A Productive Monday, alhamdulillah

Bismillahi Rahmani Rahim

Salaam Alaikum wa Rahmatullah


Alhamdulillah, had a pretty productive day today.  Got some work done and housework as well.  Cooked up a big pot of fuul so I can portion it out and freeze it.  Then I can thaw what I need each day, along with the ta’mayah I did yesterday.  Still have to make pita bread but there’s only so much I can do in one day.

I saw a story on ESPN today that was a real tear-jerker.  It’s from a program called “Outside the Lines” and I encourage everyone to visit and watch the video and read the story.  When you start feeling sorry for yourself, stories like these can help you put things in perspective and get your balance back:

Chance Encounter Sparks Friendship

We are fast approaching the end of Ramadan.  Where did it go?  Every year we say “inshAllah THIS year we will go to Egypt for Ramadan… we will put up lanterns for Ramadan…  we will have a big community iftaar for Ramadan….   Then, poof!  It’s the last ten days and it seems as though the dunya has knocked us on the head again.

But really, when I think of it, that’s not the case.  We haven’t been sitting at home watching reruns of “Hajj Mitwali” and eating bon-bons.  Life is a struggle, and we have been struggling.  I have been blessed to have a baby within the last two months, and the sleep deprivation and odd hours and recovering from having four babies in rapid succession, plus a series of pregnancy losses, have made it difficult for me to be Super-Duper-Do-It-All-Mega-Muslimah.  But I have nursed my baby, I have rocked him at four in the morning.  I have fed my family and cleaned laundry and have tried to post upbeat musings on my Facebook page.  I’ve managed to memorize a few more verses of Surat Yasin, and I have held my temper with my headstrong two-year-old and am learning to defuse her tantrums.  This is all a form of ‘ibaadah when you do it in remembrance of your duty to Allah.

My husband, may Allah bless him, has worked nonstop seven days a week to bring home halaal income to pay the bills, to feed this family and clothe them and buy them lollipops on Friday.  He also has served as vice president of our masjid board, helped find us not one but two Imaams, one full-time for our masjid and one to lead the Tarawih prayers during Ramadan.  He sacrificed time he could ill-afford to make sure everyone attending the Tarawih would have the pleasure of a Qari who could recite in a beautiful fashion to help them remember Allah.  He has rushed home from work to relieve me so I could get a few minutes away from the baby, has taken care of his ailing father and still managed to find time for the occasional wrestling match with his kids.  This is a form of ‘ibaadah when you do it in remembrance of your duty to Allah.

So, I guess we haven’t done that bad.  We are not sitting down reading Qur’an for hours a day, but inshAllah we are striving to live according to the Qur’an and Sunnah.  He is fasting; I am not, due to nursing the baby and being overall worn out.  My oldest son fasted the first ten days, then had to break his fast when school started, but he’s still fasting the weekends.  The other kids are doing their normal bit of running around, playing, fighting, coming to me so I can kiss any boo-boos, and inshAllah learning what it is like to live in a Muslim home.

Right now my husband is sitting in the living room resting before going to the masjid for the evening.  He and my so are eating libb, cracking the seeds in a manner I find infuriating, but I keep silent because I know they enjoy it so much.  Small sacrifice, though I am always chiding them when I find shells in the crevices of the sofa or on the bed or worked into the baby’s diaper.  Still trying to figure that one out.

Me, I’m relaxing after dinner – barbecue roasted chicken with rice, vegetables, and a nice pasta in sauce that I whipped up at the last minute  I’m drinking some grape juice and will probably make some tea in a bit.  After that, I will no doubt be at the beck and call of little Zaid, who is now just over seven weeks old, mashAllah.   And that too is a form of ‘ibaadah when I do it in remembrance of my duty to Allah.

fi Aman Allah,

Nancy