{"id":432,"date":"2013-06-22T12:10:20","date_gmt":"2013-06-22T16:10:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/?p=432"},"modified":"2013-06-22T12:10:20","modified_gmt":"2013-06-22T16:10:20","slug":"please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html","title":{"rendered":"(Please Insert Catchy Blog Post Title Here)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Sigh.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been having a hard time writing lately.\u00a0 It\u2019s gotten so bad that I find myself writing up posts and then deleting them time after time.\u00a0 If I were using paper and pencil I\u2019d have a two-foot-deep drift of crumpled-up pages around my desk.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that I have nothing to write about.\u00a0 The world is chock-full of interesting topics.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that I can\u2019t wrap my brain around what I want to say.\u00a0 Actually, I can SAY it but it\u2019s harder to write.\u00a0 When you write, you have to type in relatively coherent sentences.\u00a0 When I talk (or get on a rant), I can just spew out all my opinions in one stream.\u00a0 Usually it\u2019s my husband who is on the receiving end.\u00a0 He knows to just nod in agreement.<\/p>\n

Like, this morning I read an article about a company that manufactures bullets that are dipped in a coating that has pork in it<\/a>.\u00a0 They say that if you shoot a \u201cjihadi Muslim\u201d with one, they\u2019ll be considered unclean and won\u2019t get into Paradise.\u00a0 Okay, so where do I start with this?\u00a0 The ignorance is so breathtaking that I can\u2019t even be angry.\u00a0 I just shake my head in disbelief.\u00a0 Okay, for the record, you can stab me with a knife dipped in pig blood, lay strips of bacon on my body and slather me with lard and set me afire and it won\u2019t affect whether or not I get into Paradise.\u00a0 It\u2019s a waste of your time and money so just give it up.\u00a0 Go have a barbecue or something.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I read an article about a school in Ohio whose updated dress code bans hairstyles that are common in the African-American natural hair community<\/a>, like poofy Afro ponytails and braids.\u00a0 Now, that\u2019s just stupid.\u00a0 My oldest niece is mixed.\u00a0 I remember pictures of her as a little girl with her huge poofy hair all combed out and framing her head like a huge black halo.\u00a0 My first thought was for my sister Trish, who had to try to manage all that glory.\u00a0 It was adorable.\u00a0 It was normal.\u00a0 She\u2019d have poof sometimes, braids sometimes, and no one ever suggested that it was not an appropriate hairstyle.\u00a0 You want to ban rattails and mullets, I\u2019m all the way behind that, and go head and ban that Emo greasy-hair-over-the-eyes look, too, but leave my niece\u2019s hair and the hair of all my natural friends alone.\u00a0 I wish someone would ban grey hair because then I\u2019d be forced to do something about mine but until they do I\u2019ll just slap a scarf on over it.<\/p>\n

I think the biggest story that has been hitting me in the face the last couple of weeks has been the growing struggle of the middle class here in the U.S.\u00a0 Muslim, non-Muslim, doesn\u2019t matter.\u00a0 It seems that as the rich are getting richer<\/a> while the struggling are struggling more.\u00a0 I see it in the \u201creal world\u201d and online with people who have low-paying jobs trying to make ends meet.\u00a0 It really hurts me, but at the same time I see a lot of people doing silly stuff to put themselves in debt and I want to just remind them that the only way to win that game is NOT to play.<\/p>\n

Seriously.\u00a0 If you do the \u201cusual\u201d thing, get a loan to go to college, get a loan to buy a car, get a credit card to pay for stuff, you are playing a game you cannot win.\u00a0 First of all, for Muslims, interest-bearing loans are a no-no.\u00a0 How do you think you are going to be blessed by Allah when He warns you that if you engage in ribaa He will make war against you?<\/p>\n

The Noble Qur\u2019an \u2013 Al-Baqarah 275-281<\/small><\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

275. Those who eat Rib\u00e2 (usury) will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shait\u00e2n (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because they say: \u201cTrading is only like Rib\u00e2 (usury),\u201d whereas All\u00e2h has permitted trading and forbidden Rib\u00e2 (usury). So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops eating Rib\u00e2 (usury) shall not be punished for the past; his case is for All\u00e2h (to judge); but whoever returns [to Rib\u00e2 (usury)], such are the dwellers of the Fire \u2013 they will abide therein.<\/span><\/p>\n

276. All\u00e2h will destroy Rib\u00e2 (usury) and will give increase for Sadaq\u00e2t (deeds of charity, alms, etc.) And All\u00e2h likes not the disbelievers, sinners.<\/span><\/p>\n

277. Truly those who believe, and do deeds of righteousness, and perform As-Sal\u00e2t (Iq\u00e2mat-as-Sal\u00e2t), and give Zak\u00e2t, they will have their reward with their Lord. On them shall be no fear, nor shall they grieve.<\/span><\/p>\n

278. O you who believe! Be afraid of All\u00e2h and give up what remains (due to you) from Rib\u00e2 (usury) (from now onward), if you are (really) believers.<\/span><\/p>\n

279. And if you do not do it, then take a notice of war from All\u00e2h and His Messenger but if you repent, you shall have your capital sums. Deal not unjustly (by asking for more than your capital sums), and you shall not be dealt with unjustly (by receiving less than your capital sums).<\/span><\/p>\n

