Another good nasheed artist

Mashallah Ahmed Hussain's I turn to You is a beautiful nasheed. Sometimes I love listening to this nasheed. The lyrics are quite good mashallah. There is also a nasheed in urdu 'Aye Khuda' mashallah that's also quite good if you understand urdu :-)

'I Turn to You'

'Aye Khuda'

Wajid Akhtar feat Ahmad Hussain - I Need Your Help

Children of the world

Ahmad Hussain was born in November 1981. He is the founder and owner of Iqra Promotions. He started working in the mainstream industry at a very young age and had high ambitions to move forward in the music industry, until he was met with many challenges in his life.It was at this crucial stage in his career that Ahmad was met with a tragic death in his family. He lost his sister at the tender age of 28, who died suddenly while participating in a sporting activity. This prompted Ahmad to question his own life and he began searching for answers through the Deen of Islam. Alhamdulilah by the grace of the Almighty, Ahmad decided that he would no longer associate himself with the mainstream industry.He began looking into Islam more deeply and found the inner peace and tranquility he had been searching for in the material and false world of fame and fortune. Ahmad became very inspired by the first revelation which came down via angel Gabriel to the Prophet Muhammad (SAW), in the cave of Hira in Makkah. The message was clear “IQRA” (Read).In 2004 Ahmad began work to set up a chain of Islamic outlets to propagate Islam. He also set up Iqra Promotions, a medium by which he could promote Artists who share & express the same values. In 2006 He met with Kamal Uddin and produced Kamal Uddin’s album “Illallah, which has gained success and acclaim internationally. In 2008 he produced and featured on, Inspirational album “Show me the way” by Wajid Akhtar.Ahmad released his first single in 2009 entitled “Aye Khuda” . In July 2010 Ahmad released his Debut album “I Turn to You” along with the new video entitled 'Children of the World'.

Wisdom is the refinding of innocence

Songs of innocence is a beautiful nasheed done by Talib Al-Habib. This one is one of my favourite nasheeds. Mashallah he has done a great job. It is essentially the dua of a parent sung for and to their children as they lie asleep, and incorporates nasiha (sincere counselling) such as, 'remember this: wisdom is the refinding of innocence.' The 'songs of innocence' refer to the dhikr, sung as a lullaby.


Songs of Innocence

chorus

Allahu Allahu La ilaha illa Hu

And I sing my songs of innocence

To you my precious child as you lay on your bed

With your sleepy eyes and your heavy head

Rest and dream in peace till morning comes again

I will sing my songs of innocence

I will sing my songs of innocence

And I sing my songs of innocence

As I watch you sleep, think what may lie ahead.

So many the roads that before you spread

Take the way, my child, to the Beloved Friend

Lead a life of truth and innocence

The way of sunnah, the path of the Prophet

Let your words be echoes of his sentences

Let your deeds be shadows of his radiance.

And though the world outside seems cold and hard

And you may feel like you are wandering alone

Do not fear, do not grieve, in Allah place your belief

In his remembrance your heart will find its peace

And I gaze at you in wonderment

How your heart is filled with innocence.

You'll never know the joy you bring to me

How your touch and smile dispel my every grief

May you never lose your innocence

With life's bittersweet experience

And when the time comes, remember this:

Wisdom is the refinding of innocence.

Now you're breathing easy, I must call an end

I have sung my song of innocence

And if our paths should never cross again

May God's peace and mercy upon you descend

We will meet at the gathering of innocence

At al-Kauthar, the fount of abundance

By the Prophet's hand may our thirst be quenched

We will be with him, and we will be content

Salallahu `alayhi wa alihi

Peace and blessings on him and his family

And all who follow in his blessed way

You and I, my child, may we among them be

You and I, my child, may we among them be

Will you help me learn of innocence?

Sing a song of love and innocence

Will you help me find my way back home?

Will you fill my heart with innocence?

May I come to you an innocent?

Let me sing my song of innocence.

Allah SWT is the best of planners!

