White African

Our white African has turned a quarter of a century yesterday , So Whitey ;) I found a little something which will inshallah go someway to describe how we feel about you.

A true gift from Allah

Sometimes in life,you find a special friend;
Someone who changes your lifejust by being part of it.
Someone who makes you laugh until you can't stop;
Someone who makes you believethat there really is good in the world.
Someone who convinces you that there really is an unlocked doorjust waiting for you to open it.This is Forever Friendship.

When you're down,and the world seems dark and empty,Your forever friend lifts you up in spiritand makes that dark and empty worldsuddenly seem bright and full.
Your forever friend gets you throughthe hard times, the sad times,and the confused times.
If you turn and walk away,your forever friend follows.If you lose your way,your forever friend guides youand cheers you on.

Your forever friend holds your hand and tells you that everything is going to be okay.And if you find such a friend,you feel happy and complete,because you need not worry.You have a forever friend for life,and forever has no end.

You Whitey are our Forever friend. May ALLAH Always keep you with us! As native would say Much love homie

Tarawih

My current in-between-student like job or money earner for the egypt fund as i am calling it, is in the city centre. I was starting to panic about the possibility of missing Tarawih prayer but Alhamdulilah Allah being incredibly merciful, I walked into the MYF in town one tuesday and picked up an iftar time table to discover that at the back they were going to be open for Tarawih this year ( cue the heavenly music ahah ahhhhhhh).

So yours truely comes out of work at 9pm and within 3 minutes is in the MYF praying Isha and Tarawih in congression. I am so very pleased, the recitation is beautiful and the dua at the end of witra always brings tears to my eyes.

And all the time i am thinking INSHALLAH next Ramadan i will be standing here, but instead of listening to the melody of the imans voice and the sincerity that his tone conveys i will INSHALLAH be able to understand what i am saying Ameen to!

I really thought having to work such random hours during ramadan for egypt was going to be taxing but subhanallah its so easy and that is truely a blessing. I am so in love with Allah right now its filling my little sinner heart.

Please remember me in your dua's as i will

Unemployment & Ramadan

I would recommend a short period of unemployment to anyone. The sheer freedom, the joy not having to go to sleep early because you have work in the morning, the joy of being able to get up for tahajjud knowing that you can sleep in in the morning! Messing around with your friends and family?! Do I miss working erm….God no!!!! Role on the good time, role on.

Oh and I have decided at as a believer my word will be worth its measure in Silver ( am not a fan of the yellow stuff) so I have been writing all my engagements in my diary and doing my utter best to fulfil them. Today was such a test, I have 4 promises to fulfil and while out and about to fulfil 3 of those I got caught up in the rain, the buses were diverted and I have to walk throughout the rain, I was miserable but no way was I going to fail 3days into my self-development programme so I ploughed on and alhamdulilah I made it all ( I might have caught pneumonia in the process but hey)

No wonder Allah says Muhammed (SAW) came to perfect character, and the jihad of the nafs is the utmost jihad, May Allah (SWT) reward us for our efforts!

The Blessed month is upon us again and as usual it has come quickly but inshallah we shall make use of every single day. All power and might is to Allah who has blessed us with another month of Ramadan. I can’t wait for the feeling of peace and tranquillity for the hunger and thirst which makes you reflect for the opening of the fast with those that you love, for the genuine acts of kindness which are abundant during Ramadan, for tarawih, for the reciting of the Qur’an for the knowing smiles.

Elevator ride with a difference

In a bid to lighten the mood and transcend the previous episode, I have found a list of

21 thing to do in an elevator ( the imagery alone is hilarious cow this is your you)


1. Make race car noises when anyone gets on or off.
2. Draw a little square on the floor with chalk and announce to the other passengers thatthis is your "personal space."
3. Grimace painfully while smacking your forehead and muttering: "Shut up, dammit, allof you just shut UP!"
4. Whistle the first seven notes of "It's a Small World" incessantly.
5. Sell Girl Scout cookies.
6. On a long ride, sway side to side at the natural frequency of the elevator.
7. Shave.
8. Crack open your briefcase or purse, and while peering inside ask: "Got enough air inthere?"
9. Offer name tags to everyone getting on the elevator. Wear yours upside-down.
10. Stand silent and motionless in the corner, facing the wall, without getting off.
11. When arriving at your floor, grunt and strain to yank the doors open, then actembarrassed when they open by themselves.
12. Lean over to another passenger and whisper: "Noogie patrol coming!"
13. Greet everyone getting on the elevator with a warm handshake and ask them to callyou Admiral.
14. One word: Flatulence!
15. On the highest floor, hold the door open and demand that it stay open until you hearthe penny you dropped down the shaft go "plink" at the bottom.
16. Do Tai Chi exercises.
17. Stare, grinning, at another passenger for a while, and then announce: "I've got newsocks on!"

