Learning surah At-Takasur

Alhamdulillah we have been memorizing the suah at-takasur. When kids are memorizing a new surah, we go through the meaning and tafseer i.e explanations (according to their level). I was listening to the tafseer today so that I can learn about the surah and pass it on to our kids.

Let us Muslim parents walk the talk!

Bismillah..In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful, the Most Giving

Alhamdulillah today while researching for the Aaila magazine, I came across this excellent talk by Sheikh Yasir Qadhi. MashAllah he is an amazing speaker with so much knowledge of the faith. I feel so blessed to be able to benefit from his work, alhamdulillah. This talk is about parenting. He talks about how we can raise our children as good Muslims. This beautiful reminder has inspired me to think and write about this topic.

Parenting with Purpose & by Example by Sh. Yasir Qadhi

Children are amazing blessings. Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala teaches us that our children are our adornment on this earth. Just imagine a world without the children! They bring so much joy in our life, alhamdulillah. 

We can reach the higher levels of jannah (garden of paradise) through investing in our children. How many of us really reflect on this fact? Is parenting one of the major topics in our mind on a daily basis? Or it's just another chore as adults we have to deal with? 

Parenting is a very challenging job but it also is one of the most rewarding jobs we can have. As a mother of three, I feel worried whenever I think about the huge responsibility of raising our three precious children in this cruel world. Our societies are getting harsher and devoid of basic morals and values. Life is going to be tough for them when they will be the adults. How do we raise them as strong believers? Will they be able to carry on the message of our beautiful faith and share it with the people around them? These are some of the questions which keep me thinking. No wonder parenting is the most challenging job! We don't just get grey hair for no reason, I guess :-(

This talk does give us a guideline to follow. He talks about our role as parents. We, the parents, are the most important role-models, for our children. They will follow our actions , not our long lectures. Children are very clever in detecting hypocrisy.

How many times we have seen parents who talk the talk, but won't walk the talk. In our community, we see people who tend to start practicing the faith when they are in their 60s, 70s etc. Lot of time people have hopes (or rather false/long hopes) that they will have time to sort out their "religious" life before the end. Allah is very merciful towards us. That's why we do see the people who start following the faith properly when they are old alhamdulillah. And may Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala accept their repentance and make everything easy for them, ameen!

But the danger with this sort of lifestyle is the kids get left behind. They cannot relate to their parents anymore. The two lifestyle clashes with each other. While the father is eager to go to the mosque to pray, the son wants to enjoy his time at the cinema or just browsing the net on his phone. The worse scenario is the kids start believing that they will also have time to sort out their life and eventually have a good end like their praents. But is there any guarantee that kids will outlive their parents?

Lot of older practicing Muslims complain that their children don't listen to them. The most frequent complain is that their kids don't have any interest in Islam. But how many times we think that the root cause can be the lack of interest of the parents when they were young. If a child grew up not living Islam with his/her parents, why would he/she be bothered to live Islam as an adult? If the parents felt that living a practicing life is a chore and waited to "enjoy" their life first before they can start following the basic rituals such as prayers, fasting, charity, pilgrimage (which are the basic foundations of our faith) later, why on earth the children would do the opposite? This sort of mentality also gives rise to the impression that Islam as a faith is boring so it's only fit for older people who haven't got any adventures left to experience. So young Muslims, forget about the faith, go "enjoy" your life! YOLO as they say... You Only Live Once!

This YOLO statement is quite profound for me as a Muslim. Yes I do live once so I better do my best to live my life as a Muslim before it's too late and my Lord calls me to Him. YOLO can also motivate us to do our best as parents.

If we really want our children to be good, well-balanced Muslims, we must first strive with ourselves to be better Muslims. Only through living our life as practicing Muslims, we can create a strong, healthy environment for them to grow up as better Muslims inshAllah. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala give us the ability to live our lives as good Muslims and help our children to be better Muslims, ameen!

Hayati Kullu Ha Lillah

Our children are learning this nasheed below so that they can understand a bit more Arabic. I am also learning the song with them. I hope very soon we will be able to sing the song on our own, bi'idnillah.
You can listen to the nasheed here. 