On Monday around midnight my contractions started. I got quite excited, and started noting down the time of each contraction. I did my Isha salah and felt like it might be my last one so did as much duas as possible. I started breathing deeply through each contraction. By 2 o'clock I was quite sure this is definitely contraction and told my husband to wake up. I was too excited getting all the towels, plastic sheet, baby clothes etc out. I called my friend to come over just in case we need to rush to the hospital. My children (3 & 2 years) were sleeping quite peacefully so we didn't want to disturb them. By fajr time I was still in pain but not sign of show or water breaking! I felt quite disappointed but kept using my birth ball and read duas and deep breathing. DH didn't want to go to work but I told him it may take some time before I am in established labour so there is no point missing work. I sent my friend back and told her I will call if I need her. Around 9 in the morning my mum called to tell me she is on her way to my place with my youngest sister. My dad dropped them off before going to work. I didn't want them to worry so I didn't tell them I was having contractions. But by 11 the pain was quite bad so I went to have a warm bath. It did relax me a lot alhamdulillah. However when the contractions were coming back every 10 minutes it was really painful, no matter how warm the water was, I was feeling every bit of it! I called my midwife and asked her whether I should go to the hospital. She said to come when the contractions are five minutes apart. It just sounded so stupid. She said not to come as my ones were 10 minutes apart! I went to the bath again just to ease my pain. At 11:30 my water broke! As soon as the water broke, I felt huge pressure around the cervix. I just couldn’t lie down anymore. I called the ambulance, alhamdulillah had my mobile with me :-) the 999 lady said not to cross my legs and move from the bath. I told my mum to put the plastic sheets and the towels on my bedroom floor and move my children downstairs and don't come to my room. The 999 lady was asking me to get somebody there to help me deliver the baby but I just didn't want my mum or my friend to be there seeing me delivering my baby! Alhamdulillah I managed to get dressed and run to the bedroom. Got my mobile on speaker and followed the instructions given by the 999 lady. Her name is Abbey. May Allah swt bless you Abbey! :-)

I felt the top of the head at 11:35 and tried to press softly upward to avoid tearing as it gives time for the cervix to stretch. My baby's head felt quite big that's why I didn't want to lie down. The lady was asking me to lie down on my back but I was confident that squatting is the best position for me to give birth. I saw my baby's head coming out in the cupboard mirror in front of me. That was the ‘transition’ moment for me! The pain was really excruciating, I screamed really loud as I felt like I am going to explode!!! Within seconds my baby's head and then body was out. Then I sat down and held him close to my chest, alhamdulillah the cord was not around the neck and I used the towels to clean him! The 999 lady said now I can just wait for the paramedics to arrive and do the rest. My baby cried as soon as he was out and that was a big relief. So at 11:40 my baby was born Alhamdulillah. I was shaking but I was feeling so relieved as well thinking it's over now! I had a real natural birth alhamdulillah. My prayers were answered! I delivered my placenta naturally as well as I declined having any injection to speed up the process. I cut the cord as well. The midwives arrived in half an hour to do the rest and alhamdulillah I was also able to start breastfeeding just right after birth. I still can't believe what a birth experience I had subhanallah! I have been reading a lot about natural birth, homebirth, unassisted birth, hypno-birth, birth within techniques, etc. I did believe lot of the concepts but wasn't sure whether I would be able to implement the lessons. I kept making dua to Allah swt as I really wanted a very natural birth. I hated my hospital birth and wanted to avoid it at any cost. The second birth was also at home but the paramedics delivered my daughter for me. It was exactly two years ago. Alhamdulillah this time Allah swt made it possible for me to deliver again at home quite safely. I am also very lucky to have a very supportive partner who trusts me and respects my wishes. I am so glad to have my baby at home. Homebirth is the best Alhamdulillah! I am truly a believer now! Insha-Allah I will do reviews of all the books I have been reading through out my pregnancy as well as all the great sites, blogs, youtube videos I have been watching to learn about natural birth. I also would like to thank all my readers and friends for their prayers and best wishes. I am very lucky to have wonderful people like you in my life alhamdulillah! Jazakallah khairan :-)

Mum & Muslim anniversary issue alhamdulillah!

Alhamdulillah our M & M March/April issue is out now! I am so glad that we have managed to do 8 issues full of very informative articles, thanks to our precious writers and contributors. May Allah swt reward each and every person who directly and indirectly helped us so much! It is with great happiness that I can tell you that Mum and Muslim is one year old alhamdulillah! It seemed a long way away a year ago, but we are still going strong and getting more readers alhamdullilah! It is also thanks in a large part to you too, who have been avid readers and/or writers mashallah.

The new issue is out now with some very interesting articles. There is also a competition that we are running with a great charity, Algerian Action which I hope you can get your kids to enter.
Insha-Allah we hope to get bigger and better this year. We are working on getting a new look to the website and looking further ahead, we hope to have printed copies in the coming year inshallah. All this can only be achieved with the help of Allah (SWT) and you!

Please do keep us in your duas and spread the link! And also if you are on Facebook do join our group.

Mum And Muslim E-mag   A better upbringing, A better life!

Children's book: Ten Friendly Fish

Debbie Tarbett
(Illustrator)
Hardcover: 24 pages
Publisher: Little Tiger Press (1 Mar 2008)
Language English

My children (3 and 2 years) love this book and it is often presented to me to read in the evenings. Because the fish are 3D, they can touch them and play with them while I read the story. It helps them learning to count as well as learning about different sea creatures. Insha-Allah, we are going to get a couple more of the Debbie Tarbett books for them. They had this book for about a year and still love it and keep coming back for more. All in all a very enjoyable and educational read for 2-3 year olds. The 10 fish are solid and raised and one disappears with each page turn. The only problem is the pop page at the end is not as sturdy as rest of the book and you have to be careful with it if you don’t want it to be torn after few uses. Our one is already damaged a bit. But overall it’s a good book to have.