18. When at least 8 people have boarded, moan from the back: "Oh, not now, damn motionsickness!"
19. Give religious tracts to each passenger.
20. Meow occassionally.
21. Bet the other passengers you can fit a quarter in your nose.
22. Frown and mutter "gotta go, gotta go" then sigh and say "oops!"
23. Show other passengers a wound and ask if it looks infected.
24. Sing "Mary had a little lamb" while continually pushing buttons.
25. Holler "Chutes away!" whenever the elevator descends.
26. Walk on with a cooler that says "human head" on the side.
27. Stare at another passenger for a while, then announce "You're one of THEM!" andmove to the far corner of the elevator.
28. Burp, and then say "mmmm...tasty!"
29. Leave a box between the doors.
30. Ask each passenger getting on if you can push the button for them.
31. Wear a puppet on your hand and talk to other passengers "through" it.
32. Start a sing-along.
33. When the elevator is silent, look around and ask "is that your beeper?"
34. Play the harmonica.
35. Shadow box.
36. Say "Ding!" at each floor.
37. Lean against the button panel.
38. Say "I wonder what all these do" and push the red buttons.
39. Listen to the elevator walls with a stethoscope.
40. Blow your nose and offer to show the contents of your kleenex to other passengers.
41. Bring a chair along.
42. Take a bite of a sandwich and ask another passenger: "Wanna see wha in muh mouf?"
43. Blow spit bubbles.
44. Pull your gum out of your mouth in long strings.
45. Announce in a demonic voice: "I must find a more suitable host body."
46. Carry a blanket and clutch it protectively.
47. Make explosion noises when anyone presses a button.
48. Wear "X-Ray Specs" and leer suggestively at other passengers.
49. Stare at your thumb and say "I think it's getting larger."
50. If anyone brushes against you, recoil and holler "Bad touch!"

People you have to try some of these

The sorrow of parting

I helped my littler sister move into her accommodation at Liverpool on Friday I was rather mean when she was exchanging goodbye hugs with my parents, I would drop a few words to remind her of their scarifies and struggles in brining her up. My mother carrying her for 9 months etc I succeeding to make her cry (Ifrah hates to be seen to cry)

After she whacked me a few times with her bag we boarded the car and started the drive towards her new home for the next 3 years. We got lost but eventually made it Alhamdulilah. During the journey we had a chat about her expectations and her fears (poor love was scared) understandably and rather bitter towards Manchester for not offering her radiotherapy course.

We arrived, dumper her stuff and when along with her best friend (the ever entertaining Asia) to get some food. Hmmm I didn’t warm to the city, it can’t possibly compete with Manchester I mean this is a city with one Masjid (poor ifrah) and being such a coconut am sure it wont help that the Masjid is in somali central (about time she socialised me think)

Friday night came and to both our horror ifrah Forgot to bring her Duvet and pillows…At first we laughed about it but my the time fajr came and the aches and pains of sharing a single bed without a pillow not to mention the unbearable heat radiating from the sleeping bag we used as a cover, I cracked and took my sleeping bag to the floor providing ifrah with jackets as a cover.

Saturday was emergency shopping day and all praise to the lord ,TJ Hughes was situated around the corner. Then it was food shopping and by out 4pm we were introduced to the most corrupt muslimah we have ever met. Ifrah has the misfortune of sharing a flat with poor ifrah.

By 6pm while ifrah and I had taken refuge in ifrah’s room from the erm…Muslimah who was encouraging us to go clubbing later on…while putting her bottle of wine next to ifrah’s orange juice and introducing us to her boy friend (ahhhhhhhh….poor ifrah)

Ahamdulilah by 9pm a decent muslimah arrived who was just as daunted as ifrah by the trauma of moving away (a budding friendship of need ensued). By Saturday 11pm Ifrah was adamant she was coming back with me on Sunday and changing course, after about an hour of crisis management she had managed to suck up her fears and got down to making du’a for Allah to provide her with good company.

My Sunday morning we learnt that one of the girls was moving out (unfortunately not the alcohol gosling muslimah) and that a Malaysian sister is moving in. Ifrah has a very high opinion of Malaysians and is now making Du’a that the sister is practicing.

Make dua for my baby sister ( when I had to leave her at the train station, from the train I saw the tears forming on her little face and that broke my heart, I cant imagine how my parents must have felt as she boarded the car to leave. I can honestly say It was the first time I have ever carried on a train but thank god the man next to me was asleep. They say you never appreciate your parents till you have children of your own. Lets just say I appreciate them a little more now that my baby sister is out in the big wide world all alone. May Allah grant my parents jannatual Firdaws and provide ifrah with a solid group of Muslim sisters Please make dua for her.

Cairo or Alexandria

When ever I think I have weighed up my options and come to a conclusion. I change my mind (typical of my decision making process) but I wish I could just settle on a city in which to study.