حياتى كلها لله .. فلا مولى لنا الاه 
My life is all for Allah...for there is no Lord but Him
احب الله جل علاه .. ومن حبى له اخشاه 
I love Allah, and from this love I humble myself
**********************************
اصون النفس احميها .. بنور الله اهديها 
I protect the 'self' and look after it, with God's light I guide it
بحب الله اسقيها .. لتفرح عندما تلقاه 
With the love of God I water it, so that when it can be joyful upon meeting Him
حياتى كلها لله .. حياتى كلها لله 
My life is all for Allah
**********************************
اذا ما الحب لم يسبى .. فؤاد المؤمن الصب
If love didnt fill the believers heart
فوا اسفاه على القلب .. لان الزيف قد غشاه 
Then pity the heart, because glitter has fooled him
حياتى كلها لله .. حياتى كلها لله 
My life is all for Allah
**********************************
يقيني بين جنبيا .. واسعى بالهدى سعيا
My conviction is with me, and I look for guidance 
كفانى اننى احيا .. وامضى فى سبيل الله 
It is enough that I am alive and living for the sake of God
حياتى كلها لله .. حياتى كلها لله 
My life is all for Allah
***********************************
اذا جادت ليا الدنيا ... واسقتنى المنى ريا
If life tempted me 
ستبقى بين كفيا .. ويبقى خافقى لله
It will stay between my hands, and my beats for Him 
حياتى كلها لله .. حياتى كلها لله
My life is all for Allah

Ramadan reflections: Day 25

Bismillah.. In the Name of Allah the Most Merciful..

Subhanallah 25 fasts already done only 4 or 5 to go inshAllah. How quickly time passes!
Lot of people are saying that yesterday was the night of power. Yesterday I was very tired. I did pray and tried to be awake through out the night but I am sure the quality of my worship wasn't that good. I felt quite sad but I realized my sadness should be a sign that I want to worship Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala as much as pssible and with the best of my abilities inshAllah. I hope to remain awake the last couple of nights and do my best in pleasing Him, bi'idnillah.

One sister said it really well... "I am sure many of you have read about the Signs of the Night (Laylatul Qadr) and that it's 'over'. Don't slacken your worship or lose the enthusiasm of performing good deeds just because people say it's over. Allah wants us to maintain intense worship till the last second of Ramadan. Worship is not a game of chance but a continuous long term process. Keep going, even after Ramadan. Lailatul qadr is not the aim of worship. The aim is whether we are transformed into better souls, after a month of fasting and extra prayers. Seeking nearness to Him is a lifelong process and may we be consistent in our deeds, Amiin."
- Admin, Umm Anissa  Muslim Kid Genius 

Today I have tried to be a good cook alhamdulillah. I don't like to spend that much time in the kitchen. But if I have guest coming, I try my best to cook some good food.

I have been watching brother Danyal Laskar's show 'Danyal's Kitchen' on Ramadan TV Sky 192. He loves his fusion cooking. He did a homous recipe with roasted auberjine. It sounded quite interesting. So I tried to make it today. Now I have fallen in love with it, alhamdulillah.  

It's a very simple recipe. Roast a aubergine in the oven until the skin is very crispy and the flesh is cooked. Scoop out the flesh of the aubergine and blend it with one can of chickpeas, half spoon cumin powder, salt, paprika, freshly squeezed lemon ( half a lemon), two cloves of fresh garlic, two table spoon Tahini ( I don't have it so I added two table spoon of garlic and herb soft cheese just to give it a creamy texture). Just blend it until the texture is very smooth. You can add water if you think it's too thick. Before serving sprinkle some paprika, cumin, chopped parsley and drizzle some olive oil. It tasted really good with toasted pitta bread. InshAllah I hope to make it on a regular basis.

I also made piyaji which is a savoury snack frequently served during Iftaar. It's very yummy but can be quite fattening so I make it not that very often. This is my mum-in-laws's recipe. She is an excellent cook. I don't think my one tastes that good like her ones. But I am kind of content with my third attempt alhamdulillah! 

Soak up 1 cup of Red lentils in a bowl with three/four cups of water. I do it for 10 hours. She keeps it for 24 hours. Then blend it smoothly with couple of fresh ginger pieces. You may need to add a tiny bit of water but make sure its not too watery. The texture should be smooth but not runny. Add four quite big pieces of onion sliced very thin ( I cant do it like my mum-in-law, her hands are like machine mashAllah) 1 table spoon of chopped coriander, salt, turmeric, chilli powder and mix it really well. I do it with my hand. Then fry it until it's golden in colour and crispy in texture. Make sure you put quite a lot of sliced onion, otherwise if the quality of lentil is more than onion, it will be called lentil balls/cake (Daler Bora) , not piyaji anymore. Piyaj means onion in Bengali. That's why this recipe is named Piyaji.  

