaan Tafseer Series 2011

2011-08-07T03:06:00.002+01:00

Ramadaan Tafseer Series 2011 of Surah Yaseen:

The whole series for this year can be found here, in shaa Allah.

Ramadan Mubarak

2011-08-01T20:31:00.003+01:00

رمضان مبارك

Ramadan Mubarak!

A hadith about fasting in Arabic Sign Language

2011-07-28T21:26:00.002+01:00

Bees lapbook - S

2011-07-21T12:01:00.000+01:00

Resources used:

http://www.homeschoolshare.com/honey_bee_lapbook.php
http://www.schoolexpress.com/free/bees_frj78.pdf
http://imanshomeschool.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/honey-bee-project/
http://www.honey.com/nhb/downloads/
http://www.honey.com/images/downloads/HoneyFilesWeb.pdf
www.homeschoolblogger.com/SimcoxHomeschool (page seems to have been taken down)
http://www.helpsavebees.co.uk/bumblebee-family-chart.html
and bees fonts found with google, scrap book stickers, etc. I'm sorry about the blurry pictures...

For the first time in the history of Youtube

2011-05-11T17:15:00.009+01:00

لأول مرة في تاريخ اليوتيوب
مصاحف مرتلة في فيديو واحد
For the first time in the history of Youtube
The recitation of the Qur'an on one video!

المصحف المرتل للشيخ سعد الغامدي في مقطع واحد
ومدته ٢٤ ساعة و٤٧ دقيقة على هذا الرابط
Sheikh Saad Alghamdi, 24 h 47 min

ومصحف آخر للشيخ ماهر المعيقلي
ومدته ٢٢ ساعة و٣٦ دقيقة على هذا الرابط
Sheikh Maher Al-Maeeqliy, 22 h 36 min

ومصحف ثالث للقارئ الشيخ محمد صديق المنشاوي
ومدته ٢٨ ساعة و٤٦ دقيقة على هذا الرابط
Sheikh Muhammed Siddeeq Al-Minshaawiy, 28 h 46 min

A new skill

2011-04-18T12:55:00.001+01:00

I've learned a new skill... and I'm so proud of myself, lol.

From Living on a dime.com

Fair trade...

2011-04-17T21:22:00.003+01:00

Publishing an old post with links that has been sitting as a draft for a few years...

How the rich starved the world

What's Wrong With Fair Trade

Fairtrade, right or wrong?

The poverty of Fairtrade coffee

The Fair Trade Movement and where it has gone wrong

Calligraphy & calligraphers

2011-03-12T20:48:00.013Z

Calligraphers:

Abbas Baghdadi

Haji Noor Deen, Master Calligrapher (Islamic, Arabic, Chinese Calligraphy Art) (his homepage)
Hajji Noor Deen Mi Guangjiang (米廣江, born 1963) is an expert in Islamic calligraphy, specializing in the Sini style which originated from the Chinese Muslim tradition. Born in the province of Shandong, he is a lecturer at the Islamic College at Zhengzhou in the province of Henan, and is also a researcher of Islamic culture at the Henan Academy Sciences. In 1997, Haji Noor Deen was the first Chinese Muslim to be awarded the Egyptian Certificate of Arabic Calligraphy and to be admitted as a member of the Association of Egyptian Calligraphy.
Source: Wikipedia

Mohamed Zakariya
A revert from South Carolina, who embraced Islam in 1961.

Script styles:

Islamic calligraphy
In Arabic

Kufi/Kufic
Naskh
Thuluth
Ijaaza (not available in English)
Diwani
Maghrebi
Farsi
Sini (script)
(do check out the Arabic pages for more examples of the styles)

Tutorials

video lessons
video tutorials
tools used
how to cut the bamboo pen (in Arabic)
other videos in Arabic

And some photos from my personal library:

The photos are from "The Book Show" in 2008, DZ.

The below pictures show how the Thuluth (one third) script got its name

And below are some examples of calligraphy art:

That year A was learning how to write with home made ink and bamboo pens or fountain pens on wooden tablets.

To say "sadaqta wa barart" when hearing the call to the sunrise prayer

2011-03-08T12:20:00.004Z

سؤال: قرأت في بعض الكتب أن المؤذن إذا قال في آذان الفجر ( الصلاة خير من النوم ) يقول من يتابعه ( صدقت وبررت ). هل على هذا دليل؟ أفتونا جزاك الله خيرا.

الجواب : اعلم أن العبادات مبناها على التوقيف فلا يشرع منها شيء إلا ما شرعه الله ورسوله.وقد قال النبي ( من أحدث في أمرنا هذا ماليس منه فهو رد ) متفق عليه من حديث عائشة .
والمشروع للمسلم إذا قال المؤذن الصلاة خير من النوم أن يقول مثله لقوله ( إذا سمعتم النداء فقولوا مثل ما يقول المؤذن ) متفق عليه من حديث أبي سعيد الخدري .
وهذا الحديث عام لم يخص منه شيء إلا في الحيعلتين فيقول من يتابع المؤذن (لاحول ولا قوة إلا بالله ) لحديث عمر في صحيح مسلم .
وأما بقية ألفاظ الأذان فيقول مثله.فإذا قال المؤذن الصلاة خير من النوم لم يشرع لأحد أن يقول خلاف ما يقول المؤذن لا صدقت و لا بررت و لا غيرها من الألفاظ التي لم ترد في الشرع وشر الأمور محدثاتها .
وأما قول السائل:قرأت في بعض الكتب... الخ .
فهذا صحيح ذكر ذلك بعض الفقهاء. ولكنهم لم يذكروا دليلاً على ذلك، إنما هو استحسان من بعضهم فظن من أتى بعدهم أن قولها مشروع ولا شرع إلا ما شرعه الله أو رسوله .
فعلى المسلم أن يقتدى و يتبع و لا يبتدع و ليس كل ما ذكره الفقهاء أو بعضهم يكون صحيحاً مشروعاً.فبعضهم يذكر ما وقف عليه وبعضهم يذكر ما قاله إمام مذهبه والمسلم يأخذ ما قام عليه الدليل. والله أعلم .
للشيخ سليمان العلوان

(Quick translation:)

Q: I've read in some books that when the mu'edhin says "assalaatu khayrun min annawm" (the salaat is better than sleeping) when calling for the Fajr prayer, the ones repeating after him should say "Sadaqta wa barart". Are there any proofs for this? Give us your verdict, jazaakum Allahu khayran.

A: Know that worship is built on staying away from what hasn't been prescribed, and only do what has been prescribed by Allah and His Messenger . And the Prophet said: "Whoever narrates, in this matter of ours (meaning the Deen/religion/way of life), what isn't part of it, is to be rejected" agreed on, from the hadeeth of A'isha.
And it is prescribed on the Muslim to say what the mu'edhin says when he says "assalaatu khayrun min annawm", because of the words of the Prophet "If you hear the call, say what the mu'edhin says", agreed upon and narrated by Abu Saeed al-Khudri.
And this general hadeeth does not lack anything, except that you should say "Laa hawla wa laa quwwata illa billah" when you hear the two "hayya 'ala", because of the hadeeth of Umar in Saheeh Muslim.

As for the rest of the words of prayer he says like him. When the mu'edhin says prayer is better than sleep it is not prescribed for any one to say other than what the muezzin says, not "sadaqta" nor "barart" nor anything else that is not prescribed or listed in Islam and the evil things are the newly-invented things (in the Deen).
The questioner says: I read in some books ... Etc..
This is true, some fuqahaa (scholars of fiqh/the narratives/ahaadeeth) did state that. But they gave no proof for it, it is the approval of some of them that made those who came after them think it was prescribed, but nothing is permitted but what was prescribed by Allah and His Messenger .
The Muslim has to follow suit and follow, and not invent. And not everything that the scholars, all or some of them, said is authentic and prescribed. For some of them only mention what they have found (as far as their research went and no more) and some of them say what the imam of his madhhab said and the Muslim takes what the evidence says.

And Allah knows best

(Shaykh Sulayman al-'Alwaan - translated by myself, whatever is correct of it is from Allah, and whatever is incorrect is from myself)

May this be of benefit, ameen.

SubhaankAllahumma wa bihamdik ash-hadu a-laa ilaaha illa Ant, astaghfiruka wa atubu ilayk

*Edited to add:*

قال الامام ابن حجر في تلخيص الحبير : ( وكذا لا أصل لما ذكره في خير من النوم ) [ 1 / 211 ] يعني كلمة صدقت وبررت.

The Imam Ibn Hajr wrote in "Talkhees al-Hubayr": "And there is no origin/source to that which they mention when hearing the prayer is better than sleep" meaning "sadaqta wa barart"

قال العجلوني في كشف الخفاء : ( وقال النجم في " صدقت وبررت " : لا أصل لذلك في الأثر . ) [ 2/579 ] أي بعد قول المؤذن الصلاة خير من النوم .

Al-Agloony (sp?) said in "Kashf al-khafaa": "And an-Najm said about "sadaqta wa barart": there is no origin/source to that in the athar (traces, narrations, what the predecessors have left us with)."

وقد تطرق لها الشيخ الألباني - رحمه الله - في إرواء الغليل واعتمد على كلام ابن حجر في التخليص .

Al-Albani touched on it in "Irwaa' al-ghaleel" and relied on Ibn Hajr's words.

وكذلك الشيخ بكر أبو زيد - حفظه الله - في معجم المناهي اللفظية ، واعتماده كذلك على كلام ابن حجر والألباني

And also the shaykh Bakr Abu Zaid in "Mu'THam al-manaahiy al-lafThiyah", and he relied on the words of Ibn Hajr and Al-Albani.

Butterfly Lapbook by R

2011-01-02T18:43:00.002Z

R finally finished her Butterlies lapbook, yesterday, sometime between 10 and 11 pm! Her and her sisters had been to an indoor play area until around 7 pm, and as soon as they'd finished their food and narrating all that they'd seen and done during the day, they just had to work on their lapbooks a little, while waiting for their brothers to come home... How time flies when you're having fun, subhaan Allah!
Well, the goofing around and mess wasn't so fun, but alhamdu lillah, at last we managed to finish at least one book!
We used a simple non-tabbed file folder with an extra sheet of coloured card stuck in the middle, by punching holes and tying it together with some yarn. This is the first spread. On the left is a mini-book called Favorite Flowers (I wanted to exchange the cover to have the British spelling, but R wanted the pretty flowers, of course).

And lots of different butterfly cards in different sized pockets (we had to seal them with little pieces of card stock, otherwise the butterfly cards would be all over the floor every time we took the lapbook out).

Some of the cards were from the Nature Detectives (link below). I tried to get the Arabic and Swedish names for most of them, something that wasn't so easy... (I use Wikipedia, Google Translate, dictionaries and Google image search)

Some of the cards were from Lapbook Lessons (but have since moved to Preschoolpost) and others from Homeschoolshare.

We made this green mini-book (free-style butterfly shape), and filled it with photos of butterflies and moths that we've encountered and photographed ourselves.

