once upon a time in the dunya

priceless - everything has its costs

2010-04-11T17:59:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Just reserved this book from the library (as well as this one):

"The egg industry claims humanely produced eggs will cost up to 25% more. True, most certified humane eggs are more expensive than those that are factory farmed. So? In his new book The Value of Nothing, Raj Patel refers to cheap food as cheat food, full of hidden costs -- the cost to the environment, the cost of unfair labor practices, the cost of animal abuse, the cost to our health. There's no such thing as a free lunch, ace."

... quoted from an article on The Huffington Post, "Cracking the Egg Label Code".... If you find yourself wanting to purchase humanely produced eggs (inshaAllah you will get lots of ajr for making efforts to not support the torture normal laying-hens endure) you can also check out How To Buy Humane Eggs , whose best suggestion is to check out local farmer markets for happier hens and much better taste, and WSPA Guide to Humane Food Choices that breaks down what all the vocab on those egg cartons means and more...

battle in seattle

2010-03-28T10:43:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Last night we watched Battle in Seattle, a movie based on the real-life protests against the WTO that took place in Seattle in 1999 and escelated to full blown riots and a state of emergency.

I really like this movie actually, because it was a little bit docu style and even interspliced real footage from the protests - I thought a lot of the characters and casting choices were well done, and it carries a real political message instead of just being a movie of mindless entertainment.

links to reality

2010-03-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

"O you who have believed! Respond to (the call of) Allah and
to the Messenger when he calls you to what gives you life."
(Qur'an Al-Kareem, Surah Al-Anfal 8:24)

I have started working on an Access to Qur'anic Arabic, a set of three books and four CD's that has the aim to learn Arabic with a prime focus on understanding the Qur'an mashaAllah. I hope to be steadfast in my studies. The author made a comment in his introduction that stood out for me subhanAllah:

"We pray that Allah Almighty accept our efforts and that this attempt will be helpful in taking us along the way of discovering the Qur'an - the human being's only authentic link with Reality - and patterning our lives by it. And when the Hour comes, may the Qur'an be a testimony for us, and not against us."

info overload

2010-01-27T22:35:00.001-08:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Asalaam alaikum wa Rahmatullah....
I am OVERWHELMED by information... my RSS "starred" list is 1950 items! (And counting.) So I am sitting here munching away on raisins, drinking water, and wondering... what to do with all these posts? Isn't information something we should act on? Am I supposed to extracte all the act-able items from this collection?

Not sure, not sure...

Anyways, just wanted to try and get back into posting and let ya'll know I am still on the radar. Hope all is well with you and your families inshaAllah ~

fresh fresh fresh

2010-01-01T01:12:00.001-08:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Asalaam alaikum wa Rahmatullah,

Mmmmmmm fresh new layout... alhamdulillah. I felt I had been neglecting my blog lately... what happened? I used to be such a blogger before (on my old site)... I guess just married life, things became busy ~ alhamdulillah. However I still keep up with the RSS even if I don't comment too much (or do so as an anon sometimes :p)

I might try again... to keep the posts coming. Even if they are short-ish. I guess the issue has also been figuring out "the line" - how much of my personal life, location, feelings, thoughts, daily happenings, do I "expose" on the web? That is partly the reason for locking off my previous site... time to reflect while feeling covered and concealed totally (in the digital sense... like donning an eHijab ;D)

Anyhow... it's past one a.m. ~ and I really should be sleeping! Once I start browsing blogger templates...... it becomes an epic quest that won't stop until I find the ONE (for now...) SO finally, fresh updates, templates, and thoughts... Hope ya'all are doing well, wherever you are out there in this big crazy world... May Allah's blessings be on you and your families, ameen...

muharram mubarak

2009-12-20T21:32:00.001-08:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Today is... the fourth of Muharram, year 1431. Kullu 'am wa entum bikhair ~! A new year has begun..... So much has changed for everyone this year subhan'Allah; the selves and lives we knew give way to new lives, new selves.

Our beloved Prophet sallallahu alayhi wa salaam said: “Take benefit of five before five: your youth before your old age, your health before your sickness, your wealth before your poverty, your free-time before your preoccupation, and your life before your death.” (Hakim)

InshaAllah we need to grab all the opportunities we have in this upcoming year, really reflecting on the weight of RasulAllah's advice and warnings.

for the love

2009-12-15T15:48:00.001-08:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Sorry I have been MIA - life has got me busy these days alhamdulillah. He's got some other good stuff too, check it out...

The Essence of Islam: Are We Missing the Point?

2009-10-25T12:51:00.001-07:00

I came across a link on German Muslimah in America to an article hosted on Suhaib Web's site.....

The Essence of Islam: Are We Missing the Point?
By: Yasmin Mogahed | InFocus News

To some, a Monet is only a collection of dots. To others, it is a perfect masterpiece. To some, Islam is nothing but a code of rules and regulations. But, to those who understand, it is a perfect vision of life.

