Ramandan , the begining

Me and my dd 7yrs old saw Ramadan in together as the others are on hols and won't be joining us until around the 14Th day of Ramadan. I must admit i was very tired from the mammoth clean up before hand but the efforts were not in vain and the end result is something i am enjoying. I treated myself to some flowers, something i can't remember ever doing ! They were my reward , i deserved it didn't I?


I have been busy trying my best with various acts of worship , reading Quran in Arabic and English , concentrating on prayers and pacing them out at a pace that feels not rushed. I have set myself some goals this blessed month like memorising certain verses or chapters of the Quran and some daily duas(supplications)so i know these by heart.

the first day of fasting is always the hardest for me with a slight migraine and overwhelming tidiness feeling after breaking fast. My dd7yrs old fasted with me and managed a whole day masha Allah. It's good training for her while its not obligatory on her yet. I decided to let her do one day miss a day , otherwise she could become very weak at this age. Now she did gluttony (poor love) i was able to use my garden herbs and make her a mint tea , which helped alot!



Not having a whole family here has really freed up my time in the domestic areas and kitchen..........so iam making the most of this blessing and using it to gain rewards.

My iftars (fast breaking meals ) are easy and simple and i feel happy i can do it the way i want to and not have to deal with fussy diets. On the first day i set of to the kitchen at 5pm as i would if i was cooking for all the family .it was too early i was out of there in less than 1 hour!



I don't have any recipes to share yet, as my own cooking is simple but i may latter on in weeks to come as there are some i want to try from this blog
Here are some pictures of a simple fruit salad i put together


some fresh herbs from my garden that i am using Dill and Mint


There is a certain something about Ramandan that is so spiritual for me a certain carmness i am enjoying a laid back feel i have missed for so long. Will this change when my family get back?

My evenings are short and i feel so tired after the iftar meal and alhamduilah have controled myself not to do gluttony but yet i feel like i could fall asleep straight after. I wanted to do some Tarriwiyyah prayers at least but am not in the position to do so as of yet!

Almost Ramandan

As we are nearing to the blessed month of Ramandan .i have been busy getting my mental state and home ready for the arrival of this wonderful guest who comes just once a year and only stops for 29 days but sometimes 30 days. I have painted my sons bedroom as a surprise for him while he is away its my first major DIY project mashaAllah, I must add it was hard work and i got very frustrated at times but all is well in the end alhamduilah.


I have been delayed this year getting myself in order due to Ramandan's arrival in the summer hols but have motivated myself to get on top of things..........i did a little food shopping last night at our local supermarket and was surprised to see TESCO noting the arrival too. The had signs up reading 'Ramandan Mubarak' for consumer reasons ofcousre but it felt nice to me.
I will try to spend less time online while i engage in more worship inshaAllah but i will come to post recipes and pictures.

I am alone for the first 15days as my DH and daughter and son are still on hols just me and the little one but i will be having a friend over for some of the time inshaAllah. I am feeling really excited about it and me and my DD 7yrs old are going to make charts later tonight and discuss what we aim to achieve this month spiritually and try to attain it.

I ask Allaah, the Exalted, the Almighty, to help us all to do that and to help us to fast and pray qiyaam, and to do acts of worship and to avoid doing evil. Praise be to Allaah, the Lord of the Worlds Ameen!