Two moths, Swallowtail moth and Pyrausta Aurata (if you don't know the name of a butterfly, you can check it up here, and for moths look here)

Small Tortoiseshell and Speckled Wood.

And a Small White butterfly.

Lifespan of a Butterfly.

Four books inside the blue book (R decided on the design of this one herself).

The four books opened up (they all have the name of each stage on the right - they're covered by the images here).

Anatomy of the butterfly (the book was made free-style).

Pictures taken from Wikipedia.

Defences mini-book (American spelling creeping in again...): warning colours, bright colours, camouflage, eye spots (I didn't manage to get her to put examples here - too busy decorating with her oodles of doodles *eye-roll*)

The next spread looks like this.

Working Butterflies (and a scrapbook sticker to the left).

Moth versus Butterfly Venn diagram (due to lack of space for her writing and lack of energy, we settled on cutting and pasting most of it).

Butterfly shaped book with a nasheed about two butterflies in an orchard. Here is the nasheed:

And here are the lyrics in Arabic: http://vb.alnassrclub.com/t41244.html together with some other kids songs (the two butterflies is the last one).

Butterfly Maths: the problem on the outside of the wing shaped mini books and the answer on the inside (the one in the top left corner is open)

Predators that eat butterflies.

Symmetry mini book - we changed a mini book on the lifespan of a butterfly to symmetry of a butterfly and did a few symmetrical shapes and wrote some.

Caterpillar facts - questions on the outside (not visible here). -"No I don't have a nose, sorry" !

Some art work on the back of the book.

Most of the mini-books, resources, facts and images were taken from Homeschool Share, Lapbook Lessons (this page now has some new material on butterflies and the resources we used for our lapbook can be found on PreschoolPost), Nature Detectives and Wikipedia (Butterfly and Caterpillar).

Smile!

2010-12-24T14:47:00.001Z

One in a million... A smile in the sky

Update: It's a fake! Have a closer look around the birds...!

How to wash and shroud the dead - 'Alaa Sa'eed

2010-12-22T22:28:00.004Z

I once opened the islamic youtube website, with the intention of getting the kids to watch some lecture or other and eldest, age ten, chose one on how to wash the dead (!)

We all watched, and learned the words بوع and كوع (there's a saying in Arabic "he doesn't know his bu3 from his ku3!" ku3 is the radius bone in the wrist and bu3 is the equivalent on the ankle? In shaa Allah, I hope I got that right!):

In Arabic with step-by-step instructions shown from beginning to end (not on a real dead) and some Q&As (I'd say it's beneficial to non-Arabic speakers as well):

1st episode - link seems dead :(
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th

The Disappearing Male

2010-12-21T11:14:00.003Z

"We are conducting a vast toxicological experiment in which our children and our children's children are the experimental subjects." Dr. Herbert Needleman

The Disappearing Male is about one of the most important, and least publicized, issues facing the human species: the toxic threat to the male reproductive system.

The last few decades have seen steady and dramatic increases in the incidence of boys and young men suffering from genital deformities, low sperm count, sperm abnormalities and testicular cancer.

At the same time, boys are now far more at risk of suffering from ADHD, autism, Tourette's syndrome, cerebral palsy, and dyslexia.

The Disappearing Male takes a close and disturbing look at what many doctors and researchers now suspect are responsible for many of these problems: a class of common chemicals that are ubiquitous in our world.

Found in everything from shampoo, sunglasses, meat and dairy products, carpet, cosmetics and baby bottles, they are called "hormone mimicking" or "endocrine disrupting" chemicals and they may be starting to damage the most basic building blocks of human development.

Warning: Contains some nudity (a child birth scene), possibly in part 2.

Lapbook Ideas

2010-12-21T11:00:00.002Z

I've added a page at the top, with our lapbook ideas. There you can find what we think of doing and also direct links to lapbooks that we've done, categorised by child.

He Who Has No One Has Allah

2010-12-20T12:50:00.000Z

By Navaid Aziz: I want to dedicate it to every individual who is struggling with life and doesn't know what to do. I want to dedicate it to every individual who may have been abandoned by a father. I want to dedicate it to every individual who may have a love that was not reciprocated. I want to dedicate it to every individual who lost someone to death and found their own selves lost. I want to dedicate it to everyone that just wants to be reminded. I want to dedicate this lecture to you.

A beautiful reminder, shared by a dear sister in Islam (jazaakillahu khayran).

It touches the heart on more than one level, mashaa Allah.

Eid Sa'eed

2010-11-15T21:38:00.002Z

السلام عليكم

عيد كريم، كل عام و أنتم بخير
تقبل الله منا و منكم

Assalamu aleikum

Wishing you a bountiful Eid and good year ahead
May Allah accept our deeds and yours

Wa salaam

السلام عليكم

FW: Rare Hajj pictures in National Geographic Magazine in 1953

2010-10-12T15:44:00.001+01:00

Iron Deficiency Anaemia

2010-09-21T22:04:00.007+01:00

Been feeling really bad the last couple of days, so made a search for iron deficiency, and discover I've got eight out of the symptoms below! All of the most common, three out of the less common (headache, change of taste and itchiness) and this morning I woke up with huge ulcers (nice!). So, I've decided to make some big changes to my diet (which resulted in two trips to the shops instead of one this week - and left me completely exhausted) and get supplements as well, because I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired!

Iron deficiency anaemia is when the body doesn't produce enough red blood cells, because there is a lack of iron (نقص الدم - lit. lack of blood or blood loss in Arabic, also called فقر الدم بعوز الحديد). Iron is used by the body to make haemoglobin, which helps store and carry oxygen in red blood cells.

Haemoglobin transports oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body. If there is a lack of iron in the blood, the organs and tissues will not get as much oxygen as they usually do.

Iron deficiency anaemia affects up to 1 in 20 men and 1 in 20 post-menopausal women (after a woman’s monthly periods have stopped).

Iron deficiency anaemia may be more common in women who are still menstruating (having periods). This is because menstruation and pregnancy can cause iron deficiency.

Most common symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia include:

tiredness
lethargy (lack of energy)
shortness of breath (dyspnoea)
palpitations (irregular heartbeat)

Less common symptoms of iron deficiency anaemia include:

headache
tinnitus, the perception of a noise in one or both ears or in your head that comes from inside your body, such as a ringing in your ears
an altered sense of taste
pica, a desire to eat non-food items, such as ice, paper or clay
a sore tongue
feeling itchy
difficulty swallowing (dysphagia)

Changed appearance:

You may also notice changes in your physical appearance. For example, signs that you may have iron deficiency anaemia include:

a pale complexion
an abnormally smooth tongue (atrophic glossitis)
painful ulcers (open sores) on the corners of your mouth (angular chelosis)
dry, flaking nails
spoon-shaped nails

Examples of Iron-rich foods:

Animal foods (generally better than vegetarian sources): lamb, shrimp, game, beef, turkey, liver (liver should be avoided during pregnancy due to the high level of vitamin A), kidney, heart, eggs (especially the yolk), sardines, turkey, oily fish (tuna, sardines, pilchards, cockles, clams, oysters, mussels, etc)
Vegetarian sources: dark-green leafy vegetables (eg. watercress and curly kale), iron-fortified bread, beans & pulses (lentils, chick peas, haricot, kidney, pinto, baked, butter, peas), nuts, seeds, dried fruits (apricots, prunes, raisins, figs, dates), fortified cereals,

Things that enhance the uptake of iron:

Fruits: orange, orange juice, cantaloupe, strawberries, grapefruit, etc (Vitamin C)
Vegetables: broccoli, brussel sprouts, tomato, tomato juice, potato, green and red peppers
Cooking in cast iron (adding something acidic, such as tomato, to get the benefit of the iron)

Things that inhibit the uptake of iron:

Tea and coffee
Certain vegetables: chard, beet greens, rhubarb, sweet potato
Whole grains and bran (unless fortified with iron?)
Soy products
Calcium - dairy products (fortified cereals need something that enhances the uptake of its iron, such as a vitamin C rich drink, since it's eaten with milk or yoghurt)

Some questionable things I've come over:

Spinach - some count it as a source of iron, others as an inhibitor of iron uptake!
iron-rich?: rich fruit cake, gingerbread, ginger biscuits, curry powder, cocoa, chocolate, black treacle

(Adapted from nhs, healthcastle, food standards agency, and a glance at this)

I was told yesterday that iron deficiency can cause or show through irritability and depression too. For more in-depth reading on the subject, check out Wikipedia.

The Ramadan Tafseer Series

2010-09-17T14:55:00.001+01:00

A bit late, but better late than sorry. I just found this on bayyinah.com:

The Ramadan Tafseer Series

Start from the bottom (or second last) of the page, linked to above, then work your way upwards. There are two more pages, so click "Newer posts" when you're done with the first set of videos.

Can you sharpen a pencil this good???

2010-09-13T11:21:00.003+01:00

Look at the very end of the pencil....

Received in an e-mail.

Ramadan Truffles

2010-08-20T14:34:00.006+01:00

Here's a short series of tafseer and daily reminders:

Ramadan Taraweeh Truffles - Muhammad AlShareef

Each day in Ramadan 2010, Muhammad Alshareef shares with you a sweet reflection on one of the verses recited that night. Tune in daily for these "sweet" reflections.

http://www.heartwheeljournal.com/

Noble Qur'an-Juz by Juz

2010-08-20T00:09:00.003+01:00

Just found this video series:

Noble Qur'an-Juz by Juz

The Qur'an: the literal Word of Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He). All 30 Juz are in this playlist. These videos come with Arabic and English translation along with a melodious recitation by Sheikh Ahmed ibn Ali Al-Ajmi.

PS Have a look around this sister's other videos (1503 videos!), many of them are on the subject of Ramadan, mashaa Allah.

Children and fasting

2010-08-17T00:08:00.003+01:00

Alhamdu lillah, the children's progress with fasting so far has been over expectations, mashaa Allah. All three boys are fasting full-time, alhamdu lillah. They've benefited from years of "training", mashaa Allah, and the long summer days don't seem to have affected them (nor us adults, subhaanAllah walhamdu lillah).

But someone I'm really proud of, mashaa Allah, is R. She will be seven at the end of this year, and as far as I can remember has never fasted a full day, before this Ramadan. She hasn't missed a single day! On Sunday she woke up for suhoor and kept fasting through-out the day, mashaa Allah, the other days she's had breakfast with her sisters and then fasted.

S has fasted a few half days, and T has fasted some thirds of days (?). T has always had a good grasp of what it means to be fasting, mashaa Allah (could it be because she was born in Ramadan?!). I manage to keep her mind off food before iftar, when she craves something, by asking her "Aren't you a big girl?" "Oh yes, I'm a big girl" she goes, and sticks out her tongue: "Look, I'm fasting!"

Here are some advice about children and fasting (courtesy of sisters on a muslim home ed list), in shaa Allah:

What is the ruling of the fast of a young (child) who has not yet attained puberty?

