St. Jacob's revisited.

Last time we visited St.Jacob's we came too late to see the Farmer's Market which is the main attraction. I was happy to see lots of muslims this time and some muslim food booths. We ate from Al-Madina and bought the cutest puzzle from a muslim selling from this company learnfrompuzzles. I loved the puzzle we bought because each picture corresponds to a letter in the alphabet. Also these puzzles are handmade from wood and vegetables dyes. We checked out the Mennonite furniture..expensive! The building was so packed that housed so many indoor stores with stuff you can find just about anywhere but also baked items from the Mennonite women and fruits and vegetables too. Outside there are many booths as well mostly selling fruits and vegetables but also clothes and toys.

Perfect Play House part 3

The playhouse is really coming along. The roof and doors and windows need to be added as well as shingles.

Ramadan is.....tomorrow.

Our community has declared Ramadan to be tomorrow as no moon was sighted last night. I know my readers who follow calculations and Saudi are rolling their eyes now but this is the way it is every year. I still remember one year we went to London and they said Eid Mubarak to us and we said we are fasting still and they said haram, haram, you can't fast on Eid. So every year there is this argument about when Ramadan and Eid start. This year I will not be fasting again as I am still nursing so it won't really feel much like Ramadan to me besides the iftar potlucks on Saturdays. I still can't read the Quran either so that is another bummer but what can you do? I 'll read it in English like usual. Gonna try to do my dawah booth again this year too.Also keep learning ayat al kursi. Kind of sad to be still here all alone in the boonies. One 'uncle' has not forgotten us as every year he gives us dates to break our fast, God bless him. Anyone else out there having Ramadan starting tomorrow?

Friday Nasihah - Dua

Cool Concepts!
Three Kinds of Dua

Prayer or supplication (Dua) is the essence of worship or servanthood to God. What rises to God from the whole creations is prayer. It has kinds and degrees:
1. The first kind is the prayer of all organisms, plant, animal and human, through the natural disposition of their bodies and their functioning in line with their duties in creation. This kind of prayer is always accepted.
2. The second kind is that which is uttered by all organisms, plant, animal, and human, in the tongue of vital needs. God meets these needs just on time, with the exception that plants, and the animals relatively weaker and less intelligent (as compared to others, such as wolves and foxes), are nourished more easily than the others. The more powerful and intelligent and more self-subsisting a creature is, the greater hardship it suffers to get nourishment.
3. The third kind of prayer is that which is done by human beings. This falls into two categories:

i. The first category is the active prayer. It means complying with the laws that God has set for life. For example, a farmer's ploughing the soil is knocking on the door of Divine providence. A patient's going to the doctor is appealing to God for cure. This kind of prayer is usually accepted.
ii. The second category is the verbal prayer that we do. This kind of prayer is also answered. But answering is different from accepting. God answers all the prayers done sincerely. However, He answers sometimes by giving whatever is asked for, sometimes by giving what is better, sometimes by postponing giving to the afterlife, and sometimes by not giving at all, since it will not turn out in favour of the one who prays. The way that God answers prayer depends on His wisdom.

Compiled From:
The Words, "The 23rd Word" - Said Nursi, pp. 333-334

London Mosque -little (now big) mosque on the hill.

Now you can read the story and see the photos and view the video of the newly renovated and extended London Mosque. Its taken 3 yrs but its finally going to open. This mosque will always have a special place in my heart. They treat converts like gold. If only this were my mosque. Do drop in!

Multivisions Canada

I can't find halal miswak toothpaste anywhere around me so I order it from Montreal. Yeah I know its unbelievable but that's what happens when you live in the boonies. I got my order today from Multivisions and I was so happy to see that he had included a free lecture tape by Yusuf Islam in the package. Years ago I got this company to put on a bookfair at our mosque; they go all across Canada doing this. If you want them to come to your mosque just email him. This month he told me he will insha Allah be coming to the London Mosque now that they have finished expanding it. So if you are in that neck of the woods then do drop by to see his awesome selection;books, clothes, tapes, perfumes, cds etc. and of course toothpaste :)

Fancy Flowers and Oh so good Oatmeal cookies.