The Beauty and Blessings Contained Within the Month
> of Ramadan
>
> The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him)
> addressed his companions on the last day of Sha'ban,
> saying, "Oh people! A great month has come over you; a
> blessed month; a month in which is a night better than a
> thousand months; a month in which Allah has made it
> compulsory upon you to fast by day, and voluntary to pray by
> night. Whoever draws nearer (to Allah) by performing any of
> the (optional) good deeds in (this month) shall receive the
> same reward as performing an obligatory deed at any other
> time, and whoever discharges an obligatory deed in (this
> month) shall receive the reward of performing seventy
> obligations at any other time. It is the month of patience,
> and the reward of patience is Heaven. It is the month of
> charity, and a month in which a believer's sustenance is
> increased. Whoever gives food to a fasting person to break
> his fast, shall have his sins forgiven, and he will be saved
> from the Fire of Hell, and he shall have the same reward
> as the fasting person, without his reward being diminished
> at all." [Narrated by Ibn Khuzaymah] It was said:
> "O Messenger of Allah, not all of us can find that
> which to provide for the fasting person. He said: Allah will
> give this reward for providing a fasting person with a date,
> or a drink of water or a drop of milk. And it is a month
> during which the start of it is Mercy, and the middle of it
> is Forgiveness and the end of it is Salvation from the
> Hell-Fire. Collected by Al-Bayhaqi.
>
> In another hadith, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon
> him)) says, "Ramadan has come to you. (It is) a month
> of blessing, in which Allah covers you with blessing, for He
> sends down Mercy, decreases sins and answers prayers. In it,
> Allah looks at your competition (in good deeds), and boasts
> about you to His angels. So show Allah goodness from
> yourselves, for the unfortunate one is he who is deprived in
> (this month) of the mercy of Allah, the Mighty, the
> Exalted." [Narrated by Tabarani]
>
> "In Paradise there is a gate called al-Rayyan. Those
> who have fasted will enter by it on the Day of Resurrection.
> There will be an announcement asking, "Where are those
> who have fasted?" Then they will get up, and none but
> they will enter by that gate. As soon as they have entered,
> the gate will be closed and no one else will enter that
> way." (Sahih Bukhari)
>
> Verily, paradise decorates (beautifies) itself from one
> year to the next for the month of Ramadan. When Ramadan
> begins, Paradise says "O Allah grant me within this
> month inhabitants from amongst your slaves".
>
> Abu Huraira related that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
> said: Whoever fasts during Ramadan with faith and seeking
> his reward from Allah will have his previous sins forgiven.
> Whoever prays during the nights in Ramadan with faith and
> seeking his reward from Allah will have his previous sins
> forgiven. And he who passes Lailat al-Qadr in prayer with
> faith and seeking his reward from Allah will have his
> previous sins forgiven (Bukhari, Muslim).
>
> Abu Hurairah reported that the Prophet (peace be upon him)
> said : "The time between the five daily prayers, two
> consecutive Friday Prayers, and two consecutive Ramadans are
> expiations for all that has happened during that period,
> provided that one has avoided the grave (major) sins."
> [Muslim]
>
> The Prophet (peace be upon him) would say when Shaban
> begins "O Allah bless us in Shaban and let us live
> until Ramadan.
> 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr reported that the Messenger of
> Allah, (peace be upon him) said: "The fast and the
> Qur'an are two intercessors for the servant of Allah on
> the Day of Resurrection. The fast will say: 'O Lord, I
> prevented him from his food and desires during the day. Let
> me intercede for him.' The Qur'an will say: 'I
> prevented him from sleeping at night. Let me intercede for
> him.' And their intercession will be accepted."
> [Ahmad]
>
> Allah's Apostle said, "When the month of Ramadan
> starts, the gates of Paradise are opened and the gates of
> Hell are closed and the devils are chained."
> [Bukhari]
>
> When Ramadan begins, a caller calls out O seeker of
> goodness come forward, and O seeker of evil stop, and Allah
> will save people from the Hell-Fire in Ramadan, and this
> will occur every night.
>
> Ibn Majah related from 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr ibn
> al-'Aas that the Prophet, (peace be upon him) said:
> "A fasting person, upon breaking his fast, has a
> supplication that will not be rejected"�.
>
> Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet reported that Allah
> (SWT) said in a Hadith Qudsi:, 'Every good deed of the
> son of Adam is for him except fasting; it is for Me. and I
> shall reward (the fasting person) for it. Fasting is a
> shield. On the day you fast, do not use obscenity, nor yell
> at others, nor act ignorantly towards them. However, if
> anyone abuses you verbally or attempts to draw you to fight
> with him, say 'I am fasting, I am fasting. The Prophet
> (peace be upon him) then states: By Him in Whose Hand is the
> soul of Muhammad, verily, the smell of the mouth of a
> fasting person is sweeter to Allah than the smell of musk.
> There are two occasions of joy for one who fasts: one when
> he breaks his fast and the other when he meets his
> Lord" (Muslim).
>

The wedding

came and went too fast , was a wonderful day spent with family , everyone was nice to me and i really felt part of the family unit alhamduilah. My sister looked lovely and very happy. As she walking in to the ceremony room suddenly I became very choked up and did not expect this reaction. i remained this way for some time ....it was not a couscous act but spontaneous..........i felt surprised by it. I really had a lovely day and didn't want it to end.