Response: The fasting of a young (child), as has preceded us, is not obligatory upon him. However, it is upon one who is in charge of his affairs to command him to (fast) and thereby prepare him (for it). And the fast of such a young (child) is (regarded) as a sunnah, in that there is a reward for him fasting, however, there is no sin upon him should he stop.

Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen
Fataawa Ramadhaan - Volume 1, Page 237, Fatwa No.182;
Fataawa ash-Shaykh Muhammad as-Saalih al-'Uthaymeen - Volume 1, Pages 493

http://www.fatwa-online.com/fataawa/worship/fasting/fas006/9991223_1.htm

Rubbayi' bint Mu'awwaz (Radhiyallaho anha) says:
"Once the Prophet (Sallallaho alaihe wasallam) enjoined on us to fast on the 10th of Muharram. Since then we have always been fasting on that day. Even the children were made to fast with us. When they cried out in hunger, we diverted them with toys made of cotton flakes till the time of Iftaar."

In 'Umar's (Radhiyallaho anho) time, a person was arrested by the police for drinking in Ramadhan.When he was brought before Hadhrat 'Umar (Radhiyallaho anho), he said to him: "Woe to you! Even our children are keeping fast in this month."

Third, fourth & fifth days of Ramadan

2010-08-14T23:45:00.009+01:00

My favourite recitation, surat Aal 'Imraan (The Family of 'Imran) by Abu Haajar al-Iraqi.

The schedule is off track... maybe it was unrealistic, maybe I'm not strict enough... maybe I'm just being negative? Allahu a'lam, it's late as well and maybe I'm a bit too tired to think straight.

We had a power cut-off for almost an hour and a half on Friday, and alarms went off up and down the street, subhaan Allah. Our fire alarm started beeping just after Fajr on Saturday, we had to switch it off at the mains.

We've had guests for two days, so we've been pretty busy just cleaning, cooking and washing up (well, me anyway) afterwards.

We haven't read any more tafseer, nor seen more than one episode of the stories of the Prophets (as) since Thursday. I must say I'm pretty disappointed at how things have turned out, but I'm not the kind who gives up easily. I'm exhausted, and I don't know if my goals were just simply unrealistic and I have to tweak them, or if I should try harder?

Perhaps I should just drop the whole schedule, and leave them to do what they want as long as they don't waste their time, and then just sneak in the stuff that I wanted whenever we have a free moment?

This is the series on the sahaabah that the boys are reading, alhamdu lillah. If they get into the habit of reading now, then I'll say Ramadan was successful in this area.
A sister gave us a vegetable box from her allotment, mashaa Allah, which got me think about what to do in the area of sadaqah, gifts and generosity towards friends and neighbours (something I've thought of on and off, but I'm a bit stuck when it comes to what to give). Alhamdu lillah, this idea of giving is part of why I've been blogging so much more recently. My intention, in shaa Allah, is to give more. I just hope that what I give will be beneficial to visitors, in shaa Allah.

The mosque that the boys are praying Taraweeh at have a Ramadan competition on the Names of Allah, mashaa Allah.

It spurred A and B to action, alhamdu lillah, and they started on the first assignment today: What is the greatest of Allah's names, mentioned in surat Muhammed (asws), write down the verse, and write the conditions of "Laa ilaaha ill-Allah" with their proofs.

This evening I watched a lecture called "Why and How to Learn the Arabic Spoken in the Quran", that a sister hinted to through an e-mail (jazaahAllahu khayran). Mashaa Allah, I really liked that lecture, and I'll have a more detailed look into his study program, in shaa Allah.

I also watched this lecture:

and the one after it. Mashaa Allah, I found them beneficial.

It's time to have suhoor, so laters, in shaa Allah.

Tips for Ramadan

2010-08-12T14:27:00.005+01:00

I received a text from a sister (jazaahAllahu khayran) with some tips for Ramadaan:

Seek Allah's pleasure and mercy
Read Qur'an
Listen to Qur'an
Keep yourself in a state of wudu
Evaluate yourself everyday
Seek forgiveness and repent / Make taubah
Increase your dhikr
Give sadaqah
Seek knowledge
Make time for others
Increase your sunnahs and nawaafil
Aquire patience and strong will
Strive fore ihsan and avoid showing off
Control your anger
Feed others
Make itikaaf
Don't eat too much at iftar and suhoor
Sleep early
Get up a little early for suhoor and pray tahajjud
Make dua for yourself and others
Don't waste time socialising too much
Pay zakatul fitr early
Set a goal of memorising some Quran and duaa
Watch your tongue

I tweaked them a bit, added the Arabic translation and wrote it on some big sheets of coloured paper, decorated with glitter glue and hung them up, alhamdu lillah:

I didn't nap today and neither did the kids. Which is a bit surprising because we didn't sleep particularly early yesterday either. The boys went to the café after taraweeh prayers, and it seems they've gone there today again... hmmm, not very smart. Me and the girls are staying at home during taraweeh prayers so far, it's a bit too late for us, and our car is really too small to hold us all, anyway. Alhamdu lillah, my time will come later in the month, in shaa Allah.

Today we read the tafseer bit that I decided on yesterday (in Arabic), watched another episode of the stories of the Prophets (as). Iftar preparation got a bit delayed today as we didn't have all ingredients. Hubby also decided to make fish tagine, so food preparation took longer than hoped for. A brought the sahaabah books downstairs (he knew all along where they were! I wonder where he had forgotten his hearing yesterday as we were talking and searching for them all day!) The boys read from them on their own whilst I read my bit of Qur'an.

Hubby made a big, yummy fruit salad for us whilst we were reading and took up his Mushaf when I warmed up the soup and popped the bureks under the grill (we don't deep-fry as we've had problems with fungi because of it!)

In the morning I'll read this bit of tafseer, in shaa Allah:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِى أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ

2:185 The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an, a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong).

فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ

So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan, i.e., is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasting) that month, and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number (of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasting) must be made up) from other days.

يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ

Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.

وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

(He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah (i.e., to say Takbir (Allahu Akbar: Allah is the Most Great)) for having guided you so that you may be grateful to Him.

Top

The Virtue of Ramadan and the Revelation of the Qur'an in it

Allah says;

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِيَ أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ ...

The month of Ramadan in which was revealed the Qur'an,

Allah praised the month of Ramadan out of the other months by choosing it to send down the Glorious Qur'an, just as He did for all of the Divine Books He revealed to the Prophets.

Imam Ahmad reported Wathilah bin Al-Asqa that Allah's Messenger said:

أُنْزِلَتْ صُحُفُ إِبْرَاهِيمَ فِي أَوَّلِ لَيْلَةٍ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ، وَأُنْزِلَتِ التَّوْرَاةُ لِسِتَ مَضَيْنَ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ، وَالْإِنْجِيلُ لِثَلاثَ عَشَرةَ خَلَتْ مِنْ رَمَضَانَ، وَأَنْزَلَ اللهُ الْقُرْآنَ لأَرْبَعٍ وَعِشْرِينَ خَلَتْ مِنْ رَمَضَان

The Suhuf (Pages) of Ibrahim were revealed during the first night of Ramadan. The Torah was revealed during the sixth night of Ramadan. The Injil was revealed during the thirteenth night of Ramadan. Allah revealed the Qur'an on the twenty-fourth night of Ramadan.

The Virtues of the Qur'an

Allah said:

... هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَاتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ ...

...a guidance for mankind and clear proofs for the guidance and the criterion (between right and wrong).

Here Allah praised the Qur'an, which He revealed as guidance for the hearts of those who believe in it and adhere to its commands.

Allah said: وَبَيِّنَاتٍ (and clear proofs) meaning, as clear and unambiguous signs and unequivocal proof for those who understand them.

These proofs testify to the truth of the Qur'an, its guidance, the opposite of misguidance, and how it guides to the straight path, the opposite of the wrong path, and the distinction between the truth and falsehood, and the permissible and the prohibited.

The Obligation of Fasting Ramadan

Allah said:

... فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ ...

So whoever of you sights (the crescent on the first night of) the month (of Ramadan, i.e., is present at his home), he must observe Sawm (fasting) that month.

This Ayah requires the healthy persons who witness the beginning of the month, while residing in their land, to fast the month.

This Ayah abrogated the Ayah that allows a choice of fasting or paying the Fidyah. When Allah ordered fasting, He again mentioned the permission for the ill person and the traveler to break the fast and to fast other days instead as compensation.

Allah said:

... وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ ...

...and whoever is ill or on a journey, the same number (of days which one did not observe Sawm (fasting) must be made up) from other days.

This Ayah indicates that ill persons who are unable to fast or fear harm by fasting, and the traveler, are all allowed to break the fast. When one does not fast in this case, he is obliged to fast other days instead.

Allah said:

... يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ ...

Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.

This Ayah indicates that Allah allowed such persons, out of His mercy and to make matters easy for them, to break the fast when they are ill or traveling, while the fast is still obligatory on the healthy persons who are not traveling.

Several Rulings concerning the Fast

The authentic Sunnah states that;

Allah's Messenger traveled during the month of Ramadan for the battle for Makkah. The Prophet marched until he reached the area of Kadid and then broke his fast and ordered those who were with him to do likewise.

This was recorded in the Two Sahihs.

Breaking the fast mentioned in this Hadith was not required, for the Companions used to go out with Allah's Messenger during the month of Ramadan, then, some of them would fast while some of them would not fast and neither category would criticize the others. If the command mentioned in the Hadith required breaking the fast, the Prophet would have criticized those who fasted. Allah's Messenger himself sometimes fasted while traveling.

For instance, it is reported in the Two Sahihs that Abu Ad-Darda said,

"We once went with Allah's Messenger during Ramadan while the heat was intense. One of us would place his hand on his head because of the intense heat. Only Allah's Messenger and Abdullah bin Rawahah were fasting at that time.''

We should state that observing the permission to break the fast while traveling is better, as Allah's Messenger said about fasting while traveling:

مَنْ أَفْطَرَ فَحَسَنٌ، وَمَنْ صَامَ فَلَا جُنَاحَ عَلَيْه

Those who did not fast have done good, and there is no harm for those who fasted.

In another Hadith, the Prophet said:

عَلَيْكُمْ بِرُخْصَةِ اللهِ الَّتِي رُخِّصَ لَكُم

Hold to Allah's permission that He has granted you.

Some scholars say that the two actions are the same, as Aishah narrated that;

Hamzah bin Amr Al-Aslami said, "O Messenger of Allah! I fast a lot, should I fast while traveling?''

The Prophet said:

إِنْ شِئْتَ فَصُمْ، وَإِنْ شِئْتَ فَأَفْطِر

Fast if you wish or do not fast if you wish.

This Hadith is in the Two Sahihs.

It was reported that;

if the fast becomes difficult (while traveling), then breaking the fast is better.

Jabir said that;

Allah's Messenger saw a man who was being shaded (by other people while traveling). The Prophet asked about him and he was told that man was fasting.

