Reflections of a traveller

Ruqyah consists of words said or written in the form of dua (supplication) or dhikr (remembrance of Allah SWT) for the purpose of protection and cure. It is sometimes accompanied with certain actions such as blowing or wiping over someone to whom it is applied. Our Prophet (SAW) warned against ruqyahs which involve shirk (associating partners with Allah SWT). There are some important conditions that must be satisfied for a ruqyah to be permissible. According to Ibn Hajar (RA), there is a consensus among the ‘ulama that a ruqyah is permissible when it satisfies three conditions: 1. It should be with Allah’s (SWT) words (the Qur’an) or using His names and attributes. 2. It should be in Arabic or of an intelligible meaning. 3. One must believe that it does not have an independent power by itself, but by Allah’s (SWT) will. Ruqyah from the Qur’an Surah Al-Fatihah - (Surah 1) Ayat ul-Kursi – (Surah 2:255) Surah Ikhlas – (Surah 112) Surah Falaq – (Surah 113) Suran Nas – (Surah 114) The las...

In Iran , this dessert is made in every sort of occasion. I love this dessert. It brings back sweet memory of my childhood in Iran. I remember eating whole bowl at so many occasions. When we went back to our country of origin, I used to ask my mother to make it for me. Now being a adult myself I dodn't have any excuse of not making it myself :-) Hope you will enjoy making this beautiful dessert insha-Allah. Saffron Rice Pudding or Shol-e Zard Ingredients: 2 cups rice 6-8 cups water 4 cups sugar 1 tablespoon saffron 3 tablespoons hot water 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup rose water 1 tablespoon cinnamon 1/4 cup almonds slivered 2 tablespoons pistachios, chopped or slivered Method: Rinse the rice well with cold water. Place it in a pot with water and bring it to a boil. Cook gently for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the rice is very tender, skim the surface occasionally. Add the sugar, and continue boiling gently, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, like a custard and you can n...

My parents are from Bangladesh but my father was studying for his Medical degree in Pakistan so I was born in Lahore, Pakistan. Lahore is the capital of Pakistani province Punjab and it is also the second largest city after Karachi. The city lies along the Ravi River. It is called the Garden of Mughals due to it’s rich Moghul heritage. It successively served as provincial capital of the empires of the Shahi kingdoms in the 11th century, the Ghaznavids in the 12th century, the Ghurid State in the 12th and 13th century, the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, the Sikh Empire in the early 19th century, and it was the capital of the Punjab region under the British Raj in the mid 19th and early 20th century. Mughal structures such as the Badshahi Mosque, the Lahore Fort, Shalimar Gardens, and the mausolea of Moghul emperor Jehangir and his queen Nur Jehan are popular tourist attractions for the city. Lahore is also home to many British colonial structures built in the Mughal-Gothic style, su...

I remember once my teacher talked about the importance of reciting the Quran with proper tajweed. Knowing how to recite the Quran is a must for every one of us. It’s a fard al-‘ayn not fard al-kifaya which means we all individually need to learn the rules of recitation. She told us if we cannot then at least we should learn to recite the surah Al-Fatihah with tajweed. It made me think whether we really have any valid excuse not to learn the tajweed! Can we really afford to know only surah Fatihah with tajweed? Alhamdulillah most of us are university educated that’s why not knowing the basics of reading the Qur’an is really a big failure for us. Moreover, now being a mother alhamdulillah I feel like I must prepare myself to learn the tajweed as this is my duty to teach my children the Words of Allah (SWT). Now days it has become a norm to send our kids to the mosque or some sort of supplementary places to teach them the Qur’an. Most of the parents feel that they have fulfilled their res...

Alhamdulillah I am really excited about tomorrow! Insha-Allah we are having our first tajweed lesson  insha-Allah. The sister who is going to teach us the tajweed has studied in Egypt and memorized the ten different ways of recitation of the Qur'an in one year! Subhanallah! I am very excited to meet her isha-Allah. I really want to recite the Quran with the correct rulings. I have learnt a bit of the rulings while I was at university but I want to do it properly now. There are going to be twenty lessons which hopefully finish at the end of December insha-Allah. We have to attend the lesson every Mondays and Thursdays. I hope to learn a lot insha-Allah so that hopefully I can teach my children the art of reciting the Quran Insha-Allah and hopefully help others too. I don't really want to depend on somebody else to teach them the Qur'an. I strongly believe we as parents need to take full responsibility of teaching our children our beatiful faith. Insha-Allah hope to blog on a...

Resources on primary and secondary education: • http://nationalstrategies.standards.dcsf.gov.uk/ • http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/ • http://www.oxfam.org.uk/education/ • http://www.unicef.org.uk/tz/resources/index.asp • http://www.tes.co.uk/Home.aspx?navcode=486 • http://www.activityvillage.co.uk/index.htm Islamic education: • http://www.kinzaacademy.com/ • http://www.ukiew.org/ • http://www.islamfortoday.com/schools.htm • http://www.islamicart.com/main/calligraphy/catalog/alphabet.html • http://www.muslim-ed-trust.org.uk/index.php Islamic Home-education resources: • http://talibiddeenjr.amanahwebs.com/ • http://talibiddeenjr.wordpress.com/ • http://www.muslimhomeschool.net/ • http://homeschooling.gomilpitas.com/religion/islamic.htm • http://themuslimhomeschool.tripod.com/index/id4.html • http://www.muslimhomeschool.net/forums/index.php • http://ummihomeschoolsme.wordpress.com/ • http://yemenlinks.com/blog/