Ramadan 2020/1441: Ramadan Gratitude Journal Day 27

What passage or quote of the Quran makes you grateful?

It’s difficult to choose, over time, different verses of the Quran have moved me or impacted me in different ways.  But just a few include:

“For indeed, with hardship [will be] ease. Indeed, with hardship [will be] ease.” ~ Quran 94:5-6

There is so much hope in this verse and there is a beautiful promise to hold onto when things feel too painful or hard.

“Allah does not burden a soul beyond that it can bear” ~ Quran 2:286

Again, a reminder for when it all seems to much or you start to fall into “why me?” thinking.

“But they plan, and Allah plans. And Allah is the best of planners.” ~ Quran 8:30

Whenever it feels as if the attacks against my beautiful faith have become too relentless, this verse reminds us that Allah (SWT) has it all under control. I also always think of this ayah every time I see some unexpected good news or something good come from a difficult situation.

“And We have sent you (O Muhammad SAW) not but as a mercy for the Alamin (mankind, jinns and all that exists)”. ~ Quran 21:107

I love how the blessed Quran speaks about our beloved Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him)

“Do what is good. Allah loves those who do what is good” ~ Quran 2:195

As simple as that really, a call to our work in this world, and a reminder whenever we get side tracked, tempted or act in way that is not from our best intentions.

“Verily, in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find rest.” ~ Quran 13:28

Whenever the world or things are getting me down, this one verse reminds to put it all aside and go back to my purpose: finding peace in dhikr.

“O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the most noble of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is Knowing and Acquainted.” ~ Quran 49:13

I work in the area of diversity and inclusion, and this quote informs my work and reminds how far ahead of it’s time this faith was and still is.

What passage or quote of the Quran makes you grateful?

You can find the original Ramadan Gratitude journal challenge here and my take on it here.

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Ramadan 2020/1441: Ramadan Giving Day 26 – Al Ishara BSL Quran

Our Ramadan Giving series highlights the amazing work charities are doing and showcases their special Ramadan campaigns, giving us all the opportunity to support, donate and do a little good insh’Allah.

Ramadan Giving Day 26: Al Ishara BSL Quran

Al-Isharah was established in March 2008 as a deaf services provider whose focus is to provide education, overall inclusion and equality through a number of services. They serve a socially excluded disabled minority group who are less likely to be financially independent, be in isolation and are more likely to develop mental health problems. The amazing services they offer include:

• Every Friday, sermon interpretation is executed live from the first floor of the London Muslim Centre.
• free Islamic classes
• The Al Isharah Islamic School (AIS) offers deaf and hard of hearing children the opportunity to learn about Islam
• Deaf club to allow socialising
• A deaf marriage service
• Umrah and Hajj catered for Deaf Muslims

They are also trying to develop the first ever British Sign Language Quran, with a dedicated translation team that comprises of BSL linguists, interpreters, scholars, Arabic linguists and a focus group, whose focus is to translate the Quran from Arabic to BSL.

You can find out more about this very special project and donate towards making it a reality here.

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O you who have believed, spend from that which We have provided for you ~ Quran 2:254

Narrated Ibn ‘Abbas: “The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) was the most generous person, and he used to become more so (generous) particularly in the month of Ramadan…more generous than the fast wind in doing good” (Bukhari).

The Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: “The believer’s shade on the Day of Resurrection will be his charity.” (Al-Tirmidhi)

"Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned." ~ Quran 2:245

Prophet ṣallallāhu 'alayhi wa sallam (peace and blessings of Allāh be upon him) said: "The best of people are those that bring most benefit to the rest of mankind." (Daraqutni)

Summary in One Ayah

I was sent this image in a sisters WhatsApp group, I thought it was a unique way of presenting and breaking down a Quranic ayah:

Righteousness is not that you turn your faces toward the east or the west, but [true] righteousness is [in] one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the angels, the Book, and the prophets and gives wealth, in spite of love for it, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveler, those who ask [for help], and for freeing slaves; [and who] establishes prayer and gives zakah; [those who] fulfill their promise when they promise; and [those who] are patient in poverty and hardship and during battle. Those are the ones who have been true, and it is those who are the righteous. ~Quran 2:177

I thought this was a good reminder of how simple the faith is when it comes to it:

Belief

Service to others

Good deeds as set out in the religion in clear terms

There is something liberating in this, Islam is a religion of knowledge learning and growth and the sheer amount of knowledge and fields of study can come across complicated. This image reminds us that the foundations are simple, clear and accessible.

(I haven't been able to find a source for the image and don't recognise the logo in the picture, if you do see a source please leave a comment below or e-mail me).

Ramadan 2020/1441: Ramadan Gratitude Journal Day 9

What books are you grateful for?

I love books, they have been both my distraction and my sanctuary. They have opened my eyes to the big wide world and been somewhere for me to go and hide.

I am grateful to the books that have helped me grow:

The Autobiography of Malcom X

Women who Run with Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes

Finding Your Own North Star by Martha Beck

Zen and the Art of making a Living by Laurence G Bold

I Could do Anything if Only I knew What it Was by Barbara Sher

I am grateful for the books that have kept me entertained and engrossed:

Dracula by Bram Stoker

The Chrysalids by John Wyndham

The Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien

A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

The Lieutenant by Kate Grenville
and so many more I can't list them all.

I am thankful for the book that made me hold my faith in even greater awe:

The Sealed Nectar by Sheikh Safi-ur-Rahman al-Mubarakpuri

Life of the Prophet in Makkah: The Makkan Crucible by Zakaria Bashier

Fazail e Amaal and Fazail e Sadaqat by Muhammad Zakariyya al-Kandhlawi

But there is only really one answer to this question:

The Holy Quran, a gift to us, a source of guidance and a never ending source of learning, insight, healing and hope alhamdulillah

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What books are you grateful for?