The Prophet said:

لَيْسَ مِنَ الْبِرِّ الصِّيَامُ فِي السَّفَر

It is not a part of Birr (piety) to fast while traveling.

This was recorded by Al-Bukhari and Muslim.

As for those who ignore the Sunnah and believe in their hearts that breaking the fast while traveling is disliked, they are required to break the fast and are not allowed to fast.

As for making up for missed fasting days, it is not required to be consecutive. One may do so consecutively or not consecutively. There are ample proofs to this fact.

We should mention that fasting consecutive days is only required exclusively during Ramadan. After the month of Ramadan, what is required then is to merely make up for missed days. This is why Allah said: فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ (...the same number (should be made up) from other day).

Ease and not Hardship

Allah then said:

... يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ ...

Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you.

Imam Ahmad recorded Anas bin Malik saying that Allah's Messenger said:

يَسِّرُوا وَلَا تُعَسِّرُوا وَسَكِّنُوا وَلَا تُنَفِّرُوا

Treat the people with ease and don't be hard on them; give them glad tidings and don't fill them with aversion.

This Hadith was also collected in the Two Sahihs.

It is reported in the Sahihayn that Allah's Messenger said to Mu`adh and Abu Musa when he sent them to Yemen:

بَشِّرَا وَلَا تُنَفِّرَا، وَيَسِّرَا وَلَا تُعَسِّرَا، وَتَطَاوَعَا وَلَا تَخْتَلِفَا

Treat the people with ease and don't be hard on them; give them glad tidings and don't fill them with aversion; and love each other, and don't differ.

The Sunan and the Musnad compilers recorded that Allah's Messenger said:

بُعِثْتُ بِالْحَنِيفِيَّةِ السَّمْحَة

I was sent with the easy Hanifiyyah (Islamic Monotheism).

Allah's statement:

... يُرِيدُ اللّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ ...

Allah intends for you ease, and He does not want to make things difficult for you. (He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days),

means: You were allowed to break the fast while ill, while traveling, and so forth, because Allah wanted to make matters easy for you. He only commanded you to make up for missed days so that you complete the days of one month.

Remembering Allah upon performing the Acts of Worship

Allah's statement:

... وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ ...

...and that you must magnify Allah (i.e., to say Takbir (Allahu Akbar: Allah is the Most Great)) for having guided you,

means: So that you remember Allah upon finishing the act of worship.

This is similar to Allah's statement:

فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَـسِكَكُمْ فَاذْكُرُواْ اللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ ءَابَآءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا

So when you have accomplished your Manasik, (rituals) remember Allah as you remember your forefathers or with far more remembrance. (2:200)

and,

فَإِذَا قُضِيَتِ الصَّلَوةُ فَانتَشِرُواْ فِى الاٌّرْضِ وَابْتَغُواْ مِن فَضْلِ اللَّهِ وَاذْكُرُواْ اللَّهَ كَثِيراً لَّعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ

...Then when the (Jumuah) Salah (prayer) is ended, you may disperse through the land, and seek the bounty of Allah (by working), and remember Allah much, that you may be successful. (62:10)

and,

فَاصْبِرْ عَلَى مَا يَقُولُونَ وَسَبِّحْ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّكَ قَبْلَ طُلُوعِ الشَّمْسِ وَقَبْلَ الْغُرُوبِ

وَمِنَ الَّيْلِ فَسَبِّحْهُ وَأَدْبَـرَ السُّجُودِ

...and glorify the praises of your Lord, before the rising of the sun and before (its) setting. And during a part of the night, glorify His praises, and after the prayers. (50:39-40)

This is why the Sunnah encouraged;

Tasbih saying, Subhan Allah, i.e., all praise is due to Allah,
Tahmid saying Al-Hamdu Lillah, i.e., all the thanks are due to Allah, and
Takbir saying Allahu Akbar, i.e., Allah is the Most Great.

after the compulsory prayers.

Ibn Abbas said,

"We used to know that Allah's Messenger has finished the prayer by the Takbir.''

Similarly, several scholars have stated that;

reciting Takbir the during Id-ul-Fitr was specified by the Ayah that states:

وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ

(He wants that you) must complete the same number (of days), and that you must magnify Allah (i.e., to say Takbir (Allahu Akbar: Allah is the Most Great)) for having guided you...

Allah's statement:

... وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ ﴿١٨٥﴾

...so that you may be grateful to Him.

means: If you adhere to what Allah commanded you, obeying Him by performing the obligations, abandoning the prohibitions and abiding by the set limits, then perhaps you will be among the grateful.

1st day of Ramadaan

2010-08-11T23:30:00.003+01:00

Alhamdu lillah, the day started out good and promising. Iftar was prepared early, only the soup was cooking after Thuhr and the bureks were all rolled. We were all exhausted by Thuhr, they boys having stayed awake until Fajr the night before!

This is where things started to go wrong :( After the prayer, the boys had to wash bird accessories, unfortunately they took much longer than needed, giving excuses not to work all three together. They finally fell asleep around 4 pm and then we didn't wake up until 6. After praying 'Asr the boys had to wash all the extra drinkers to get them out of the way. I pleaded can't they do it tomorrow? Oh, it shouldn't take long... only it always takes longer than expected with the boys.

DH was busy with the birds and then made us a fruit salad. The kids helped to peel the pomegranate, which turned out to be extremely sour, ruining the whole salad!

In the end we only got some Qur'an recitation done (the boys preferred to concentrate on their revisions than read the first juz') and one part of the Prophets' Stories while eating our dinner. The sahaabah book series has been put away somewhere where we can't find them, so now we only have the sahaabiyaat books *rolling eyes*

On a more positive note, the good deed of today was "to give a helping hand" and it worked pretty well.

And I figured out what to read in the tafseer:

The Harshness of the Jews (Surat al-Baqarah 2:74)

Allah criticized the Children of Israel because they witnessed the tremendous signs and the Ayat of Allah, including bringing the dead back to life, yet,

ثُمَّ قَسَتْ قُلُوبُكُم مِّن بَعْدِ ذَلِكَ ...

Then after that your hearts were hardened.

So their hearts were like stones that never become soft.

This is why Allah forbade the believers from imitating the Jews when He said,

أَلَمْ يَأْنِ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ أَن تَخْشَعَ قُلُوبُهُمْ لِذِكْرِ اللَّهِ وَمَا نَزَلَ مِنَ الْحَقِّ وَلاَ يَكُونُواْ كَالَّذِينَ أُوتُواْ الْكِتَـبَ مِن قَبْلُ فَطَالَ عَلَيْهِمُ الاٌّمَدُ فَقَسَتْ قُلُوبُهُمْ وَكَثِيرٌ مِّنْهُمْ فَـسِقُونَ

Has not the time come for the hearts of those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah ـ Islamic Monotheism) to be affected by Allah's Reminder (this Qur'an), and that which has been revealed of the truth, lest they become as those who received the Scripture (the Tawrah) and the Injil (Gospel)) before (i.e. Jews and Christians), and the term was prolonged for them and so their hearts were hardened! And many of them were Fasiqun (the rebellious, the disobedient to Allah). (57:16)

In his Tafsir, Al-Awfi said that Ibn Abbas said,

"When the dead man was struck with a part of the cow, he stood up and became more alive than he ever was. He was asked, `Who killed you' He said, `My nephews killed me.' He then died again. His nephews said, after Allah took his life away, `By Allah! We did not kill him' and denied the truth while they knew it.

Allah said,

... فَهِيَ كَالْحِجَارَةِ أَوْ أَشَدُّ قَسْوَةً ...

And became as stones or even worse in hardness.''

And by the passage of time, the hearts of the Children of Israel were unlikely to accept any admonishment, even after the miracles and signs they withnessed. Their hearts became harder than stones, with no hope of ever softening. Sometimes, springs and rivers burst out of stones, some stones split and water comes out of them, even if there are no springs or rivers around them, sometimes stones fall down from mountaintops out of their fear of Allah.

... وَإِنَّ مِنَ الْحِجَارَةِ لَمَا يَتَفَجَّرُ مِنْهُ الأَنْهَارُ وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَشَّقَّقُ فَيَخْرُجُ مِنْهُ الْمَاء وَإِنَّ مِنْهَا لَمَا يَهْبِطُ مِنْ خَشْيَةِ اللّهِ ...

And indeed, there are stones out of which rivers gush forth, and indeed, there are of them (stones) which split asunder so that water flows from them, and indeed, there are of them (stones) which fall down for fear of Allah,

Muhammad bin Ishaq narrated that Ibn `Abbas said that the Ayah means,

"Some stones are softer than your hearts, they acknowledge the truth that you are being called to,

... وَمَا اللّهُ بِغَافِلٍ عَمَّا تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿٧٤﴾

And Allah is not unaware of what you do.''

The site that I usually use to read tafsir Ibn Kathir translated into English, isn't working tonight, but I found this site instead which seems really good, mashaa Allah.

May Allah make the rest of Ramadaan more successful, ameen.

A bountiful Ramadaan to all!

2010-08-10T21:03:00.004+01:00

Ramadaan plans and goals

2010-08-09T12:16:00.004+01:00

Mashaa Allah, I woke up a bit earlier than the rest of the family yesterday, so I decided to get my Ramadaan program written down (had not prepared anything before then!), whilst stirring the rice porridge I was making for our breakfast.

So far it's just a quick outline of what I want to cover, but alhamdu lillah, I did get a lot ready.

I/we will be focusing on four areas:

Conduct/Manners: we'll make a list of good character traits, deeds or manners and make a goal list for what we will concentrate on this Ramadaan. Maybe concentrate on implementing one per day.
Reading: Qur'an, Tafseer, the Prophets (I've omitted this because the Stories of the Prophets - قصص الأنبياء is 647 pages long!), Sahaabah, Heart Softeners (will have to take a look at this category in islam-qa.com to find inspiration, in shaa Allah)
Watching: lectures on Ramadaan, lectures on historical events or personalities, documentaries on Islamic history (including comparisons/influences with the West), may look for stuff on manners and stories to soften our hearts as well. Because the book on the Prophets is so long, I decided we'll watch the videos of Nabil al-'AwDiy instead, I really like his voice and the way he narrates, mashaa Allah.
Craft projects: Ramadaan lapbooks & diaries/journals, we'll finish the girls' Princess lapbooks (with stories about Maryam, Aasiyah, Khadijah, Faatimah, and other notable women role-models and also a few bad examples I think, like Shajar al-Durr), we might try to finish the butterflies and bees ones as well (R & S) since we have all our resources already. Time-line/History lapbooks.