280. And if the debtor is in a hard time (has no money), then grant him time till it is easy for him to repay, but if you remit it by way of charity, that is better for you if you did but know.<\/span><\/p>\n

281. And be afraid of the Day when you shall be brought back to All\u00e2h. Then every person shall be paid what he earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.<\/span><\/p>\n

You cannot be swayed by your parents who tell you that you have to get a loan to go to the \u201cbest\u201d school.\u00a0 You cannot be swayed by your friend who says you must get a loan to buy a car because you \u201cneed\u201d that red convertible.\u00a0 You cannot be swayed by all the credit card companies who wave low-interest cards in your face and promise you happiness.\u00a0 You cannot be swayed by economists who tell you that you must get loans in order to build your credit rating.\u00a0 If you choose them over Allah, what do you think will happen to you (re-read the Qur\u2019an verses above if you\u2019re not sure).<\/p>\n

This has been my focus of late.\u00a0 In my home, years ago, we played that game, and we lost.\u00a0 I\u2019m not some perfect little angel advising you from on high.\u00a0 I\u2019ve done my sins, repented, and tried to make it right.\u00a0 Take my hard lesson: It ain\u2019t worth it.\u00a0 You MIGHT be able to squeak by on the fatwa that says you can get a loan for a home in a non-Muslim country because it\u2019s cheaper to buy than rent, and if you rent you are only pouring money down the throats of those who wish you ill.\u00a0 You MIGHT.\u00a0 I\u2019m not going to judge a person who gets a home loan because rent is $2000 a month for a one-bedroom.\u00a0 But you CAN buy a decent car with cash, or set up payments without interest with someone in the Muslim community.\u00a0 You can get a debit card with your bank account and when you\u2019re out of money, you stop buying (what a concept!).\u00a0 You can go to a local community college and work part time or full time to pay for it.\u00a0 Trust me, Allah will NOT care that your degree is not from\u00a0 Harvard.\u00a0 You can eat beans and rice instead of top sirloin.\u00a0 You can make your coffee at home and skip the Starbucks (or Dunkin Donuts).\u00a0 Everything you do is a choice.\u00a0 You can choose to go into debt, or you can choose to remain out of debt.\u00a0 I know no one is perfect and people get sick and stuff comes up, but seriously, I know of many people who are not even fighting this fight.\u00a0 They have given up and jumped into the interest pool with both feet. They don\u2019t give it a second thought or they try to find ways to justify it.\u00a0 Well, start thinking and start figuring how to get away from it.\u00a0 Now.\u00a0 Allah will start to bless you just because you make the decision to get away from ribaa.\u00a0 And when you start working on practical ways to do it, He will open up blessings for you that you can\u2019t imagine.\u00a0 War with Allah, or peace?\u00a0 The choice is up to you.<\/p>\n

Ramadan is on the way.\u00a0 We Muslims are supposed to use this time to get our acts together, to repent from bad behavior, to drop bad habits and develop good ones.\u00a0 It\u2019s kind of like the New Year\u2019s resolution.\u00a0 The difference is, if you make a concerted effort to do the right thing, you will have Allah helping you.\u00a0 Can\u2019t do better than that!<\/p>\n

So, that\u2019s my rant for today.\u00a0 It\u2019s time for me to go upstairs and make some spaghetti.\u00a0 And garlic bread.\u00a0 Cause that\u2019s how I roll.\u00a0 See you all later.<\/p>\n

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Sigh.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been having a hard time writing lately.\u00a0 It\u2019s gotten so bad that I find myself writing up posts and then deleting them time after time.\u00a0 If I were using paper and pencil I\u2019d have a two-foot-deep drift of crumpled-up pages around my desk.\u00a0 It\u2019s not that I have nothing to write about.\u00a0 The […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-islam-2"],"yoast_head":"\n(Please Insert Catchy Blog Post Title Here)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Sigh.\u00a0 I've been having a hard time writing lately.\u00a0 It's gotten so bad that I find myself writing up posts and then deleting them time after time.\u00a0 If I\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"(Please Insert Catchy Blog Post Title Here)\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Sigh.\u00a0 I've been having a hard time writing lately.\u00a0 It's gotten so bad that I find myself writing up posts and then deleting them time after time.\u00a0 If I\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Muslimah in Progress\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2013-06-22T16:10:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nancy Qualls-Shehata\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nancy Qualls-Shehata\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"8 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html\",\"name\":\"(Please Insert Catchy Blog Post Title Here)\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2013-06-22T16:10:20+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2013-06-22T16:10:20+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/#\/schema\/person\/6218cbef696f8f6c933831dfcc2096b9\"},\"description\":\"Sigh.\u00a0 I've been having a hard time writing lately.\u00a0 It's gotten so bad that I find myself writing up posts and then deleting them time after time.\u00a0 If I\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/2013\/06\/please-insert-catchy-blog-post-title-here.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"(Please Insert Catchy Blog Post Title Here)\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/muslimahinprogress\/\",\"name\":\"Muslimah in Progress\",\"description\":\"I'm an American Muslimah of a certain age with some pretty strong opinions. 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