You can find the original Ramadan Gratitude journal challenge here and my take on it here.

Extraordinary Mercy

This weekend something caught my eye during tajweed class. We spend the last part of the two-hour lesson opening the Quran and practising reciting after the teacher to get our pronunciation right. We usually use one of the Qurans kept in the masjid, so I end up with a different version every time.  This time I picked up one that had the translation of the meaning written in Urdu under the Arabic text.

One thing that has always stood out to me is the difference between English and Urdu interpretations.  I have always found the Urdu version so much more powerful and awe-inspiring than the English, I am not sure why. Perhaps the Urdu language is closer to Arabic than English. Perhaps there is a much longer history of studying the Quran by Urdu speakers than English.

The verse underlined in the image is interpreted in the English as:

"[This is] a revelation of the Exalted in Might, the Merciful."

The words in Urdu are zabardast reham walay or the One with “zabardast” mercy. Zabardast can be translated as devastating or extraordinary.

I read the Urdu and it stopped me in my tracks. A Created that is devastatingly merciful, extraordinary merciful.  Both qualities are astonishing and incredibly beautiful. In that moment it got me thinking of all the guilt, self-reproach and feeling of not getting it right we carry around.  How hopeless we can feel in the face of our mistakes and the smallness of our worship and good deeds.  It reminded me how big, merciful and loving our Creator is. Something to draw hope from, more than that to bask in.

It’s not an excuse to be lazy in our actions or look at what we do and try and do better.  But it was such a perfect reminder to help me find a little peace.

Picture of the Day 06.04.19: Tajweed Class Revision

Alhamdulillah I have come to the end of my tajweed lessons and today was the last lesson before our test next week. The lesson was spent practising in groups and revising as a class, as well as some time reciting the Quran with our ustadhah (teacher) to check for mistakes and improve our pronunciation.

I am going to spend the next few days practising and will ask Little Lady for some of her index cards to make revision cards.

Most weeks someone will bring a small treat to share, this week it was chocolates from Spain. It has been lovely seeing the sisters in the class every week and gently, tentatively getting to know some of them. Insh’Allah we are waiting to hear if the masjid will hold level 2 classes for tajweed or tafseer classes (learning the meaning of the Quran), but certainly I have gained a thirst for it, so I hope so.

Tajweed Class: Making Friends

I wrote a while back about joining tajweed classes. It seems in no time at all we are coming to the end of them. The class is 12 weeks long and we focus on the rules of pronunciation for Quranic Arabic and practice our recitation of the Quran.

We are now at week 10, with one week of revision and a test of what we have learned in the final week.  This week one of the ladies suggested we all go around and introduce ourselves as we saw each other every week but didn’t know anything about each other.  We said our names, what we did and how many children we had.  I also mentioned that I was over the moon that this class was running on a weekend and within walking distance so I could attend it too.  I was surprised, I had assumed that most of the ladies were stay at home mothers because most of the Muslim ladies I meet are.  But this group included two teachers, two teacher’s assistants, a solicitor, a civil servant and an audiologist.  Two of the ladies had worked and were now retired. It was nice to think these ladies would have some experiences and challenges in common with me.

The ustadha (teacher) was also surprised that we all worked and asked us to tell everyone a bit about what our days look like.  So, the women explained their various routines: how they managed their work around their children, worked the hours that their children were only at school, or didn’t have children. 

We then went back to our revision, but it was lovely getting to know the sisters a bit more and finding some connection with them.  The ustadha is hoping to teach a tafseer class (covering translation of the meaning of the Quran) along with the tajweed class after the Easter break.  If that happens insh’Allah, that would be a big dream come true for me.

Back to Basics with Tajweed Classes

After my reflection at the start of the year on what is important and what I want to priorities or focus on, I have been looking for ways to connect better with the Quran. My focus has been on learning Quranic Arabic and trying to understand Allah’s (SWT) message to us better insh’Allah.

A few weeks ago, my dad gave me a leaflet for tajweed classes starting at his masjid – for women! On the weekend!  I might be overreacting, but I struggle to find something locally for women on weekends, whether classes, fitness activities or faith related activities, so I was very happy.  I last studied tajweed whilst on maternity leave with Little Man and he has turned 14 today, so I felt this was a welcome time to check the accuracy of my tajweed, or pronunciation of the Quran.

I turned up last weekend on time at the beautiful masjid Dad attends and in true South Asian (or is it Muslim?) fashion women kept arriving for the next twenty minutes.  We eventually started half an hour late, but I was heartened to see the sheer number of women who came along, all ages, abilities and not even all South Asian (there are a lot of us in this neighbourhood 😊 ).

The class started with the basics of why it is a sinful to mispronounce the words in the Quran and why.  We then moved to familiarizing ourselves with some of the Arabic terminology: makharij (where the sound originates from), haroof (letter) and more. 

The ustadhah (teacher) was young, but very knowledgeable and had a warm but firm style of teaching. She taught us the five places where makharij originate (throat, lips, nose, tongue, air of the mouth) and got us to practice the letters of the alphabet and get the sound right.

I am looking forward to getting to know some of the sisters and I am really grateful to get the opportunity to review and improve my reading of the Quran insh’Allah. I pray that I am someone who is a student of deen until the day I die insh’Allah. 

image courtesy of Shutterbug Sister at https://everyphototunity.com/