Schedule (approximate):

Suhur: eat and read Qur'an
Fajr: pray and sleep
Morning: Chores, prepare food (lunch for girls and iftar), crafts
Thuhr: pray, watch documentaries/lectures etc, nap
'Asr: pray, read Qur'an, tafseer and books on Sahaabah.
Maghreb: iftar, pray, eat dinner, clear the table and clean up as much as possible, get dressed, head out for taraweeh
Back home: sleep, pray, read Qur'an

Resources: We have ten booklets on male Shaabahs and ten on female Sahaabahs (20 days covered in shaa Allah). I've tried to solve how to cover tafseer in 30 days...! There are 30 parts of the Qur'an, so we might choose something from each for each day (I haven't figured out how yet...). For the Prophets stories, I've chosen this video series (29 episodes, each with three parts):

The playlist can be accessed here. It's the one at the top. Another series by Tareq as-Suwaydaan is available there as well, but it's not in order (29 videos). We'll need to finish the stories of the Prophets before the 20th Ramadaan if the boys go into I'tikaaf, in shaa Allah (plus it makes room for other topics to be covered by way of watching videos).
I'm thinking of printing/making notebook pages with the phases of the moon for the Ramadaan lapbook (for the diary), in shaa Allah.
For the days of 'Itikaaf I'd like the boys to continue their study of the Sahaabah, in shaa Allah, just haven't figured out what books to use, we may use another of our Sahaabah books, or I have a look for a biography on Anas ibn Malek (rAa) - should be long enough considering he lived for so long, or the books on the Khulafaa ar-Raashidun. During the last ten days they will probably not watch video lectures, but it should be substituted with live lectures in the mosque, in shaa Allah.

The Sahaabahs we'll be covering during the first twenty days:
Hamza, the uncle of the Prophet (asws)
'Aisha, the wife of the Prophet (asws)
Ja'far ibn abi Taleb,
Faatimah , the daughter of the Prophet (asws)
Mus'ab
Zainab
Zaid ibn al-Haarithah
Ruqayyah
Sa'd ibn Muadh
Umm Kulthum
'Abdullah ibn Rawaahah
Asmaa bint Abi Bakr
'Amr ibn Jamoo'
Nusaybah bint ka'b
Khubayb ibn 'Adiy
Asmaa bint 'Umays
Hanthalah ibn Abi 'Aamer
Umm Haani
Albaraa ibn Malek
Zainab bint 'Ali
(RadiyAllahu 'anhum ajma'een)

In shaa Allah ta'aala.

12th century castle ruins

2010-07-20T10:58:00.009+01:00

Toilets and garderobe (wardrobe) seen from the outside, clothes were hung in here because the smell of urine and ammonia kept moths away!

One of many hearths.

The dungeons!!!

The kitchen hearth. A whole animal would be cooked on the open fire on both long sides, and a stew with vegetables would boil in a big pot on the short side (top of picture).

The bread oven

This is where the dish water was thrown out into the moat.

Here they made beer. Even babies and children would drink it...

The draw-bridge used to be here.

You can see the difference in the wall, where preservation work has been done and where the wall has withered down. Nowadays they make any restoration look as new. At the top you can see there's a lot of missing stones from the outer walls. They were stolen and taken down the canal to be recycled and used in the building of bridges etc.

This was really heavy, the knights must have had help to put them on

A quill/pen holder

The Jackpot (leather jug)

A baby's drinker

A grenade

A spindle (for spinning thread)

I'm not telling you what this is...

Mortar and pestle

A candle holder and beeswax candle - it smelled lovely

This

is a nifty thing, that you can water with!

This kept the food hot. Hot coals were put in the top and the plate on top of it. Through the whole oxygen kept the coals from cooling down too quick.

Numbers in Arabic song

2010-07-16T19:50:00.003+01:00

A funny little song about the numbers in Arabic, from one to ten.
(Contains drums only, as far as I can hear)

Lyrics, translated into English (my own approximate translation):

One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, teeeeeeeeen,

One stood to pray,
Two bowed to his Lord,
and Three is one and two,
and Four is two and two,
and Five is a sugar-cake,
and Six stood up to think,
and Seven looks at the star,
and Eight is the opposite to seven,
and Granddad's stick is like Nine,
and zero with one is ten,

One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight, nine, teeeeeeeeen.

Need cash?

2010-07-14T19:24:00.003+01:00

T (2 1/2):

لو كان عندنا قرون ونطيروا

يولي عندنا دراهم
=

If we had horns and flew...

we would have money!

Five Pillars of Islam Lapbook - B

2010-07-13T16:52:00.006+01:00

Five pillars of Islam puzzle cards (with pocket visible at the bottom of photo).

"Mathalan kalimatan Tayyibatan"= The Parable of the Word of Islam, from surat Ibrahim, with explanation from tafsir Ibn Kathir

Five Pillars of Islam Lapbook - C

2010-07-13T15:47:00.005+01:00

If you look closely, you can see the word Allah when you put up your index-finger for the tashahhud in salaat.

Five Pillars of Islam Lapbook - R

2010-07-13T15:06:00.007+01:00

Five Pillars of Islam Lapbook - S

2010-07-13T14:31:00.022+01:00

We laminated 14 cards with the conditions of the Testification (Shahaadah). English on purple cards and Arabic on pink cards, with the conditions on one side and the proofs on the other.

Rewards for voluntary prayers, this would probably have fitted better in a lapbook on Salaat...

These were nicked from Umm Abdul-Basir, mashaa Allah.

Spring lapbooks - Cs

2010-07-10T19:59:00.012+01:00

Taking a short-cut, pasting my scribbles instead of writing it himself... :)

Spring lapbooks - As

2010-07-10T19:46:00.009+01:00

Made in the last minute... which explains the wonky pocket.

Spring lapbooks - Ss

2010-07-10T19:17:00.011+01:00

S got a bit carried away with sticking stuff onto her lapbook. A bit hard to see this is about spring... no heading either, lol. It's Ss first completed lapbook, and she's only 4 (and strong-willed.)

She got a bit carried away with the scissors as well...

Spring lapbooks - Rs

2010-07-10T18:57:00.016+01:00

Spring lapbooks - Bs

2010-07-10T16:56:00.012+01:00

All I Ever Really Needed to Know by Robert Fulgham

2010-01-26T08:57:00.001Z

All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten
Robert Fulgham

Most of what I really need to know about how to live, and what to do, and how to be, I learned in Kindergarten. Wisdom was not at the top of the graduate school mountain, but there in the sandbox at nursery school. These are the things I learned..

Share everything. Play fair. Don't hit people. Put things back where you found them. Clean up your own mess. Don't take things that aren't yours. Say sorry when you hurt somebody. Wash your hands before you eat. Flush. Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you. Live a balanced life. Learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and dance and play and work every day some.

Take a nap every afternoon. When you go out into the world, watch for traffic, hold hands, and stick together. Be aware of wonder. Remember the little seed in the plastic cup? The roots go down and the plant goes up and nobody really knows how or why, but we are all like that.

Goldfish and hamsters and white mice and even the little seed in the plastic cup - they all die. So do we.

And then remember the book about Dick and Jane and the first word you learned, the biggest word of all: LOOK. Everything you need to know is in there somewhere. The Golden Rule and love and basic sanitation. Ecology and politics and sane living.

Think of what a better world it would be if we all - the whole world had cookies and milk about 3 o'clock every afternoon and then lay down with our blankets for a nap. Or if we had a basic policy in our nation and other nations to always put things back where we found them and cleaned up our own messes. And it is still true, no matter how old you are, when you go out into the world, it is best to hold hands and stick together.

Lost generation

2009-10-04T19:21:00.004+01:00

I am part of a lost generation
and I refuse to believe that
I can change the world
I realize this may be a shock but
“Happiness comes from within.”
is a lie, and
“Money will make me happy.”
So in 30 years I will tell my children
they are not the most important thing in my life
My employer will know that
I have my priorities straight because
work
is more important than
family
I tell you this
Once upon a time
Families stayed together
but this will not be true in my era
This is a quick fix society
Experts tell me
30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorce
I do not concede that
I will live in a country of my own making
In the future
Environmental destruction will be the norm
No longer can it be said that
My peers and I care about this earth
It will be evident that
My generation is apathetic and lethargic
It is foolish to presume that
There is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it .

(Now read it in reverse, line by line.) - By Jonathan Reed

Studying the sunnah & some stuff we've been upto

2009-09-09T16:50:00.012+01:00

As mentioned in the previous post, I've started to give the boys a page of ahaadeeth to copy each day (we used to do this before, using the Box of Manners from Learning Roots - I showed them a card and then gave them a narration relating to the picture, to read and then copy into their notebooks).
I wanted to post them here, together with the translation into English. But I've encountered some problems with this. When looking for narrations to print for the boys, I use the authentic collections (at the moment I'm only using Bukhari and Muslim) in Arabic, where every narration is numbered, of course. Finding the corresponding narrations translated into English is a headache! The numbers don't correlate, and many of the translations are inaccurate or mixed up!
Has anyone else encountered this?

I've found a great site, where you can download thousands of books for Arabic and Islamic studies, mashaa Allah (may Allah reward those behind the site immensely, ameen), there are books in English too, and a few other languages:
Maktabat Meshkat al-Islamiyah

DD age 23 months (born in Ramadan two years ago) peeling an onion for ummie, asking for a knife, because she "needs it" - !
Ramadan Is Special book and a leaf outline for a "Ramadan tree"

We've painted a tree, to stick leaves to, several sisters have done something similar, but when I did a search on the deed tree, I found it's a christian tradition, and I got quite put off... then I remembered the ayat:

[أَلَمْ تَرَ كَيْفَ ضَرَبَ اللَّهُ مَثَلاً كَلِمَةً طَيِّبَةً كَشَجَرةٍ طَيِّبَةٍ أَصْلُهَا ثَابِتٌ وَفَرْعُهَا فِى السَّمَآءِ - تُؤْتِى أُكُلَهَا كُلَّ حِينٍ بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهَا وَيَضْرِبُ اللَّهُ الأَمْثَالَ لِلنَّاسِ لَعَلَّهُمْ يَتَذَكَّرُونَ - وَمَثلُ كَلِمَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ كَشَجَرَةٍ خَبِيثَةٍ اجْتُثَّتْ مِن فَوْقِ الاٌّرْضِ مَا لَهَا مِن قَرَارٍ ]

(24. See you not how Allah sets forth a parable A goodly word as a goodly tree, whose root is firmly fixed, and its branches (reach) to the sky.) (25. Giving its fruit at all times, by the leave of its Lord, and Allah sets forth parables for mankind in order that they may remember.) (26. And the parable of an evil word is that of an evil tree uprooted from the surface of earth, having no stability.)

But according to tafsir, it's a palm tree, so our tree has been standing, without leaves for twenty days... alhamdu lillah... I think I'll cut those leaves out tonight, inshaa Allah, then we can write a good deed on each leaf. Inshaa Allah, I think I'll do it this way, instead of sticking leaves for actual deeds done, so we don't fall into showing off, etc.

This will have to do for now, I've got guests for iftar, and the boys are back to making trouble, ya Allah! give me patience and make us and our children amongst the muttaqun and saalihun, ameen.

