The First Lunar Solstice Eclipse in 456years Happens Tonight, Dec 20th-21st

Tonight is the first lunar solstice eclipse in 456years, maashaAllah. It's supposed to begin around 10:30pm PST and last about 3 hours inshaAllah. I wanted to share the following email I received on what we should be doing during this time:


 "As salaamu alaikum wa rahmatullah

I'm sure nearly everyone has heard about tonight's eclipse. I just wanted to remind everyone that it is a strong sunnah (some say as strong as Jumu'ah prayer) to pray during an eclipse. The added benefit is that it is coming in Muharram, which is one of the sacred months (which multiplies good deeds), and also that the time of prayer will be coinciding with the time for Tahajjud. Since there is an hour every night that du'a is accepted, we can really load up on good deeds here and, insha Allah be praying and making du'a during the time that Allah will accept it from us.

For those who may not know, during the eclipse prayers there are 2 Ruku' (bowing) instead of the normal 1.

 So:
1. Recite Fatiha and another surah
2. Make Ruku as normal
3. Stand up and recite Fatihah and another surah
4. Make Ruku and then sujood as normal
5. Repeat for second Raka'ah and then complete the prayer as normal.

If you need further clarification, here is a link with an audio (albeit fuzzy) that explains the prayer.

http://islamizeme.com/MP3/English/Dr_Ahmad_Sakr/Variety_of_Salat/34_Salat_Al-Kusuf_wa_Al-Khusuf.mp3

For your reference, the beginning of the eclipse, according to NASA, is 1:33am, and the end approximately 5:01am. Totality should begin at 2:41 and last for 72 minutes.

May Allah accept and forgive us all. If someone finds some mistake in what I have said, please correct me.

Wassalaam"

My "Family Time Management" Seminar Review

My husband and I recently attended the Family Time Management Seminar held at Dar Us Salaam this past Saturday. It was taught by Dr. Husein Afeefy, who was very colorful and knowledgeable, and seemed to have great insight into the family unit, women (!), and marriage in general. Instead of a one-sided male point-of-view, he presented views that accurately reflected each party in a marriage and gave each family member, even children, their just due, Maasha'Allah. This is the way it should be! 

At home, we've already implemented some of his suggestions for maximizing our quality time spent together as a family without sacrificing much-needed individual time, and it's working beautifully. We both were really able to benefit from a lot of introspection, as Dr. Afeefy asked some thought-provoking questions and presented the material in a way that really made us both stop and consider what he was saying.

I can't wait for his next class insha'Allah and I'll definitely post an update on the schedule as soon as I hear something. I highly recommend that if you weren't able to attend that you go when it's offered again- he mentioned that possibility at the end of class. In case you missed my original post, I've included a description below. JazaakAllahu Khayran Dr. Afeefy for the knowledge and may Allah preserve you and your family, Ameen!

Family Time Management Seminar

Dec 11th - 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

Location To Be Confirmed, but tentatively at Dar Us Salaam in College Park, MD

Taught by Dr Husein Afeefy

Do you want to enrich your family experience?

Do you want to spend more time with your family?

Happy and successful families don't happen over night!

Family time management can enhance the quality of your family time.

In our Family time management workshop we will discuss the basics and the skills of time management. Bring some of your concerns written so that we can try to address it.

Finally, do you know that if you take care of your family you are pleasing Allah?

Click here to Register!

Eid Mubarak!

Image Source: http://www.viprasys.org

As Salaamu Alaykum wa Eid Mubarak! As the Holiday winds down and we return to work and our usual schedules, I just wanted to take some time out to say I hope your Eid was great and that you were surrounded by beneficial people and love everywhere! 

As a revert, it was strange for me at first to celebrate Eid, not because it wasn't a joyous occasion, but because I didn't know how. As strange as that sounds, I grew up celebrating Christmas and we don't have any Muslim family in the area; our friends are generally travelling or with their own families so in past years, at times, Eid has felt a little empty. I'm relieved to find that as the years go by, it's getting easier to incorporate fun into our holiday and to celebrate it "properly" so that it's something the kids look forward to with as much excitement as I used to Christmas. 