As Muslims, we often focus so much on Islam’s dos and don’ts that we miss the bigger picture. Islam came to perfect our manners, and yet we are willing to scream and shout to win an argument about zabiha meat. Islam came to build our bond with our Creator, and while we wear our hijabs and kufis, we delay our prayers.

Islam came to establish a community of believers, and while we decorate our masjids with gold and silver, our prayer rows remain empty. Islam came to teach us about God, and while we wear His words on our necklaces and decorate our houses with them, when those verses are recited to us, our hearts remain unmoved and our lives unchanged.

And Islam came to make us one brotherhood, yet we divide ourselves and alienate one another over issues like moon sighting and voting.

This is not to say, of course, that the do’s and don’ts are not important. They are crucial. The problem is we have forgotten what they stand for. For example, the wearing of Islamic dress should never be minimized. But we have forgotten that the hijab and the beard are only symbols of our greater devotion to God. For us to wear the hijab and the beard while it has no bearing on our character means we have missed the point.

If we spend thousands decorating our masjids but use it only to display status and win arguments, we have lost its intended purpose. And if we’ve memorized every haram and halal ingredient of facial soap but we own businesses that are based on interest and sell alcohol, have we not made a mockery of Allah’s deen?

That deen is what transforms humanity from the lowest of the low to the representatives of God on earth. The Quran tells us: “Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: ‘I will create a vicegerent on earth …’ ” (Quran 2:30)

As a representative of God on earth, we are given a very great responsibility. It is a trust so heavy that even the mountains rejected it. Allah tells us in the Quran: “We did indeed offer the trust to the Heavens and the Earth and the mountains; but they refused to undertake it, being afraid thereof: but man undertook it; he was indeed unjust and foolish.” (Quran 33:72)

As believers, we should never lose sight of this responsibility. It is the fulfillment of that mission that transforms us from asfala safileen, the lowest of the low (Quran 95:5), into khaira ummatin ukhrijat lil naas, the best of peoples arisen for mankind. (Quran 3:110)

But how can we be that best of people? Allah describes how in His book: “You are the best nation produced [as an example] for mankind. You enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong and believe in Allah…” (Quran 3:110)

The essence of that struggle is the belief in Allah, the struggle for truth and the struggle against evil. As soon as we give up that struggle, we will become among those people who Allah describes in surat Al-Asr as being in a state of loss. Allah describes the ones who will be saved from that state: “Except for those who have believed and done righteous deeds and advised each other to truth and advised each other to patience.” (Quran 103:3)

And, so, if we continue to abandon this greater mission and purpose, we will have transformed the perfect vision of existence into nothing more than a collection of dots.

busy little bee

2009-10-24T16:17:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

MashaAllah mashaAllah the life these days is very busy... latest update is I left Casablanca and am back in Canada. It's chilly fall season so I am enjoying my boots and coats :D We went for a walk today through the forest and the leaves were soooo pretty...

Right now I am just catching my breath between housework and cooking... learning to manage a household is not easy! Right now Im just trying to settle into the daily life and make an actual schedule for cleaning and cooking - plus build up recipe repertoire. Tonight is.... inshaAllah pasta with either meat balls (if i use tomato sauce..) or kebabs (if I make a cheese sauce). So time to turn to my cooking RSS collection to find out how to spice this stuff.... alhamdulillah for the internet ;D

InshaAllah I will try to keep updating.... and please make dua for my cooking success ;D

fishy

2009-10-11T12:38:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Lately I have been thinking about a white + orange hijabi set... originally I was imagining a white or orange long flowy skirt with loose white t or tunic with a large orange goldfish or japanese koi design wrapping across the front diagnolly, with a white or orange longsleeve t underneath and a white underscarf with orange shayla (or visa versa ;D) then pair it with white or orange purse, flats, and cute accessories. But polyvore cant always fulfill the imaginition, however I am really like the tunic + white blazer idea.

The only problem is I never felt orange was one of my colours... but I love the colour because it is so fresh and citrusy... I can almost taste and smell my favorite setusma oranges just looking at it. Alhamdulillah we have a big bowl of them in the kitchen which I will be raiding as soon as hitting 'Publish Post' inshaAllah!

at the door of jannah

2009-10-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

I sat down at the computer with my salad and tiny fork juuuust about to type in the URL for a Korean drama episode fix when my MIL (mother-in-law) asked me to change the tv channel. Morocco channel 2 had some guy singing about conserving water, so we switched it up to Iqra. I was back in front of the computer with my apple earbuds in but the English subs on the tv caught my interest... and alhamdulillah I was so touched by words of Mustafa Hosni that I abandoned Hana Yori Dango and instead was googling for more episodes of 3la Bab Al-Jannah or in English, At the Door of Paradise.

Satellite TV is one thing I will miss about being in Casa, being able to watch Huda TV, Iqra, MBC Max/Action/2 (movies), and browse randomly a bunch of Arabic channels when bored. Iqra, which translates to "Recite," was founded in 1998 and promotes itself as a "Muslim family's safe haven." Their stated mission is "to meet the viewers’ needs through presenting a number of serious programs on the viewers’ everyday life problems, serving their spiritual, cultural, social and economic interests, from an Islamic perspective with a modern vision." Browing their offical site I just discovered I can still watch it live online here alhamdulillah. Except sometimes it seems to lag quite a bit which would be annoying :p Some channels also seem to work at MuslimCo...