Dd3 as well as her brother ds3 and I tried to make these flowers from my daughter's website (dd1) and the only one who really had the knack for it was dd3. We made these out of wallpaper from discontinued books we got from a local store. We intend to use these for Eid. DD1 used post it notes for hers but with our wallpaper dd3 is very impressed with how shiny ours turned out.

Ds3 got a craving for oatmeal and raisin cookies so made up a batch of these yummy specimens.

Cream Puffs

Dd3 made these lovely cream puffs.

Perfect Play House part 2

From a dream to reality;the playhouse is being built as we speak. On Saturday we bought the wood and yesterday the floor and one wall were built. Meanwhile the kids had dreams of thier own. DD3 wants to do interior decorating (painting or wallpapering or both) while DS4 is planning on adding electricity so he can play video games. I told him no way! Dh says the house will not be too fancy as that would entail more costs but with  a little imagination the kids will be on thier way. This is the third playhouse that dh has built over the years. The last one was 10 yrs ago before we went to Malaysia. The first one was played in by DS1 and DD1 and DD2. The next door neighbour copied our idea but made it even better; was dd2 ever mad when thier house had real windows and hers didn't! The second one was even bigger and had two levels! Alas both these were sold long ago since we moved from both places. This one will be enjoyed by ds2,ds3,dd3,ds4,dd4,ds5 and dd5 not to mention gd1 (granddaughter). The ad is of a book we have been using for ideas.

Just a reminder- August Book Club Pick

Ramadan is just around the corner. I know everyone is busy but for this month I have chosen a great book called Ameenah's Ramadan Diary. This should be quite refreshing after the last 3 books...sigh. Insha Allah we will be inspired to be better muslims and take full benefit from this blessed month. Here are some extracts from the book.

10 Things I Hate About Me

Perhaps I should call this post 10 Things I Hate About This Book! So basically the last 3 books I've chosen have been about non-practicing muslims. Hmmm...could that be the reason they are so accessible (at the library and through scholastic)? The books about devout muslims always have to be ordered from Islamic bookstores. At least that's been my experience except for little kids books which I can find at my library. The first thing I hated was how her brother got to do whatever he wanted but not her. Of course this is mostly culture. I wouldn't want the girl doing the haram things either though. But you should have the freedom to do the halal.  The second thing was how could an Islamic school promote a mixed band with instruments? Sounds like the islamic school my kids go to (friday night -2 hour classes). Third thing,why did the dad give up a great job just so he could live in the city and drive a taxi? Was it for the sake of Islam? I would have sided with him if it had been. And how about the food wastage " Shereen gets pretty upset about the fact that so much food goes to waste when there are people starving in the world. She's quite right, but its a habit entrenched in Arabic culture and Aunt Sowsan would consider herself to be dishonoring her guests if she didn't make such an exhorbitant amount" Speaking about food why is she working at Mcdonald's and dealing with pork? There are lots of places to work so why do muslims keep picking the non-halal choices?  What do I especially hate? At the end of the book where she is supposed to be reconciling her two worlds (non islamic and islamic) the only thing she really embraces is her Lebanese culture. Big deal she starts playing Lebanese music in front of her classmates. This is not being a muslim! At least she doesn't end up dating anyone though. What do I like about this book? I like her sister who tries hard to follow islam and I like Timothy who stands up for himself. If Jamilah had these two traits she'd be on her way. I was expecting at the end of the story that she would at the very least dye her hair back and take out the contacts but alas she couldn't even do that simple thing. Muslims like these are the ones that give Islam a bad name. Like one of the characters in the book says non-muslims are not impressed with Muslims who try to fit in. I know, I for one, was very disgusted with them and their hypocrisy when I was Christian. Is Islam doable? Yes! But these kinds of muslims lead people to believe that Islam is an impossible religion to follow when it is not.

London Mosque Grand Opening - Ladies Night

After years of renovating and extending the masjid in London, it will finally be opened in August. No more prayers being said in the Islamic school and no more outdoor iftars. Ladies come out and see the new digs, masha Allah.

Assalamu Alaikum Dear Sisters,

 

Please mark you calendars.

InshaAllah the London Muslim Mosque will be opening next week.

The MOC would like to invite you to the

 

Grand Opening

Special Ladies Event

on

Friday, August 6, 2010

7pm to 9pm

 

*Join us for a tour of the facilities

*Babysitting will be provided

*The mosque will be wheelchair accessible

*Refreshements will be provided