While it wasn't as eventful as I'd hoped, we still managed to enjoy ourselves. After Maghrib on Monday, technically the first "day" of Eid, the kids opened their gifts. We made Eid salah at the Equestrian Center in Upper Marlboro, MD, where they had moonbounces, games, candy and crafts for the kids to do. It cleared out much too soon for our tastes but on the upside it was nice to not have to fight the crowds. Afterward, we went to a delicious lunch with friends at an area restaurant. On Day 2, we had a lovely brunch as a family and kept things simple. Day 3, we frankly ran errands and rested- not exciting, I know, but necessary. 

As a consolation, we have three Eid parties coming up next week insha'Allah and I know the kids will absolutely love it! Plus, I look forward to spending that time with some of my favorite Muslim sisters.

So tell me, how did you spend your Eid? I want the good, the bad and the boring! I'd also love to have ideas for what to do next year with the kids, so please share them in the comments section below!

JazaakumAllahu Khayran!

Mimic Octopus, SubhaanAllah

Okay, so I saw this video and instantly my jaw dropped. This is absolutely amazing and totally awe-inspiring. Allah truly is the Greatest. So many of His creations/ayat force us to really ponder His Greatness and His Presence. I mean, as I say all the time, "Who, WHO, is that creative?!?!? How can they not see what is so evident?" SubhaanAlllah!

Which of Allah's ayaat have inspired you, or even brought tears to your eyes in their greatness? Please be an inspiration to me and to others and share your story below. JazaakumAllahu Khayran.

Beware, it's a scam: Complimentary iPad

If you've received a message similar to the following message, even if it's from someone you know, please beware that it's a phishing scam. Clicking on the link will allow the site to go into your address book and spam everyone in it and it apparently keeps a record of the email addresses so it can spam again later on at will, especially long after you've forgotten about it.

Here's a few articles/blog posts about it :
http://www.geeksugar.com/Testitandkeepitcom-iPad-Scam-7911272

http://impactanalysis.blogspot.com/2010/10/checktheappscom-is-phishing-scam.html

Also, if you've received messages from friends with no text and only a link, beware, it's probably a virus & all it needs is for your click on it to unleash the damage. When in doubt, pick up the phone and ask the friend if they recognize the message they sent, or just delete it altogether.

Stay safe online;^)

+++++++++
Sent: Sun, October 31, 2010 12:56:12 PM
Subject: [ihsanHS] Sam Oleffson invites you.

Dear ihsanHS@yahoogroups.com,

You have been invited by your friend Sam Oleffson to participate in a research program. Currently there are
companies that are looking for individuals who are interested in reviewing and testing the new Apple iPad applications and games.
After the review the participants may keep the iPad.

For more details or to register to our program, follow the link below:

check the apps . com

(A Note from Me: I had to break up the link with spaces because it kept setting off Yahoo's anti-spammer security and I couldn't send the message-further proof of a scam)

Best Regards,

Sam Oleffson .
___
This message was intended for ihsanHS@yahoogroups.com, and was sent on behalf of Sam Oleffson<samo@gmail.com>

_

Caught Spying on Student, FBI Demands GPS Tracker Back

Absolutely bananas. Please read and comment, but be sure to post your comments on WIRED as well as here;^) Here's a link to the article: http://t.co/0HRmeXn

Article discussion, Opinion: There is a time to ban books from school libraries

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/ynews_ts3726. Check it out and share your comments here and with Yahoo! Thanks!

9/11: A Shared Tragedy

A Tweet from my Twitter friend @elysamontfort : On this 9/11, I remember the hundreds of Muslims killed in the Twin Towers & the 4,000+ Muslim Americans currently serving in the U.S. Army. STAY TUNED FOR MY RESPONSE;-)

My Response: @elysamontfort thank You for that;-) that statement takes courage & no one ever acknowledges that this was our tragedy too- not our fault & we don't support those violent, senseless ideals or actions. We were just as shocked that day & mourned what happened just as much as the next American/person.

The Qur'an: Burn It! Go Ahead.

I received a group invitation on Facebook from a non-Muslim friend of mine who invited me and others to buy a Qur'an and read it on the day and the hour that the Qur'an burning takes place in Florida. Great idea. Every time they try to take Islam down, its light shines anyway. For as many people as they try to deter, it seems that twice as many investigate and learn the truth about Islam and Muslims.