Children's book: Toddle Waddle

Julia Donaldson (Author), Nick Sharratt (Illustrator)

Paperback: 32 pages

Publisher: Macmillan Children's Books (1 Jan 2010)

Language English

There's a hullabaloo at the seaside when a toddler takes his friends on a stroll to the end of the pier.

With jaunty rhymes and bright, bold pictures even the youngest child will love this simple, playful story.

About the Author and illustrator:

Julia Donaldson is today's most popular picture book author and a multi award-winner. Her books include the modern classic THE GRUFFALO, THE PRINCESS AND THE

Nick Sharratt is the prize-winning illustrator of many books for children of all ages.

My children absolutely adore this book. I don’t know how many times I have read this book to them. Almost every night this is one of the books they bring to me to read for their bedtime. My son is 3 years old and my daughter is 2 years old. Both of them have already started guessing some words from the book even before I read it loud. They really love the bright and bold pictures. They enjoy spotting all the detail in the brightly coloured illustrations. In my opinion, this book is really good for children and great for helping their early phonic awareness of rhyme.

Working from home

As a mother of two young children and expecting my third one quite soon insha-Allah, working from home is a good way of using my time more productively as well as spending quality time with my children, alhamdulillah. I guess it also helps me avoiding feeling guilty of not giving enough time to my children and my partner. Before marriage I was working full time as a primary and secondary teacher. Work was quite hectic. My morning used to start at 6:30 and I used to go to bed around 11:30 at night. Even weekends I was busy doing lesson plans and anything needed to be done for the week ahead. Though life as a teacher was quite a challenging one, I really enjoyed my job especially being with the children made me feel very satisfied and happy with my life. The joy I felt seeing how much children were learning and enjoying my lesson made me feel inspired to carry on alhamdulillah. However, after marriage my priorities changed. I was eagerly waiting to get pregnant. I was still working as a teacher but the stress was too much to bear.

The more I read about pregnancy and fertility, I came to realize I needed to chill out and have tawakkul ( reliance) on Allah (SWT). That’s when I decided to quit my work as a teacher. Alhamdulillah got pregnant straight away. For me it was a big sign to make myself feel that I was definitely doing the right thing alhamdulillah. Life just kept surprising me. Now after four years I am a happy mother of two children and expecting our third one next month Insha-Allah.

I always wanted to do a lot with my life. While at university I tried my best to get active as much as possible and I loved every moment of it, alhamdulillah. I never wanted to just be a stay-at-home mum who is totally occupied with household chores and looking after her husband and children and not really even having time for herself. I can understand how difficult and sometimes exhausting motherhood can become but I think for me I really want to live my life with lots of activities insha-Allah. I am hoping to create a life where I can say in eight to ten years time that alhamdulillah I have tried my best to achieve success and satisfaction from my life, insha-Allah. One day my children will leave one by one and will be busy with their life insha-Allah. At that moment I really don’t want to feel like ‘Okay now what!!! What do I do now with my time???’ I know that my life is to some extent centered around my husband and children but there are other things which are very important to me. My personal relationship with my Creator Allah (SWT), socialising with families and friends, writing and my job as a editor are very important for me. These different aspects of my life define who I am and what I want to become in future insha-Allah.

Given my goals and family situation, working from home has helped me a lot to get active and fulfill my dreams. Alhamdulillah thanks to Internet and social networks, lots of things can be done just from home. And many people find that working from home is a good balance and allows them to cope with things like all the appointments and being in to receive all that Internet shopping!

However, a common misconception among lots of people is that mums who work from home are sitting in a sunny garden teleworking on a laptop while their children play contentedly on a rug under the apple tree! Unfortunately that’s not really what we mothers who work from home experience all the time, I must confess. Sometimes it is very difficult to get them occupied. They do demand my total attention and want me to join in and play with them. When you work from home, you are more likely to work through out the day. With a 9 to 5 job, you can at least think about a proper break after work. But for me, I am most of the time in front of my laptop and find myself headhunting, contacting or replying all the emails.

I think if you work from home, you really need to be quite disciplined. You really need to be focused and get on with your work first. Ideally you need a proper space to work. It is quite easy to get distracted while working. That’s why it's a good idea to timetable your work - schedule breaks so you feel justified taking them. Breaking your day into chunks of work can also help. For example, tell yourself you'll work only for 20 minutes at a time, which is very manageable. Then you can take a break and start again after 20/30 minutes. I try to write down in my work diary all the things need to be done and keep ticking whatever is done. That way you can feel quite good at the end of day thinking you have manged to get your work done and alhamdulillah had a good, productive day. May Allah swt help us in getting more active and use our time more effectively, ameen. May He swt grant us baraka in our life, ameen.