I also made Beguni. Begun means aubergine in Bengali. So these are just slices of aubergine coated with chickpeas flour, salt, turmeric powder, chill powder, cumin powder, ginger powder, nigella seeds and water. Then fry it until golden in colour and crispy in texture. Alhamdulillah it was a good iftaar. Very simple three recipes and quite a lot of fruits, melon. honey dew melon, papaya, grapes, Alhamdulillah.

Today I washed the grapes with vinegar. Soak the grapes with cold water and vinegar ( couple of table spoon) Leave it for couple of minutes then wash it thoroughly. It does look quite shinny. Learnt the method from a sister on Facebook :-)

On a different note, today one of my sisters have returned some books she was borrowing from me. I was just thinking what a birth junkie I am ! 

After iftaar, for me the hardest task is to tidy up all the mess in the kitchen. I love the cooking part but I am not a big fan of cleaning and tidying up :-( Just the other day I bought a plaque for my kitchen "Make yourself at home...Clean my kitchen" , which kind of sums up my attitude towards this tiny room with sink and hob. 

When I went upstairs around 10, I saw my baby sleeping on the stairs! Subhanallah he must have been waiting for me and just felt asleep there. 

He loves his two teddies and the camel, Jamal to bits. He must have them when he goes to bed. Even Iftaar time, he makes sure his teddy and camel are sitting on the table too. Kids are so cute mashAllah. I try to always take photos to capture all the cuteness and keep them as sweet memories inshAllah. They grow up so quickly. Enjoy every moment with your kids. 

Year 2012

Imran's family

Alhamdulillah this year has been quite a good one for all of us. Imran was supposed to go to school from September but he didn’t get in the school we preferred, Alhamdulillah. I was quite unsure whether he should start school this early. He just turned 5 alhamdulillah. I did do my istikhara (prayer of guidance) before sending the application. I am actually quite relieved that he didn’t get in. I believe 5 is too early for any kid to start formal schooling. I want my children to enjoy their life and learn through playing and interaction inshAllah.

Imran is very close to his sister Ayesha and brother Yusuf. Ayesha is 3 years and 8 months old and Yusuf is 20 months old Alhamdulillah. I love the way they are always playing together. Even the way they interact with each other is so beautiful, mashAllah. I make dua to my Rabb that they remain very close to each other and learn a lot together inshAllah.

As it’s the end of the year, I was thinking of reviewing our life this year. So how was my life as a mum of three, you would ask. Alhamdulillah it was great and I cannot ask for more subhanallah. Motherhood is hard but there is nothing which makes me happier than being a mum to my kids Alhamdulillah.For me, it's an achievement alhamdulillah.  People ask me how is life now as I am home-schooling. I don’t really think life has changed that much for us. We still do the same things we used to do before. We love reading together. We love playing and talking about everything. We go to places. Even shopping is a great adventure for us.

Every minute is learning opportunity for us. Some people ask me how I assess Imran’s progress.  The simple answer is I don’t and I hope I never need to assess. He loves learning and I am more than happy to help and guide him and my daughter and baby to learn from their daily experiences inshAllah.

I think, as a society we are too obsessed with measuring and comparing our kids. I feel sorry for them. Childhood is such a magical time when kids just love being kids and explore the world around them. By forcing them to do things in a certain way and then assessing and comparing them with each other, we make them feel bored and eventually hate learning. I am very passionate about lifelong learning. As Muslims we are always learning. Our faith is based on learning and implementing the lessons in our daily life. There is hadith saying that wisdom is the lost treasure of believers.

As a home-educator, I am also on a journey of learning and self-discovery with my kids. I am learning with them Alhamdulillah. I feel so blessed that I am aware of what they are learning and we can discuss topics together. Sometimes just listening to their conversations, makes me feel so grateful for having them as our children, Alhamdulillah. It's amazing watching them grow so fast, subhanallah. Time flies. I still remember the day I gave birth to Imran. What a day that was, subhanallah!