As for the ridiculous Florida event, I say "Burn It!". That book is not the Qur'an- it CONTAINS the transcription of the Qur'an. Qur'an literally means "recitation" so that print does not become Qur'an until it is recited aloud. As many millions of huffaed men, women and even very young children that have flawlessly memorized it, we can produce another one exactly like it in minutes, Maashaallah. For goodness sake we just completed the total recitation of the entire Qur'an (30 parts for the 30days of Ramadan). The Quran is preserved and has been as Allah has promised and they sincerely fail to realize this. So let them burn it. Let them burn EVERY SINGLE COPY. It will still exist and live Forever in our hearts, minds and lifestyles, and no pointless burning will ever change that.

May Allah forgive me for any errors in my speech as they are truly from myself. Ameen.

The above is in response to the following message I received from a friend:

As salamu alaikum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu.

Dear brothers and sisters in Islam,

I have been thinking long and hard about the infamous act supposed to take place in Florida on 9-11-2010. I did not know what could be done without once again jeoperdizing our image as civilized people and making us look like ignorant blood-thirsty fools as during the Danish Cartoons and other tests that our ummah has been through recently. I remembered the incident related in surat al fil and how the grandfather of the Prophet (p.b.u.h.) told Abraha who was wondering why the former came asking for his camels when the Kaaba was about to be destroyed: " I am the lord of the camels. As for the Kaaba, it has its own Lord Who will surely protect it".



I also remembered this verse from Quran 15:9 (Y. Ali) We have, without doubt, sent down the Message; and We will assuredly guard it.



Then, subhanallah I received a very interesting email from a dear friend. I tweaked it slightly and I am passing it on to you in hope that it will empower you to do something positive about an event which is totally out of our hands. Please forward as you see fit.



May Allah help us unite our ummah.





WHAT TO DO ON 11 SEPT. 2010



HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED?

THE CALL IS SIMPLE:







3:186 (Y. Ali) Ye shall certainly be tried and tested in your possessions and in your personal selves; and ye shall certainly Hear much that will grieve you, from those who received the Book before you and from those who worship many gods. But if ye persevere patiently, and guard against evil,-then that will be a determining factor in all affairs.









1. Preservation of the Holy Quran is Allah's responsibility. Our responsibility is to be a united Ummah.



3:103 (Y. Ali) And hold fast, all together, by the rope which Allah (stretches out for you), and be not divided among yourselves;



2. The Quran is being burnt on 11th of September 2010 from 6pm – 9pm Florida time (USA). Find out what time that will be in your country.

(It's possible that it could be the day of Eid-ul-Fitr in some countries, note the date with regard to time zones).

e.g: 6pm Florida time is:

11pm in London, UK (on 11th Sept)

1am in Cairo, Egypt (on 12th Sept)

6am in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia (on 12th Sept)









3. On the day, at the time the Quran is being burnt, Muslims worldwide, please stop what you are doing and join together with millions of your brothers and sisters all over the world, family and friends, and community in reciting the LAST TWO VERSES OF SURAH BAQARAH (2:285-286). Can you imagine how the spiritual energy on the planet will rise when we do this? Join in, and let your voice be heard. May Allah (SWT) reward you if you have to wake from sleep to do this. Also recite Ayatul Kursi, Surah Yaseen, Surah Fil, and abundant Salat 'ala Nabi. Not even Shaytaan will be able to stop this. You can make a difference as an individual.





4. NO VIOLENCE / ANGER / AGGRESSION. Any of this will result in Muslims being persecuted further. Islam was NOT spread by the sword, but by intellect. Please discourage others from using force in retaliation. Do not damage churches / bibles / crosses / Christians, Jews or anyone else. Respect their religion, even if they don't respect ours. Remember, they are not our teachers. Allah is our greatest Teacher:



23:96 (Y. Ali) Repel evil with that which is best: We are well acquainted with the things they say.





5. Spread the message to Muslims in your country, city, village, town, mosques, universities, schools, work, etc etc... to every Muslim you know.

Here are some ideas:

a). Stick it on community / mosque notice boards

b).Copy and paste all this and distribute it. Translate into your language if you need to. REMEMBER TO INCLUDE THE EXACT TIME OF THE EVENT IN YOUR LOCATION.

c). Inform your imams, and ask them to inform their congregations at the Taraweeh/Jumuah Salaat). Islamic radio stations/newspapers/media – get them involvedled).

d). Send via email, text messaging, facebook, twitter, blogs etc