Cairo is… well Cairo, there is a romanticism about studying in such a bustling city. The city of a thousand minarets, the home of Azhar Masjid and university, the citadel of Salahadin, Khan el khalili and on the other hand we have the pyramids, the sphinx of Giza. So I guess with Cairo I would have an incredible source of Islamic history to draw inspiration from and the excitement of living in one of the most populated cities in Africa

Alexandria, for one of the great wonders of the world it doesn’t actually have much to show for it although currently there some excavations taking place. But one thing Alexandria has is water (one of my single most important requirements for tranquilly). I would clearly be able to view the sunset and sunrise from my window and when the fancy took me sit on the beach reflecting and learning some vocabulary. This in itself has a strong since of romanticism as well.

I guess the choice ultimately comes down to which I value more at this point, excitement or tranquilly, the hassle and bustle of Capital city life or the quieter (more) authentically Egyptian way of living. The Nile or the Mediterranean Sea.

I suppose if I felt the need for Cairo I could always jump on the train (apparently first class is only a few pounds, starling)

At this point it would appear I am leaning towards Alexandria. Too much choice can be just as daunting as too little choice. Insha Allah Khayr

Amazing? odd more like

I have been tagged by Native female to come up with 10 amazing facts about myself... good god it has been a trying test but since MD who i thought would never get around to hers has well and truely beaten me to it.

Here is my rather revealing and somewhat embarrassing list

1) I almost always see the funny side to a situation, the knowing twitch of an angry person or the compulsive stroking of the head when one is stressed or the erratic hand gestures of an excited person. I notice these individual express so well that sometime I will mimic someone for a lengthy period and see how long it take for them to notice ( such a cheap thrill).

2) I have a very high threshold for embarrassment, I am one of the first to laugh at myself and probably the last (comes from years of practice)


3) I have a knack for walking into the most unexpected situations but alhamdulilah I can almost always get myself out of a situation. ( again years of practice).My decision making is so erratic and unpredictable that even those who are close to me find it difficult to keep up with me.


4) I have no qualms about showing affection, I tell my family and friends I love them often and give them hugs abundantly. In this vain I reinforce and reaffirm personal qualities and attributes.

5) I make friends very easily when I put my mind to it, (mainly because am blessed with a sense of humour) but I sometime especially in very temporary situation I calculate if the energy is worth the friendship and if not then I almost undergo a personality transplant and become introspective to keep myself occupied ( rather disturbing I know)


6) I can do numerous things all of which are not necessary for survival ( basically I can’t cook) and I loath shopping ( but I can last a few hours of ceaseless wondering from shop to shop if you ply me with abundant chocolate and the shops have somewhere to sit. Strangely though I can spend hours looking for the right present)

7) I am addicted to travelling and a certain urge overtakes me after a while and I need to take of to realign and feel centred sometime just a change of scenery is necessary ( my poor parents and any future spouse)


8) I have perfected the art of tea making and have an excellent memory for how everyone likes their tea (probably because it’s all that anyone ever asks me to make.

9) I am an obsessive thinker, I will spend aeon cataloguing all the possible consequence that an action will incur and then weigh them up. Although sometime I allow my heart to rule my head and I will do something despite my better judgement or what the cost to myself because a principle is at stake. Probably the primary reason why people ask for my advice.


10) I am easily impressed any acts of kindness, ny new sights and sounds and
Sometime almost literally I loose myself in the place and experience behaving as if I were a kid in a sweet shop. This can lead to me talking and answering myself (yes I know…?)

I can’t imagine what I have missed out accept am an incessant talker but a great listener too (comes with being a middle child me thinkth) I am imbued with energy and I walk with a spring in my step I bob up and down noticeably as I walk. I am rather blunt with those am close to but very tactful with those I am not, I am ridiculously easy going and can cope with almost anyone.(again middle child trait me thinkth)

I am going to stop now! enough said

WA i am waiting for your list.

I tag LostKitty, Cow (jug and evertheidealist along with flowerlady are an absoulte lost course when it comes to blogging so

WA, Lostkitty and Cow its up to you

Hi-larious

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zR24vl1FLm8

Mistake

Damn, don’t you just hate it when retrospectively you wish you had done something differently and although now it seems to your mind almost painful that you took that course of action and you ask yourself?

“What on earth possessed you?”

But at the time as hard as it was it seemed like the only thing you could do. There in lies the beauty of learning from your mistakes I guess.

Although how you judge something as being a universal mistake I am not sure. Just because a particular method didn’t work in a particular situation doesn’t not mean that the actual approach is wrong maybe just that it was wrong for that particular situation.

Which then complicates the “beauty” of learning from your mistakes? Or maybe am just desperately trying to stave of a wave of cynicism that is upon me like a black cloud bringing immanent mancunian rain.