Last two day's ahaadeeth

2009-09-07T04:17:00.002+01:00

Al-Hassan ibn Sabbaah narrated to us from Muhammed ibn Saabiq, who narrated from Malik ibn Mighwal, who said, I heard al-Waleed ibn al-'Aizaar recall Abu 'Amr Ash-shaybaaniy, say: 'Abdullah ibn Mas'ud (rAa) said, I asked Allah's Messenger (sAas), "O Allah's Messenger! What is the best deed?" he replied, "To perform the Salaat (prayers) at the (beginning of their) stated fixed times." I asked, "What is next in goodness?" He replied, "To be good and dutiful to your parents." I further asked, "What is next in goodness?" He replied, "To participate in jihad in Allah's cause." I did not ask Allah's Messenger (sAas) anymore and I if had asked him more, He would have told me more (Sahih Bukhari 4/2782)

حَدَّثَنَا الْحَسَنُ بْنُ صَبَّاحٍ حَدَّثَنَا مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ سَابِقٍ حَدَّثَنَا مَالِكُ بْنُ مِغْوَلٍ قَالَ سَمِعْتُ الْوَلِيدَ بْنَ الْعَيْزَارِ ذَكَرَ عَنْ أَبِي عَمْرٍو الشَّيْبَانِيِّ قَالَ قَالَ عَبْدُ اللَّهِ بْنُ مَسْعُودٍ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ سَأَلْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ قُلْتُ يَا رَسُولَ اللَّهِ أَيُّ الْعَمَل أَفْضَلُ قَالَ الصَّلَاةُ عَلَى مِيقَاتِهَا قُلْتُ ثُمَّ أَيٌّ قَالَ ثُمَّ بِرُّ الْوَالِدَيْنِ قُلْتُ ثُمَّ أَيٌّ قَالَ الْجِهَادُ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَسَكَتُّ عَنْ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ وَلَوْ اسْتَزَدْتُهُ لَزَادَنِي

----Narrated Abu Hurayrah (rAa): The Prophet (sAas) said, "Whoever does not give up lying speech - false statements (i.e. telling lies) and acting on those (lies) and evil actions, then Allah is not in need of his leaving his food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting." (Sahih Bukhari 3/1903)

حَدَّثَنَا آدَمُ بْنُ أَبِي إِيَاسٍ حَدَّثَنَا ابْنُ أَبِي ذِئْبٍ حَدَّثَنَا سَعِيدٌ الْمَقْبُرِيُّ عَنْ أَبِيهِ عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ رَضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُ قَالَ قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ مَنْ لَمْ يَدَعْ قَوْلَ الزُّورِ وَالْعَمَلَ بِهِ فَلَيْسَ لِلَّهِ حَاجَةٌ فِي أَنْ يَدَعَ طَعَامَهُ وَشَرَابَهُ

I just printed the hadith (in Arabic), and made a bunch of lines underneith, and the boys were put to copy it. Next I'll give them three short narrations from the Ramadan is Special book, inshaa Allah.

Why Ramadan Is Special

2009-09-05T04:04:00.001+01:00

A sister has kindly shared a cute little Ramadan freebie on her blog, mashaa Allah:

a fan book about Why Ramadan Is Special

The quotes in Arabic:

شَهْرُ رَمَضَانَ الَّذِي أُنزِلَ فِيهِ الْقُرْآنُ هُدًى لِّلنَّاسِ وَبَيِّنَـتٍ مِّنَ الْهُدَى وَالْفُرْقَانِ فَمَن شَهِدَ مِنكُمُ الشَّهْرَ فَلْيَصُمْهُ وَمَن كَانَ مَرِيضًا أَوْ عَلَى سَفَرٍ فَعِدَّةٌ مِّنْ أَيَّامٍ أُخَرَ يُرِيدُ اللَّهُ بِكُمُ الْيُسْرَ وَلاَ يُرِيدُ بِكُمُ الْعُسْرَ وَلِتُكْمِلُواْ الْعِدَّةَ وَلِتُكَبِّرُواْ اللَّهَ عَلَى مَا هَدَاكُمْ وَلَعَلَّكُمْ تَشْكُرُونَ

قال صلى الله عليه وسلم (إذا جاء رمضان فتحت أبواب الجنة وغلقت أبواب النار وصفدت الشياطين ) متفق عليه.

عن واثلة بن الأسقع -رضي الله عنه- قال : قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم:

" أنزلت صحف إبراهيم أول ليلة من رمضان وأنزلت التوراة لست مضين من رمضان وأنزل الإنجيل لثلاث عشرة ليلة خلت من رمضان وأنزل الزبور لثمان عشرة خلت من رمضان وأنزل القرآن لأربع وعشرين خلت من رمضان".

(حديث حسن أخرجه أحمد والطبراني انظر الصحيحة رقم 1575 ) .

إِنَّا أَنزَلْنَـهُ فِي لَيْلَةِ الْقَدْرِ - وَمَآ أَدْرَاكَ مَا لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ - لَيْلَةُ الْقَدْرِ خَيْرٌ مِّنْ أَلْفِ شَهْرٍ - تَنَزَّلُ الْمَلَـئِكَةُ وَالرُّوحُ فِيهَا بِإِذْنِ رَبِّهِم مِّن كُلِّ أَمْرٍ - سَلَـمٌ هِيَ حَتَّى مَطْلَعِ الْفَجْرِ

"صيام شهر رمضان بعشرة أشهر"

في الصحيحين من حديث أبي هريرة أن رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم قال: من صام رمضان إيمانا واحتساباً غفر له ما تقدم من ذنبه.

عَنْ جَابِرٍ رضي الله عنه قَالَ : قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ : ( إِنَّ لِلَّهِ عِنْدَ كُلِّ فِطْرٍ عُتَقَاءَ ، وَذَلِكَ فِي كُلِّ لَيْلَةٍ )
رواه أحمد (21698) وابن ماجه (1643

An article about thinking and/or GCSEs

2009-08-20T06:19:00.000+01:00

The aim is to provide them with the tools – critical thinking, analysis, public speaking, reflection, leadership, independence, love of reading – that will encourage good learning habits and prepare them for a life enjoying learning.

Drop GCSEs. We should be teaching our children to think

Pondering...

2009-08-02T08:40:00.001+01:00

I prefer not to spoon-feed children,
I rather let them grab their own spoons,
even if it does mean that food will be found scattered all over the floor for some years,
until they've mastered the skill,
but I do require them to at least try their vegetables etc

Something that just popped up in my mind, as I'm contemplating a new home ed schedule.

Mom of the year award

2009-07-02T08:00:00.001+01:00

From Umm Khadija, some time ago...

The rules of the tag are:

1. Admit one thing you feel awful about (involving being a mom). Once you have written it down, you are no longer allowed to feel bad. Remember you are a good mom!

2. Remind yourself that you ARE a good mom, list 7 things you love about your kids, you love doing with your kids, or that your kids love about you.

3. Send this to 5 other moms of the year that deserve a reminder that they are too the best moms that they can be. Remember to send them a note letting them know you have selected them, and also add a link to your post that directs people back to the person who nominated you.

1. Not being in control of things

2. a) I love it when they jump at the opportunity to do a task, or to do something I've requested of them (which doesn't happen very often, but often enough to give you a little hope)
b) I actually love it when the girls climb up on my back, during prostration - lol
c) I love discussing with them
d) I love learning together with them
e) Each one of them has a special characteristic or something in their looks, that I love about them (it irritates me to see my own flaws in them! Have you ever experienced that?)
f) I love that they're not picky about their food, alhamdu lillah
g) errrh... I love it when they're asleep?

3. I'm tagging

Umm Tafari of River City Homeschoolers
Umm Adam of Free Style Learning

Itto
Um Nour of Loving Allah and Raising my kids
and Seeking Taqwa

In the Middle of the Night

2009-06-14T09:35:00.002+01:00

This is a great audio lecture, by Ustadh Muhammad Alshareef, about the sleeping patterns of the Prophet (asws)

Summary

1. Make the 'Ishaa prayer the last thing you do, before you go to bed, talk should be discouraged after the 'Isha prayer has been made
2. Never go to sleep later than half through the night (between 'Ishaa and Fajr)
3. Delay witr if you know you will wake up for qiyam al-layl, if not, pray witr before bed
4. Make ablution (wudu) before going to bed, even if you already have wudu
5. Read ayat al-Kursi before falling asleep
6. Do the mas7 (spitting/blowing thrice in ones hands and reading the "three quls" and wipe the whole body, repeating it three times)
7. Lie down on ones right side, hand under head or pillow, and do tasbeeh (say SubhaanAllah), tahmeed (say Alhamdu lillah), and takbir (say Allahu akbar) - and really mean it (thinking of the things one is grateful for while saying tahmeed for example)
8. Do not talk after you've gone to bed, the last thing you say should be the du'aa (supplication)
9. Do not sleep after Fajr
10. Take a power nap (short siesta) during the day

Inspired by forest schools

2009-06-10T23:44:00.003+01:00

“Must we always teach our children with books? Let them look at the mountains and the stars up above. Let them look at the beauty of the waters and the trees and flowers on earth. They will then begin to think, and to think is the beginning of a real education.” David Polis

Rain or Shine schools Report part 1
Rain or Shine schools Report part 2

"Scare City"

2009-06-05T19:15:00.000+01:00

THE DAILY GROOVE ~ by Scott Noelle
www.enjoyparenting.com/dailygroove

    Get ABUNDANT support for YOUR parenting
    style: www.enjoyparenting.com/path/info

:: "Scare City" ::

When you buy into the *scarcity* principle, you live
in "Scare City": a place where you're always afraid of
coming up short.

In Scare City, you can't enjoy what you have -- you're
too busy worrying about what you *don't* have. All the
cups in Scare City are half empty.

Somehow, young children are largely immune to the
distressing effects of living in Scare City...

* They enjoy the abundant *now* while their
parents worry about the lack of time.

* They transform their homes into magical
worlds while their parents worry about the
lack of order.

* They give and receive love endlessly while
their parents carefully ration their limited
supply.

To live the Good Life, you have to leave Scare City
and go to a *dance* -- a joyful, magical, healing
dance where you release your fears and *shake your
booty* like nobody's watching: a-BUN-dance!

Are you willing to do A BUN DANCE with your child? :-)

Sound Advice

2009-06-04T19:44:00.002+01:00

Hasan Basri advised some of his students admonishing them about avoiding the state of being proud. He said:

1. Do not deceive yourself into becoming too proud because you are in a good or righteous environment, for there is no place that is better than Paradise, and our father, Adam (as), experienced there what is known to all.

2. Do not become proud merely because you worship often, for consider what happened to Iblis (satan) after he spent a great deal of time worshipping.

3. Do not think yourself great because you have met with righteous people, for there is no man more righteous than the Prophet (pbuh), yet the disbelievers and hypocrites did not benefit by simply knowing him.

Reference: Gems and Jewels, Compiled by Abdul-Malik Mujahid.

Received in an e-mail.