So what curriculum I am following… Not any set curriculum I must confess. I do lots of stories and rhymes. I do the stories from the Qur’an. I believe they must know the stories from the Qur’an first. InshAllah in future, especially when they are around 7, I want to do stories from the sunnah of our beloved prophet Muhammad Sallallahu Alaihi wa sallam. They are quite aware of their Muslim identity. They see us praying, fasting, attending halaqas and they are quite interested in following us. I strongly believe if we as parents can lead life as devoted Muslims bi’idnillah, children can identify themselves as Muslims inshAllah. Children love copying their parents and we should do our best to represent Islam in the best possible manner, inshAllah. It reminds me a great qoute by James Baldwin
 "Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them."

Dua (supplications) is a very essential part of our life. Dua is worship and Allah subhana wa ta’ala loves to be asked. I teach them duas and hope to raise them as people of duas inshAllah. I am also trying to teach them the surahs from juz amma (30^th part of the Qura’n). We don’t want to send our kids to supplementary schools to learn about their faith. It’s our sole responsibility to teach them about their faith, we believe. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala give us the ability (tawfique) and the ease (tayseer) to raise our children as best of Muslims, ameen!

Alhamdulillah my husband has been playing a very active role as a dad and kids absolutely love him. He supports me wholeheartedly , alhamdulillah. I am really blessed to have him as my soul mate, Alhamdulillah. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala keep him healthy and high in imaan, ameen! I love making the duas from the Qur’an to have a blessed family. I cannot stress enough how important the duas are for all of us. As parents we may have the best of intentions for our kids but without duas we can never achieve anything. So dua is the most essential part of our life, and then comes efforts, never-ending efforts bi’idnillah. As the year comes to end, let us all raise our hands and ask the Most Merciful Rabb Ar-Rahman Ar-Raheem, to make us the best of parents and make our children the coolness of our eyes, ameen!

Alhamdulillah this year my parents just celebrated their 35th anniversury. May Allah subhana wa ta'ala keep them happy and blessed together for many more years, ameen! Rabbir hamhuma kama rabbayani sagheera, ameen!

 I hope year 2013 is going to be a very productive and baraka-filled life for all of us, inshAllah. May Allah subhana wa ta’ala forgive the sins of our ummah and help us to do our best to earn His Mercy and Ridwaan and eventually meet Him in Jannatul Ferdous, Ameen! Ameen! Ameeeeen!

Bad Trendsetters by br. Nouman Ali Khan

Entitled, "Bad Trendsetters", this thought-provoking lecture is by mashAllah the highly-intellectual and articulate brother Nouman Ali Khan. May Allah reward him for his brilliant efforts, masha Allah! His style of lecture is quite commendable, his analogies and comparisons made to today's lifestyle is usually spot on! His reminders may drive some up the wall, but it is totally necessary to teach many of today's (culture-based) Muslims who may have been brought up in a wrong way or two. Everyone needs to be reminded constantly that Islam is such a beautiful, simple yet complete religion and way of life. It is perhaps time to shake off those terrible traditions and cultures that one may have been burdened with all one's life!

Alhamdulillah, Victorian Muslimah has successfully added English subtitles to this video, which is adapted from the video first uploaded by NAKcollection's Youtube Channel. Its original form has been put together by the Islamic Institute of Orange County (IIOC), at Masjid Omar Al Farouk, Anaheim, California, USA. Jazakallahu khair for everyone who contributed to the making of the original video. Now with subtitles, this video is specially dedicated to those who are hearing-impaired, who are new to English, new to Islam or just wanting English subtitles to learn better and more effectively, insha Allah.

Bad Trendsetters Part 1

Bad Trendsetters Part 2

Bad Trendsetters Part 3

Bad Trendsetters Part 4

Mashallah these four videos are one of the best set of videos I have watched. May Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala reward brother Nouman for his great work, ameen, ameen, ameen! He talked about two different sorts of people; the trendsetters and the trend-followers. I think most of us belong to the trend-followers category. Although he talked about our kids being the potential trend-followers, we adults are also , more or less, guilty of being among the trend-followers. Unfortunately, every single day we are facing societal pressure in various form to follow the trends around us. Living in an age of technology , it's so difficult not to notice all the trends :-( and get deceived by them and also people in the form of family and friends are always there to influence you to follow the trends. As a parent , it is a very daunting job for me to save my children from all the bad influences but I fear that as an adult myself, I have to , first and foremost, save myself from following the blind culture or tradition and be a role-model for my kids. THAT IS NOT AN EASY JOB :'-( Even being at home as full time mother and trying to spend lots of time with my kids, they can get influenced by society thanks to TV, Internet and so on. We have to be very careful and always talk to our children, explaining them why certain things are not appropriate. My children are still very young so alhamdulillah they do listen and understand us. But I am worried when they hit the scary teenage years when peer pressure will be there to haunt them :-( I hope and make dua that we can do our best to raise our children as confident and Allah conscious kids INSHA-ALLAH. Everyone need to listen to these awesome videos and prepare for the best insha-Allah. May Allah subhan wa ta'ala give us the tawfique ( ability) to follow our father Ibrahim Alaihis salam and be the best of Muslims, Ameen!