The venue where she had the ceremony was very nice you can see it here
I will leave you with a few pictures
The cake is not the actual wedding cake but its the cake that was given to the guest after the ceremony ,

Alllotment Fair

I spent all yesterday morning sorting out the garden , with all the wet weather the grass has been growning to great heights in rapid time. I did a lot of weeding and sorting out my hanging basket and plants.







I must add i was totally worn out but had promised my dd we would visit the local allotment who are having a fair..........i wanted to go and see peoples hard work and efforts. Some grow veg some just flowers, having an allotment site nearby is great for the enforcement as a lot of mini beast are encouraged and wild life. I have seen blue tits, Wren birds, foxes, as i type a squirrel is running up and down my garden wall. We have had several frogs in the garden and i believe this is all due to the allotments being over my garden wall. Pretty butterflies are my dd favorite. The downside is the manure........the smell and fly population that comes with it esp during the summer months. Also the fires they burn on weekends esp Sunday's when i have just put a wash out to dry! You see you can't have it all!

Here are some pictures i took.

the prize winning pumpkin!

Differnt types of flowers growing



The Veg was all autioned off at the end.

THe Fajr (dawn prayer) Prayer

The Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) also said: “The most burdensome prayers for the hypocrites are salaat al-’isha’ and salaat al-fajr, but if they only knew what they contain, they would come even if they had to crawl.” (Reported by Imaam Ahmad, al-Musnad, 2/424; Saheeh al-Jaami’, 133).

“Whoever prays fajr is under the protection of Allah. Do not put yourselves in a situation where Allah has to call you to account for your negligence.” (Reported by al-Tabaraani, 7/267; Saheeh al-Jaami’, no. 6344).

“Angels come to you in shifts by night and by day. They meet at salaat al-fajr and salaat al-‘asr, then those who had stayed with you at night ascend, and are asked by the One Who knows better than they: ‘How did you find My servants?’ They say, ‘We left them when they were praying, and we came to them when they were praying.’” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 2/33).

“The best of prayers in the sight of Allah is the dawn prayer on Friday, in congregation.” (Reported by Abu Na’eem in al-Hilyah, 7/207, and in al-Silsilah al-Saheehah, 1566).

According to a saheeh hadeeth: “Whoever prays al-Bardayn will enter Paradise.” (Reported by al-Bukhaari, al-Fath, 2/52). Al-Bardayn are fajr and ‘asr.

(2) The Muslim should understand the seriousness of missing salaat al-fajr. This is explained by the hadeeth already quoted:

Ramandan is Near

Abu Hurairah, may Allah be pleased with him, narrated that: Rasullullah SAW said, “Observe Saum (fast) on sighting the crescent and terminate it on sighting it (the new moon), but if the sky is cloudy before you, then complete the number (thirty days) of the month.” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]


And the blessed month of blessings and mercy approaches, while the hearts are heedless... o'Allah, save us from Your Wrath and Admit us into Your Pleasure...

The Second Message: The Wound's Cure

I seek refuge with Allah, the All-Hearing the All-Knowing from Satan, the outcast,

In the name of Allah the Most Beneficent the Most Merciful,

Oh Allah, send Your prayers of mercy upon Mohammed and his family as You have sent upon Ibrahim and for Ibrahim's family. You are the Most Praiseworthy, the Glorified. Oh Allah, send Your blessings upon Mohammed and his family as You set upon Ibrahim and for Ibrahim's family. You are the Most Praiseworthy, the Glorified.

My Beloved in Allah,

Did you fulfill the previous assignment?

I wonder who was first at Allah's door seeking forgiveness (Istighfar) ?

O' Allah make us amongst your slaves who are foremost in performing righteous deeds

Our second assignment is inspired from Allah's the all Mighty- saying:

And (commanding you): {Seek the forgiveness of your Lord, and turn to Him in repentance} (Hud:3)

`Awn Ibn Abdullah said: The wrongdoings of those who repent to Allah are right in front of their eyes. Their eyes are always full of regret. They are never content as they constantly remember their wounds. [ Alhelya: (251/4)]

Sins are wounds, and repentance is its cure:

"Or do those who earn evil deeds think that We shall hold them equal with those who believe (in the Oneness of Allah - Islamic Monotheism) and do righteous good deeds, in their present life and after their death? Worst is the judgment that they make." (Al Jathiya: 21)

This verse was read by the great companion Tamim el Dary -may Allah be pleased with him- during his night prayer. He repeated it while crying until the sun rose. Narrated by Ibn Aby Shaibah and Abdulla ibn Ahmed in Zawa2ed el Zohd"

Today, We'll renew our repentance from our sins.