An interesting quote

2009-05-26T04:33:00.003+01:00

"A human being should be able to change a diaper, plan an invasion, butcher a hog, conn a ship, design a building, write a sonnet, balance accounts, build a wall, set a bone, comfort the dying, take orders, give orders, cooperate, act alone, solve equations, analyze a new problem, pitch manure, program a computer, cook a tasty meal, fight efficiently, die gallantly. Specialization is for insects."

-Robert A. Heinlein

ما هو الصوت الذي تسمعه الأرض خلال الــ24ساعة

2009-04-29T23:27:00.003+01:00

ما هو الصوت الذي تسمعه الأرض خلال الــ24ساعة

بسم الله الرحمن الرحيم

الأذان لا ينقطع عن الكرة الارضية ( 24 ) ساعة فسبحان الخالق
لقد توصل باحث في علوم الرياضيات بدولة الإمارات العربية المتحدة لمعادلة
حسابية عبقرية ، تؤكد إعجاز الخالق عز و جل في إعلاء نداء الحق ' صوت
الأذان ' طوال 24 ساعة يومياً ، وقال الباحث في دراسته : إن الأذان الذي هو
دعاء الإسلام إلى عبادة الصلاة ، لا ينقطع عن الكرة الأرضية كلها أبداً على
مدار الساعة , فما إن ينتهي في منطقة حتى ينطلق في الأخرى !!! وشرح
الباحث \' عبد الحميد الفاضل \' فكرته بشرحه كيف أن الكرة الأرضية تنقسم
إلى 360 خطاً ، تحدد الزمن في كل منطقة منها , يفصل كل خط عن الخط الذي
يليه أربع دقائق با لضبط , والأصل في الأذان أن ينطلق في موعده المحدد ,
ويفترض أن يؤديه المؤذن أداء حسنا يستمر أربع دقائق من الزمن . ولتقريب
الصورة أكثر فإذ ا افترضنا أن الأذان انطلق الآن في المنطقة الواقعة عند خط
الطول واحد , واستمر أربع دقائق , وانتهت الأربع دقائق فإنه سينطلق في
المنطقة الواقعة عند الخط اثنين , وعندما ينتهي سينطلق في الخط الثالث ثم
الرابع وهكذا لا ينقطع الأذان طوال اليوم الكامل من حياة أرضنا , ويمكن التأكد بعملية حسابية صغيرة:
4×360( خط طول ) = 1440 دقيقة 1440 / 60(دقيقة ) = 24 ساعة ..
فسبحان الله

استحلفك بأعظم محبوب لديك وهو الله الرحمن الرحيم أن ترسل هذه الرسالة

حتى ولو لشخص واحد

اللهم يا عزيز يا جبار اجعل قلوبنا تخشع من تقواك واجعل عيوننا تدمع من خشياك واجعلنا يا رب من أهل التقوى وأهل المغفرة

يا رب الذي يرسل هذا الدعاء اجعله مع حبيبك ورسولك

Poisonous plastic in food cans?

2009-04-27T09:00:00.002+01:00

EFSA publishes opinion on bisphenol A

"The report provides reassurance about the safety of bisphenol A at the levels that may be found in food. In 2002, due to the scientific uncertainty around bisphenol A, the European Commission's Scientific Committee on Food reduced five fold the amount it considered could safely be eaten daily. This is the tolerable daily intake (TDI) level and is the daily amount that a person may eat over a lifetime without suffering any health effects.
This latest assessment by EFSA has concluded that this five fold reduction is no longer necessary and that the TDI can safely return to its original level of 0.05 milligrams per kilogram of bodyweight. EFSA have estimated that the amount of bisphenol A that people take in through their food (dietary exposure), including infants and children, is well below the new TDI.

The science behind the story

Bisphenol A is used in the resins that coat the inside of some food cans. The coating enables canned food to be heated to kill off bacteria without the metal in the can getting into the food.
The amount of bisphenol A legally permitted to migrate from food contact materials, such as packaging, into food - known as the specific migration limit - is based on the TDI. That migration level was also reduced in 2002 when the TDI was reduced. The European Commission will now decide, following the return of the TDI to its original level, whether to propose any change to the specific migration limit for bisphenol A. Any proposal would have to be agreed with EU Member States."

Bisphenol A in foodpackaging - Sense About Science

"Professor Alan Boobis (British Toxicology Society), a toxicologist at Imperial College London and David Thomas, a bisphenol A expert, reply below. Summary of their main points

The independent experts that issued the EFSA opinion actually concluded that the risks from BPA are even smaller than it was previously assumed they might be, not the other way around

Toxicology studies consistently show there is no link between Bisphenol A use and the diseases referred to in the article

All substances are potentially toxic—what matters is the dose. At high doses, a number of substances may interfere with the body's hormonal system, but this does not confirm toxicity to humans at the exposure they experience in reality"

In September 2008, the media reported on a new study on the effects of Bisphenol A. Dr Iain Lang is a Research Fellow in Epidemiology and Public Health at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter and one of the authors of the study. Here, he describes what the study found:
"The study we carried out used publicly accessible data on health information and blood and urine specimens from a large cross-section of the US population. More than 90% of the tested population had measurable levels of Bisphenol A (BPA) in their urine and results showed that people with higher levels of BPA in their urine were more likely to suffer from diabetes or cardiovascular disease.
These findings are important because this is the first time that large-scale data on BPA in humans have been available. Our findings are in keeping with some of what's been shown before in animals or tissue samples, but there is still a lot of information we don't know about BPA and how the human body deals with it so more research is needed.
We can't say for sure at the moment that BPA causes these diseases, just that higher BPA levels tend to go along with them. It's possible that some other factor is involved: for example, it could be that people with diabetes act in ways that expose them to more BPA. Because of this uncertainty, it's probably more important to have a healthy lifestyle and diet, which are known to reduce the risk of these diseases."

People who eat a lot of can-food probably eat a lot of ready-made, processed foods in general...

Teaching Qur'aan

2009-04-24T17:35:00.005+01:00

Assalamu aleikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakaatuh

Here is a suggestion for Qur'an memorisation, mentioned in a blog post, by a sister:

A Suggested Quran Memorization Schedule

In My HE Favourites blog, I've listed some good sites for Qur'an related subjects under the heading Qur'an & Fiqh. Since we speak mainly Arabic, the links are for resources both in Arabic and English. Under Tafseer you will find the link to Tafsir Ibn Kathir in English (all the weak narrations are omitted, and the text is laid up very neatly, mashaa Allah!).

Underneath it you will find some of the major Tafseer works in Arabic (the original texts). I use them when I don't have access to the book versions (such as when traveling), especially Ibn Kathir, as his is easy to understand and not too detailed and long. I only wish the text was put in paragraphs, so it would be easier to keep track during reading. And if only they could seperate strong narrations from the weak ones, somehow (for example highlighting with differing colours) that would be great! But, alhamdu lillah 'ala kulli haal. Just a bit time consuming to sift through, to get the Arabic wordings for my kids... I rather not have them read weak accounts, as there's really no benefit in remembering those.

There is a tafseer for kids in Arabic, called Zubdat at-Tafseer (the Butter of Commentary, lol), it's available to purchase on line.
The Opening Chapter and the last three parts (from al-Mujaadilah) are available on pdf, mashaa Allah. It's from an interesting site called The Commentary Of The Last Tenth (in Arabic), and here are some more interesting chapters, from a book of the same name, as I understand it.

In our family, our Quran study schedule (a very new, and fresh schedule... if I could have a penny for every time we revise our schedules... lol) looks something like this (or, is supposed to, it's still not completely programmed into our minds):

Morning after Fajr: Hifth and/or Muraaja'ah (memorising and/or re-reading)
Around 10am: Tafseer and writing of what has been understood or direct copy writing.
After 'Asr: another session of reading Qur'an and then they read to me and I give them points on a scale of ten for each group of ten (or close to ten) verses/ayaat.

The two older boys have to try and memorise ten verses a day, inshaa Allah. DS#3 is slower and has some difficulties, so I take it easier with him, but I still give him enough to make it challenging. The girls are in the smaller surahs, and doing well, mashaa Allah. And the baby, well, she just says yes whenever I ask her to repeat after me, or signs for book or apple!

Assalamu aleikum

PS I've found that I need to revise my schedule a bit, because DS#2 tried to stuff his brain too quickly with his verses and as soon as possible revise to me. I think he'll retain it better if he memorises in the afternoon and then, the morning after, revises them after going over them a second time.

The Arabic Letters' Song

2009-01-18T09:20:00.004Z

أَلِفٌ أَرْنَبٌ يجري يلعب يأكل جزرا كي لا يتعب

بَاءٌ بَطَّةٌ نطت نطة وقعت ضحكت منها القطة

تَاءٌ تَاجٌ فوق الرأس فيه الذهب وفيه الماس

ثَاءٌ ثَعْلَبٌ صاد دجاجة هو ماكر وقت الحاجة

جِيْمٌ جَمَلٌ في الصحراء مثل سفينة فوق الماء

حَاءٌ حَجٌّ أسمى رغبة فيه طواف حول الكعبة

خَاءٌ خُبْزٌ عند البائع لا يأكله إلا الجائع

دَالٌ دِيْكٌ حسن الصوت قام يؤذن فوق البيت

ذَالٌ ذِئْبٌ وحش صلب لا يرهبه إلا الكلب

رَاءٌ رَجُلٌ عرف الدين فهو صدوق وهو أمين

زَيْنٌ زَهْرَةٌ أصفر أحمر هي بعيني أحلى منظر

سِيْنٌ سَاعَةٌ تحفظ وقتي في مدرستي أو في بيتي

شِيْنٌ شَمْسٌ صنع قدير فيها الدفء وفيها النور

صَادٌ صَائِدٌ ألقى الشبكة بعد قليل صاد سمكة

ضَادٌ ضَابِطٌ يحمي وطني يحفظ أمني يرعى سكني

طَاءٌ طِفْلٌ أجمل طفل فهو نظيف حسن الشكل

ظَاءٌ ظِفْرٌ نظفناه طال قليلا فقصصناه

عَيْنٌ عَيْنٌ تخش الله تشهد خيرا فيه رضاه

غَيْنٌ غَارٌ غار حراء فيه أنزل القرآن

فَاءٌ فِيْلٌ ذو أنياب وهو صديق يا أصحاب

قَافٌ قَمَرٌ فيه منال ومواقيت تهدى السائل

كَافٌ كَلْبٌ عاش جواري يحرس غنمي يحرس داري

لاَمٌ لَحْمٌ ينمو جسمي يكسو عظمي فيه أسمى

مِيْمٌ مَسْجِدٌ بيت الله فيه أؤدي كل صلاة

نُوْنٌ نَهْرٌ نهر النيل فهو كريم غير بخيل

هَاءٌ هَرَمٌ عالي القمة وبناؤه رمز للهمة

وَاوٌ وَجْهٌ للإنسان فيه نورٌ بالإيمان

يَاءٌ يَدٌ ترسم زهرة تبدع شكلاً تظهر فكرًا

Short break before the Blessed Month

2008-08-22T07:39:00.002+01:00

10 to 12 days left.