Mustafa Hosny has an offical site but unfortunately there is not yet an English version, however I am enjoying his YouTube channel which has English subbed eps of At the Door of Jannah. He speaks with a lot of passion, sincerety, and hand gesturing, in such a way that my attention is grabbed and I totally connect with what he is speaking about mashaAllah.

Unfortuntally not all the episodes are subbed, and it only shows the first 10 minutes... SO look out for the subtitle bar in the video preview, and in this series he is in the red chair as shown in the above clip. To get the rest of the episode, click the link in the video description and it will take to to the offical site in Arabic for that video and all you have to do is choose on of the options (RealPlayer in low quality, Mp3, RealPlayer in medium quality, and in high quality - respectively... the second column lists the file size).

fold a tshirt in 2 seconds

2009-10-01T05:51:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

One skill I have had to slightly upgrade since getting hitched is my folding skills - husbands professional collered shirts and linen pants and whatnot require more finess than my typical laid back folding style... also when travelling everything has to be ultra folded for space and organization in the luggage. So, as usual, I did a little Googling...

Here is the first video I stumbled upon courtesy of Lifehacker, How to Fold a Shirt in 2 Seconds:

There are a bunch of videos by Expert Village on folding but nothing ground breaking for me; this one shows how to fold a tie and some other items. Real Simple shows the basic way to fold a dress shirt in their How to Fold Anything category. AskMen has some tips as well as the site Life123 throws in their two cents. Folding laundry may seem like common sense, but I believe that for every task in life there are always ways to improve and polish our technique inshaAllah.

And after all that house-worky stuff sit back and relax with an episode of Shaun the Sheep and some sweet mint tea ;D

easter egg ninja

2009-10-01T04:13:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

For all those gReader addicts, check out this easter egg... if you want to be suprised instead, just open your Google Reader and enter the KONAMI code (up up down down left right left right b a) and be sure to toggle the 'like' button ;D

Other than drinking a mug of bottled water and monitoring my RSS feeds as Iqra tv babbles in the background, I am not up to too much this morning. Feeling kinda lazy... Only a couple weeks left in Casa, we might make the trip up to check out Fez before we go (and Agadir?)

Other gReader keyboard short cuts i just discovered by accident while writing this post:

'a' for search
'r' for refresh
'u' to toggle the left sidebar
space bar to scroll down and open the next post
shift+space bar to jump to next post
backslash to view all keyboard commands (i knew that would be somewhere lol)

the fig

2009-09-29T04:56:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

I love fresh figs. My first memory of them is eating fresh, green figs we picked from a garden in 'Amman at fajr time. Here in Casablanca we ate the dark purple ones ("Black Mission fig" variety I believe) but lately we've only had the dried ones which I don't fancy as much... plus you are supposed to open them each before eating to check for tiny worms just in case (eww!)

Serious Eats recently had a feature about figs which spurred this entry :) Check it out for some tips on buying, storing, and other info. As mentioned in their post, figs have a rich history...

The fig tree was a common theme in the Bible, and the Egyptians considered figs to be sacred, often burying the dead with baskets of figs. In ancient Greece, Plato wrote that athletes were fed figs to make them stronger.

This fig is also mentioned in the Qur'an, where there is an entire surah (chapter) named At-Teen which means "The Fig"... Here is an english translation of the meaning:

By the fig and the olive.
And [by] Mount Sinai
And [by] this secure city [Makkah]
We have certainly created man in the best of stature
Then We return him to the lowest of the low,
Except for those who believe and do righteous deeds,
for they will have a reward uninterrupted.
So what yet causes you to deny the Recompense?
Is not Allah the most just of judges?

For a deeper look at Surah At-Teen, click here for the tafseer (explanation) and here for an analysis of the Arabic Grammar.

Healthwise, figs are known as a sweet low cal, high-fibre, nutrient rich fruit which make a yummy and healthy snack. FitSugar shared a quick appetizer idea, and That's Fit also touched on some benefits as well as mentioning that fig trees reduce formaldehyde in the environment.

And figs in Morocco? The fresh ones are called karmose and the dried ones are called shariha. Also here there are many Indian figs that are sold by street vendors and can be seen when driving through the country growing by the roadside. And can't forget the beauty stuffs like Moroccan Fig Perfume Oil and Moroccan Blue: Sweet Fig & Argan Body Lotion.

2009-09-06T15:57:00.000-07:00

بسم اللة الرحمن الرحيم

Right now it is nightime in Casablanca. I can hear the traffic outside through the open windows, a backdrop to the french dub of The Bourne Supremacy on Morocco Channel 2. It's a bit hot tonight... other than that not much to report. Except that I started this new blog - a fresh start.

Stay tuned.