" Hold on to your kids "

Interesting talk by Gabor Mate....

Insha-Allah need to buy Gabor Mate's " Hold on to Your Kids: Why Parents Need to Matter More Than Peers"

Love of nursery rhymes....

Bismillah...

My three kids love nursery rhymes. Almost every day Imi (4) and A'ish (3) love singing rhymes and Yosho (10 months) is more than happy to be the lucky audience! I have been doing rhymes since they were very young and I can see the improvement mashallah. Rhymes make communication easier for babies. It's a great way of spending some quality time with them. They have learnt quite a lot of new words through rhymes alhamdulillah. Imi has started nursery in September 2011 and has been learning more rhymes with activities. The nursery has given us a rhymes CD and on a weekly basis provide us with homework to practice whatever rhymes they are doing at the nursery. It's a good way of getting parents involved in childrens' education. I am a big fan of home education but yobo is not very keen of home education. So we have decided that Insha-Allah our kids will go to school but we will do our bit of teaching whenever we can. I have done my istikhara to ask Allah to guide to the right path and make our children have the best education insha-Allah. We have applied for the school we really want Imi to attend. Insha-Allah I am eagerly waiting for the result in April this year. I hope he can go to the best one insha-Allah or whatever else Allah subhana ta’ala decides for us. He is the best of planners and He knows everything.  

I am very aware of what Imi is learning at the nursery. Alhamdulillah the teacher and the assistants are very friendly. Sometimes it's quite difficult for me to do my prayers whenever I am outside. There is a mosque just in front of the nursery but they don't allow women in :-( It makes me so angry and annoyed but I hope Insha-Allah they will change their silly policy soon. Once I did try to pray there and one kind guy let me pray at the back of a house just attached to the mosque. I didn't really feel that safe being on my own with kids in an empty house. So I have stopped trying to get them to let me pray in the mosque. Once I asked the nursery if I can pray there and alhamdulillah they provided me with a room and mashallah with a prayer mat too! May Allah subhana ta'ala reward them for their kindness, ameen! Sometimes I see Muslims criticising people in the West but I strongly believe that most of them are very good and open-minded. Their characteristics are more like proper Muslims! We got lot to learn Insha-Allah.

Now, where was I?  I keep digressing :-(

Anyways, at the moment, the rhymes below are my kid's favourite...

Twinkle, twinkle little star
The wheels on the bus
Old Mac Donald
The grand old duke of York
Incy wincy spider
Baa baa black sheep
Row row row your boat
One two three four five
Round and round the garden
Ring a ring a roses
Humpty dumpty and the list goes on....

Everything is from Allah subhana ta'ala!

Bismillah... In the name of Allah, the Most Merciful

Sometimes I think how blessed I am , alhamdulillah. Allah subhana ta'ala has given me so much! Am I really grateful enough to Him? Through my action, do I really show Him my gratitude towards Him? I know that through showing Him our gratitude, He will give us more. Our beloved prophet Muhammad sallallahu alaihe wa sallam taught us to make a special dua after every prayer saying, " O Allah, help me in remembering You, worship You and being grateful to You!".Insha-Allah I hope I can do my best to thank Him . Insha-Allah I hope to show my gratitude to my Rabb by raising my children as best of Muslims! Being a parent is not an easy job. Sometimes it does get quite challenging :-( but I try to keep reminding me that Insha-Allah I am a mother with a big purpose. I hope I will get reward from Allah subhana ta'ala for every moment of struggle I go through to raise our beautiful children, INSHA-ALLAH! Rabbana taqabbal minna...

Ruqyah for children

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 last three surahs of the Qur’an are called mu’awwithat (‘the protecting ones’)

The Prophet (SAW) said, “Say the mu’awwithat three times in the evening and in the morning. This will protect you from all (harmful) things.”