We want to renew our repentance from time loss...as it's a sign of detestation.

We want to renew our repentance from our discourteous behavior with our lord.

Let's repent from our lack of fear and glorification of our lord.

Let's repent from the turning of our hearts away from Allah the All Loving.

Let's repent from our ungratefulness towards Allah who is showering us with His generosity, kindness and favors.

Let's repent from our secret sins, which we fear to meet Him with and because of which we might find our balance of deeds empty.

Let's repent from our tongues' sins such as lying, slander, tattling, vilification and fabrication.

Let's repent from not lowering our gaze from looking at the forbidden

Write down ten sins that you want to stop doing before Ramadan, and we'll talk about that later.

Keep your tongue busy with a lot of Isteghfar (seeking forgiveness) ,

Keep your heart busy with humbleness, humiliation and shyness from Allah

Keep your body busy with supplication in humility and humbleness.

{And all of you beg Allah to forgive you all, O believers, that you may be successful.} (An-Noor 31)

You can read this lecture which might give you more inspiration over the meaning of repentance.

(I wish I could repent)

http://www.manhag. net/mam/category -85/message- 16535.html

Today, let's repent with a deeper perspective of the meaning of repentance.

We want it to be true and sincere.

We want to repent from our negligence, nonfeasance and sins.

We will define what we want to repent from in details.

This way, it will be a true repentance, consequently we should feel differently.

Our eyes won't rest to sleep until we know that Allah has accepted us and is pleased with us.

Make your repentance during the darkness of the night, in a time of isolation from the world and prepare for it with a lot of Istighfar (seeking forgiveness) and with a sincere night prayer. Supplicate in humility during Prostration ...

Start a new era with Allah .. I ask Allah to guide us to this sincere repentance.

(sent to me in an email)

Random Pictures

Just some pictures i have snapped for one reason or another to share ..........
A Bed of Marigolds Orange and yellow looked really stunning at our local park!



I love this picture how the little girl took it of her shoes but didn't realise her image showed in the mirror i love the big and small effect here subhan Allah.

The same little girl taking Random pic's after touching her sisters make up!

Some childhood faves i have been enjoying!

Last Saturday as the football supporter were leaving a riot broke out we were caught in it !

Bikes a passion for the men in my life!

Devastating as the snail population ate my dd's (7yrs old) sunflowers!

A day out with children in mind

Today i meet up with a mother of 6 masha Allah and we headed of to Discover a local venue for some fun for the kids. The pirates ship was the highlight for them.............with lots of Pirates ahoy. This place is great to encourage the children to use their imagination to create stories and with the props to aid the play making it fun. The children loved the day and came out very tiered indeed. They had the chance to make a treasure box to take home!

Are they ashamed of me?

About two weeks ago i went to visit my mom. My brother and his family all live in my mom's house with her. Upon my arrival there was someone already in the house , my sister in laws friend from what i could make out. I was ushered into the back room where my sister in law has her workshop and she started talking shop with me. While the other lady was conversion with my mom in the hall. my sister in law looked alarmed but i didn't understand why. She told me in a whisper to stay in the workshop until this lady left. Afterwards she bushed it off with don't be offend, that i asked you to stay in this room. Me being me said no, not realising the real implications of this incident!

It dawned on me much later that they felt ashamed of me and felt the need to pass me of as a client and not family for the simple fact i am a Muslimah dressed in Islamic attire. Now this hurt , i thought they had gotten over all these prejuideces. Maybe they never did? Maybe its an act and deep down they have not. I feel angry and i feel like a hypocrite. I am not the conformational type but what should i do? should i confront my mother and Sister in law? To be honest i don't feel comfortable going there anymore. My little sister is getting married on Monday and i am going to attend the registry office, comments were made about my dress a few months ago. Now i just feel sick to my stomach , perhaps i am not wanted!


I am saddened by thier lack of honesty and their behaviour...why can't people say it as it is. I am happy with my clothing and my way of life alhamduilah and have never looked back for a second, now i feel all we had/have is a lie in respect of relations!