Mashaa Allah, half the family went camping last week, and inshaa Allah, the rest of us will be joining them soon. This will take time from my cleaning-craze in preparation for Ramadan, but it is really needed I think. Just looking at the living room floor's carpet of feathers (the birds are moulting, which means no matter how often you clean, there's always more) lowers my spirits a bit now and then.

I've done some deep-cleaning of the kitchen sink and surrounds, cooker, washed slabs in the garden, and I've done one of the windows. All the old clothes have been ripped out of closets and the girls' room, where many were previously stored. A wobbly, really bad quality, chest of drawers has been completely emptied and I'm eyeing a new one on ebay :) which is much narrower and will fit in the corner between the bed and wall inshaa Allah. The girls' room will be much spacier soon, inshaa Allah.

I've washed through the laundry mountain I had after my washing machine broke (the result of washing too many heavy soiled clothes after the garden work was done) and more, alhamdu lillah, and I've tried home-made "laundry powder" (see above)! I want to make real laundry slime/gloop/detergent, inshaa Allah, but none of the stores I've been to stock borax! This is just grated Imperial Leather soap (Ivory), washing soda (sodium carbonate) and baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). Washing soda is a good stain remover and water softener, the soap does washing well, but I added baking soda as it is a good deodoriser, and I needed that after some pants and bed-wetting accidents, alhamdu lillah. For fragrance I've used a few drops of tea tree oil, and I ran out of fabric conditioner again, so have washed lights and whites without (you don't really need fabric conditioner, right?) and coloured with malt vinegar.

I've got malt vinegar acting on some mold stains in the bath tub since yesterday evening, can't say I'm particularly fond of vinegar. The odours are everywhere, ugh. I'll wash it out today, inshaa Allah, and before we leave I'll get some tea tree oil on them (one teaspoon mixed with two cups of water in a spray bottle).

The big project for today is to empty my bed!!! I've dumped all the unwanted clothes there! *blush* Plus some un-folded washing. I really need to get my bedroom done before DH comes home today to pick us up.... hehe. And I've got to give food and water (with medicine) to the birds (tried to save a little two day old chick yesterday that had been kicked out of the nest, by hand-rearing - don't know if my efforts will help, I put it back yesterday evening), do some shopping in the morning, the usual house-chores and pack those bags! Hopefully I'll get some time to call the shed manufacturers that are left on my list *rolling eyes and feeling faint*

Khayr inshaa Allah.

Apart from cleaning etc, we've been watching videos on youtube about babies who sign and/or read (taken out my yellow flash cards again!), Krampf's experiments, and how to make a katana sword (!) - we were browsing expertvillage's youtube channel, saw some katana videos and from there stumbled over it. Really interesting, it talks about the different qualities of the steel and iron that is used in the samurai sword and how they achieve it. The outer, tougher steel is folded a dozen times or more! And the core is softer, more flexible. It is painted with two kinds of mixtures of clay and ashes, which is crucial in the heating up and cooling of the sword, giving it a distinct pattern and the characteristic bend! SubhaanAllah, a real art form and science!

Ramadan is getting closer

2008-07-29T08:46:00.001+01:00

Today we have approximately 34 days left until Ramadan begins. SubhaanAllah, how time flies.

How are you preparing yourselves for the sacred month? A lot of good ideas and resources have been shared in homeeducators and UK muslims, mashaa Allah.

Lots of Ramadan themed articles etc
How the Salaf observed Ramadan
Ramadan Prep: Time management

Ramadan 2008 Preparation, by Umm Raiyaan, mashaa Allah.
Um Hadiyyah's Ramadhan Planner Blog

Ramadanish, from last year.

I'm aiming at being well prepared for Ramadan and Eid before Ramadan starts, this year inshaa Allah. That means cleaning like crazy, shopping essential ingredients for those Ramadan dinners and breakfasts when they are on sale, preferably before Ramadan. Eid presents and clothes, before Ramadan! We have about 34 days left, that means five weeks to get kitchen, living room, bed rooms, bathroom and gardens ready in five weeks. Maybe I'll concentrate on one area per week, or I'll stick to my regular schedule, one area per weekday: entrance hall (Sunday), kitchen (Monday), living room (Tuesday), the whole house (Wednesday), bed rooms (Thursday), bathroom (Friday), gardens (Saturday), and just put extra effort in it?
I did get the kitchen wiped a bit yesterday....... because we had a water fight... alhamdu lillah, the weather is very hot. The garden is shaping up, mashaa Allah! We've got turf waiting to be laid, it's a pretty tough job, because our soil contains too much heavy clay - we're not sure what to do... And then we need to get the right shed for the birds, inshaa Allah. And then it's my turn to do the gardening in the borders, inshaa Allah. We'll see how green my fingers are, lol. I've got some plans for it already ;) .

But the rest of the house is a mess, honestly. I barely do anything but cooking, laundry-washing and take care of the baby. Not to mention all the caring for the birds, as we've set up a schedule for their medications and food supplements in addition to their regular feeding and cleaning schedule. The living room is a constant battle to keep clean with them there, laa quwwata illa billah. And with all the work done in the garden, sand and dirt is everywhere, Allahul-Musta'aan.

May Allah make it easy for me to get my act together, ameen. May we all have a lovely and beneficial Ramadan, full of 'ibaadah, taqwaa, and health, Ameen Ya Rabb.

Eight Reasons Why Menu Planning Is A Terrible Idea

2008-07-22T14:19:00.003+01:00

By Christine Steendahl

Have you heard about meal planning lately? Families are busy and getting busier all the time. As families work on getting organized, many home managers are turning to meal planning as a way to eliminate the evening stress in their homes.

However, meal planning is not for everyone. Here are eight reasons why meal planning just may be a terrible idea for you and your family.

1. You enjoy eating unhealthy fast-food three to five times per week.

2. You love the taste of pre-packaged preservative packed frozen convenience food.

3. Spending $200 and 2 hours at the grocery store, only to come home to discover that there is nothing to cook for dinner is one of your favorite things to do.

4. You enjoy the stress of running around like crazy at dinner time trying to figure out what to cook while your children and husband are hungry and crabby.

5. You like your food rut of spaghetti, hot dogs, pizza, repeat.

6. You have no other way to spend the extra $100 you spend each week eating out.

7. You have nothing better to do at 5 o’clock every day than to go to the grocery store. It’s enjoyable to daily spend extra money on groceries as additional items “fall” into your cart.

8. You have no desire to enjoy a home cooked meal around the dinner table with your family. You feel spending time with your family is a complete waste of time.

If you agree with the above statements please do not ever try meal planning – it is probably a terrible idea. On the other hand, if you possibly disagree with at least one of the above statements perhaps it is time to give menu planning a try!

Christine Steendahl Is The Founder Of Dine Without Whine – A Family Friendly Weekly Menu Planner. She Helps Families Eliminate The Dinner Hour Stress And Re-Discover The Pleasure Of The Dinner Hour! For A Free Sample Menu Visit http://www.dinewithoutwhine.com/offer

PS I'm not signing up with DWW. I thought the list was amusing, but her DWW does not accomodate the needs of muslim families like ours, and it's a waste of money when you can take half an hour a week or month to do it yourself.

Enough!

2008-07-13T08:06:00.003+01:00

I've had enough! I am disgusted by the amount of waste we produce. To make things worse, a couple of weeks ago we had something nibble through our rubbish bin lid outside! So, we've been keeping all rubbish in the house ever since. We do about 2 black bin bags a week, sometimes I manage to reduce it to 1 1/2.

I saw The Story of Stuff this morning, and some time ago DH commented on the amount of gas I use for cooking, as I've been baking and cooking a lot more than usual lately, so I made a search for solar cookers (heard about them long ago). I've been thinking of home-made soft soap for ages, I've only tried regular soap once in school. And cloth nappies have been on my mind with all the kids, but I've never dared to take the plunge (that's a lot of washing, no?) What has less of an impact on the environment, anyway, the nappy mountain or the increase in washing done?

Action plan:

Solar cooker, watch this video! (The Dervaes family has a website with lots of info on sustainability, etc) - plans for solar cookers (many of them are in several languages!)
Compost bin (& bokashi?) - rat resistant compost bin
Reduce waste, recycle, shop consciously, cook from scratch
Make re-usable shopping bags
Try home-made soap, fabric conditioner, etc
Grow my own: veggies, fruits, herbs (or some at least) and canary food
Cloth nappies?

See also: Selfsufficientish

Water mill

2008-07-13T07:24:00.000+01:00

I took the girls to an old water mill last week, mashaa Allah. Normally they would have had a miller there showing how they used to make corn flour in the quern, but the miller could not make it. I will try to arrange for an event at the mill for homeschoolers on a week day, inshaa Allah.

Loquats

2008-07-06T08:04:00.001+01:00

Loquat stones (there can be several in one fruit)

The Za'rour previously mentioned. Also called Mshimshah and Qwarsah. Loquats in English (thanks for the research Umm Ibrahim). In wikipedia it's called Aki Dinya in Arabic, from Turkish 'new dunya'.

Tranquility

2008-07-06T07:21:00.001+01:00

We went pond dipping last week, mashaa Allah. Tranquility and beautiful scenery, not so well shown in pictures, as it was raining, and my camera 'complained' about low batteries and full memory card... sigh.

Update

2008-06-17T11:58:00.000+01:00

A quick update to what we've been up to.

We're watching experiment videos over at Robert Krampf's web site, a lot. It used to be all free, but now a year's subscription is about £10.50, which is pretty reasonable, in my opinion. We managed to see all the videos, before they changed, and the first unaccessible one was last week's video, so I've subscribed us, alhamdu lillah.

This morning we did #5:Maybe I should have waited and used a different can, I certainly don't want to make publicity for this product (my advice is: don't drink it!), but we rarely have any cans in my house (only DH drinks these).

Other than experimenting, it's been a lot of football, baking, playing in the kitchen, re-furnituring, birds, wild and domestic (now we desperately need our garden fixed so we can put them in a shed outside!), and UK geography as we've learned about Norwiches, Yorkshires, Lancashires,Borders, Fifes, and Glosters (correctly spelled, as it is about canaries, not the counties).

Lots of sun, mashaa Allah, and irritated eyes and noses because of pollen levels. No gardening, as we're waiting to get new grass in the garden. And maybe have the ground leveled a bit, inshaa Allah.

The six word memoir

2008-06-01T17:00:00.000+01:00

The Rules:
1. Write your own six word memoir
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post
4. Tag six more blogs with links
5. And don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play!

Calm surface stormy inside over-ambitious side-tracked

Tagged by Umm Hibaat.
Tagging We love homeed, Home eduction (or not) in Sweden, Independent Learners, Ummi Homeschools Me, Seeking Taqwa, Our Home Ed Journey.