Aishah (RA) reported: “When Allah’s Messenger (SAW) went to bed, he would bring the palms of both hands together and blow into them while reciting ‘Qul huwa Llahu ahad’, ‘Qul a’uthu bi rabbi l-falaq’, and ‘Qul a’uthu bi rabb in’Naas’. He would then rub with them whatever he could reach of his body, starting with his head, face and the front of his body. He would do this three times. When he was too ill, he asked me to do this for him.” – (Bukhari and Muslim)

Abu Said al-Khudri (RA) reported: “Allah’s Messenger (SAW) used to seek Allah’s protection from jinns and evil eye with various supplications until the two mu’awwithat were revealed. After that he (SAW) adhered to them and left everything else.” – (At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Abu Said al-Khudri (RA) reported that Jibril (AS) visited the prophet (SAW) while sick and said to him, “O Muhammad, are you sick?” He replied, “Yes” Jibril (AS) said:

“Bismillahi arqik, min kullishay’in yu’thik, min sharri kulli nafsin aw ‘ayni haasid”

– “With Allah’s Name I shelter you, from all that ails you, from the evil of any soul and that of the envious eye. May Allah cure you; with Allah’s Name I shelter you.” – (Muslim)

‘Uthman Bin ‘Affan (RA) reported that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said: “Nothing would harm a slave who says three times every morning and evening:

‘Bismillah il-lathi laa yadurru ma’ asmihi shay’un fil ardi wala fis-sama’I wahuw as-sami ul-alim’
– ‘I shelter myself with the name of Allah, the One with whose name nothing can cause harm or earth or in the heaven. He is the Healer, the Knower.’” – (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi)

Prophet (SAW) has taught us how to avoid the evil eye. Children are especially vulnerable to the evil eye. The supplications we can do for our children are given below:

‘Abdullah Bin ‘Abbas (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAW) sought Allah’s protection for his grandchildren, al-Hasan (RA) and al-Husayn (RA), with the same supplication that Ibrahim (AS) said for his children Ismail (AS) and Ishaq (AS):

“U’ithukuma bikalimati illah it-taammah, min kulli shaytaanin wa-haammah, wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah”

- “I shelter both of you with Allah’s complete words from every devil and harmful creature, and from every envious eye.” - (Bukhari)

And Allah (SWT) tells us that upon delivering Maryam (AS), her mother sought Allah’s protection for her and her descendents from Satan:

“Allahumma inni u-idhuha [hu] bika wa dhurriyyataha [hu] mina’sha-shaytani’r-rajiim(i).”

- “O Allah, I put her [him], and her [his] progeny under Your protection from Satan, the accursed”

- (Qur’an Surah 3:36)

Ruqyah for children

Recently I did a research on Ruqyah and alhamdulillah found a lot of useful information. Alhamdulillah Allah swt has blessed us with beautiful, healthy children. Sometimes I do feel worried for them . Insha-Allah as our beloved prophet Mohammad saw has recommended, I will try to do as much dua as possible for their well-being and good Islamic upbringing.

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 last three surahs of the Qur’an are called mu’awwithat (‘the protecting ones’)

The Prophet (SAW) said, “Say the mu’awwithat three times in the evening and in the morning. This will protect you from all (harmful) things.”

Aishah (RA) reported: “When Allah’s Messenger (SAW) went to bed, he would bring the palms of both hands together and blow into them while reciting ‘Qul huwa Llahu ahad’, ‘Qul a’uthu bi rabbi l-falaq’, and ‘Qul a’uthu bi rabb in’Naas’. He would then rub with them whatever he could reach of his body, starting with his head, face and the front of his body. He would do this three times. When he was too ill, he asked me to do this for him.” – (Bukhari and Muslim)

Abu Said al-Khudri (RA) reported: “Allah’s Messenger (SAW) used to seek Allah’s protection from jinns and evil eye with various supplications until the two mu’awwithat were revealed. After that he (SAW) adhered to them and left everything else.” – (At-Tirmidhi and Ibn Majah)

Abu Said al-Khudri (RA) reported that Jibril (AS) visited the prophet (SAW) while sick and said to him, “O Muhammad, are you sick?” He replied, “Yes” Jibril (AS) said:
“Bismillahi arqik, min kullishay’in yu’thik, min sharri kulli nafsin aw ‘ayni haasid”

– “With Allah’s Name I shelter you, from all that ails you, from the evil of any soul and that of the envious eye. May Allah cure you; with Allah’s Name I shelter you.” – (Muslim)

‘Uthman Bin ‘Affan (RA) reported that Allah’s Messenger (SAW) said: “Nothing would harm a slave who says three times every morning and evening:
‘Bismillah il-lathi laa yadurru ma’ asmihi shay’un fil ardi wala fis-sama’I wahuw as-sami ul-alim’

– ‘I shelter myself with the name of Allah, the One with whose name nothing can cause harm or earth or in the heaven. He is the Healer, the Knower.’” – (Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi)

Prophet (SAW) has taught us how to avoid the evil eye. Children are especially vulnerable to the evil eye. The supplications we can do for our children are given below:

‘Abdullah Bin ‘Abbas (RA) reported that the Prophet (SAW) sought Allah’s protection for his grandchildren, al-Hasan (RA) and al-Husayn (RA), with the same supplication that Ibrahim (AS) said for his children Ismail (AS) and Ishaq (AS):
“U’ithukuma bikalimati illah it-taammah, min kulli shaytaanin wa-haammah, wa min kulli ‘aynin laammah”

- “I shelter both of you with Allah’s complete words from every devil and harmful creature, and from every envious eye.” - (Bukhari)
And Allah (SWT) tells us that upon delivering Maryam (AS), her mother sought Allah’s protection for her and her descendents from Satan:

“Allahumma inni u-idhuha [hu] bika wa dhurriyyataha [hu] mina’sha-shaytani’r-rajiim(i).”

- “O Allah, I put her [him], and her [his] progeny under Your protection from Satan, the accursed”

- (Qur’an Surah 3:36)

Joys and sorrows(!?) of having children close to each other in age :-)

When I discovered that I was pregnant with my second child while my first one was 8 months old, I was full of mixed feelings. I was feeling very excited thinking about having another little angel but at the same time I was worried. How on earth I was going to cope with two babies! What was I thinking!? The reactions I received from people around me were not that positive either. Some argued it would be a very difficult task to look after two and some even thought it must have been unplanned! It did annoy me hearing these negative comments but overall Alhamdulillah, I was coping well with the news as I always believe Allah (SWT) does not burden any soul with more than they can cope with.

I am the eldest among my five siblings and so I was already quite experienced in looking after babies. On top of that, I was already in ‘new mother mode’ with my first child under 1 year old, so having another one would simply mean doing everything twice. Alhamdulillah I was also very lucky to have a very supportive husband. He did most of the chores and looked after our eldest one during the pregnancy. I was also helped by family and very good friends.

In the beginning, I did have moments where I doubted my ability to handle two very young children. During the first couple of days after birth of my second baby, I used to feel very sorry for my eldest one. Looking into his teary eyes, I felt I was a bad mother and neglecting him as he was very attached to me. He had no competition for my (and everyone else’s for that matter) attention prior to the birth and it was a big change for him. As I was also breastfeeding my second one, I couldn’t give that much time to my son for first couple of days, and so it must have appeared to him that I had forgotten him. I was also feeling very exhausted being a new mum again. A positive consequence of the second child was that my son’s relationship with his dad grew stronger and he became less dependent on me, to the extent that he is now strongly attached to him! This meant that there was less pressure on me than I had originally expected.

Alhamdulillah things were not that bad, thanks to family and friends. I am lucky to have both of my families quite nearby. My mother-in-law stayed with us for the first couple of days and helped out. My mother cooked yummy food for us. Alhamdulillah we are very lucky to have them. For us, our son being in the company of his grandparents was a great sense of relief. Through this experience, I have learnt a lot Alhamdulillah.

Eventually, I was able to balance my time and share time with both of my kids. It was also quite good for my son too. He has learnt to be more independent and considerate of others’ need. He tries to share his toys and food with his sister.

My son is now 27 months and my daughter is almost 12 months, Alhamdulillah. Being so close in age has also helped my daughter in learning new skills as she is always following her brother in almost everything! She has already started walking mashallah while my son learnt to walk around 13 months. She is also trying her best to climb up the stairs, chasing after her brother. To sum it up, she is desperately trying to be like her brother which means it is hopefully going to be less hassle for me as my children will grow up quickly Insha-Allah. We are enjoying our life a lot as we are always busy with our children. Alhamdulillah they are the biggest joy in our life.