Thin

Ramadan Mubarak to all those who have started fasting.

Sorry to say (it feels sacrilegious) when Ramadan begins, I dread the day long fasting. I feel fearful as to how I’m going to fast, and how I’m going to last? My face goes thin, and gaunt. As days go by I start loving Ramadan, and feels nostalgic at its end. I want it to go on, and on.

There is no frantic worry, that if Son came home in the middle of the day as to what will I give him to eat? I’m serene in the knowledge I have ample time to make something for the evening Iftari (breaking of fast).

Today I got up at three in the morning to say Tahajjud Prayer first, and then hurried to the kitchen to get myself whatever I usually have for breakfast. I just add a daily serving of yogurt to my menu as it helps in fasting, but I didn’t have any, because I forgot.

I was alone in fasting as Son left for Hartford, Connecticut yesterday evening. He had a case there. I had to prepare sandwiches for him to take with him for his fast. Hotels don’t serve breakfast before seven in the morning.

At the muezzin call to Fajr (morning) prayer at 3.51 AM, my fast began. It will end at 7.57 PM with the call to Maghreb (evening) prayer. The time starts varying. It gradually lengthens. On the last day (thirty days period) the fast will start at 3.27 AM, and end at 8.20 PM.

Blessings, and Peace on everyone.

…

Thin

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt

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Empty

I will be moving Insha’Allah (if so God wills) tomorrow on way back to Houston. My son arrived last evening. He came at the right time for Iftar (to break his fast). It’s Ramadan, and we are fasting from Fajr to Maghreb. In between bouts of packing, I managed to make Chat, Pakoras, Mint Chutney, Kung Pao and baked chicken pieces for him. He kept on saying that he was having a home cooked meal after three months. I wish he wasn’t going through this rough period in his life, but we are helpless against fate.

My home will be empty, and I will move on. At the moment I am having a heartbreak. It’s not easy to say good bye to one’s home. It has been my home for three months. I never realized that my stay here will be so short. One never knows what the future holds. When I moved here, I thought I will be staying here till the day I die.

………..

DAILY PROMPT

Empty

Write a new post in response to today’s one-word prompt. 

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Salah

Two Right Feet
by Ben Huberman
What are the things you need to do within 30 minutes of waking up to ensure your day gets off on the right foot? What happened the last time you didn’t do one of these things?

At beginning of a morn, I get up and pray
It’s the same thing I do at the end of a day
(Sheen)

My first thing in the morning is to get up for Fajr (morning prayer). I rarely miss saying it. Before I sleep, I set up an alarm to wake me up at the required time.

The last time I missed it was about five years back. My (late) husband R, and I had gone to the village to attend a relative’s marriage. After attending the first day function, I got to my home in the evening.

Our home in the village remained closed, and shuttered till we went there for a night or two. It would collect dust massively. It is, and was a nightmare to clean. My greatest obstacle was the load shedding. With no electricity I couldn’t use the vacuum cleaner. Sometimes the watchman (we had employed for the village home) would forget to fill the water tank (for wee hours the electricity would come, and go) —there wouldn’t be any water for washing, or any other purpose.

In between my bouts of cleaning, I managed to give R his evening tea, and later on meals. I washed the dishes, and give the kitchen a good scrub too. R went to sleep, and I continued with cleaning till the electricity went off at 12p.m. I lighted a candle, and went to shower to remove the dust, and grime. I said my night prayer, before I went to sleep. By then, it was 1.30 am.
I was bone tired, and sleepy, and forgot the alarm.

I was jolted into awakening by R, when he asked for tea. I realized that I had missed my prayer. That day my husband, and I had a disagreement over something which morphed into a huge spat. I was miserable the whole day, and I didn’t enjoy the wedding festivities.

I feel blessed, and at peace after going through my Fajr Salah (prayer). Angels surround us at the time of praying to God, and we feel peace, and calmness in our hearts.

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Ready, Set, Done

Our free-write is back by popular demand: today write about anything – but you must write for exactly 10 minutes, no more, no less.

The alarm rang at 5.15 am, and I got up for Fajr (morning) prayers. My son had given me a small gadget to measure steps. Once I was done with the prayers, I clipped the gadget to my waist to keep the count.

I walked in my room as I said my Azkars. After that I went down to have my breakfast. I climbed the stairs back to my room, and took the gadget off. Imagine I had walked 668 steps. I will look up Google to see how many further steps would have constituted a mile.

My son has discovered a new Aap, and it’s totally cool. It’s called Map My Walk. It measures your steps, and tells you exactly how much you have walked. It’s very handy, and it’s free. It even shows the amount of calories you burn. Amazing!

I downloaded it last night, and I am going to try it today. InshaAllah!

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http://wp.me/p23sd-nu6

A Typical Day

Daily Prompt: Rare Medium
Describe a typical day in your life — but do it in a form or in a medium you’ve rarely — if ever — used before. If you’re a photographer, write a poem. If you’re a poet, write an open letter. If you’re a travel blogger, write a rant. (These are all examples — choose whatever form you feel like trying out!)

A day of my life through sketches

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A Typical Day

The Morning Prayer

Daily Prompt: Just Another Day
Our days are organized around numerous small actions we repeat over and over. What’s your favorite daily ritual?

My favorite is the early morning ritual of saying my Fajr (morning) prayer.
At 5.30am, the alarm on my iPad wakes me up. I rush to the bathroom to do Wudu, the ritual of washing before saying the prayer.

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Image from Google

After saying Fajr prayer, I read the Quran, and then Azkars.

I begin the day with remembrance of God, certain in my heart that He will watch over me, and keep me from any harm.

Once in a blue moon, I don’t wake up with the alarm and miss my prayer. That happens very rarely, but when it does, I am miserable. Of course I say the Qada, (missed) prayer with Zuhr, (noon) prayer.

Before my iPad I used to rely on my alarm clock to wake me up. Sometimes I would forget to turn on the alarm. If before sleeping I whispered to my Guarding Angels, (there are two with every human being) to wake me up, I would wake with the sound of swoosh of wings. It would be so loud.

Go on try it. Tell your Angels to wake you up.

You are going to be surprised.

http://dailypost.wordpress.com/dp_prompt/just-another-day/
The Morning Prayer

Fasting

We started our fasting yesterday that’s July 10th, the first day of Ramadan. I am prone to kidney infections. To keep my kidneys giving up on me I need to drink a lot of water. Our fast begins after the morning Azan, the call to prayer. Yesterday it was 5.15 am. We get up a little earlier. Have our breakfast plus a lot of water. That’s me, of course filling my stomach with water. (As if I can retain all that water rest of the day)

We break our fast in the evening with the Azan for the evening prayers. Eating dates and something from the Iftari spread which consists of Pakoras, Chana Chat, Samosas, Fruit Chat and Dahi Balay. This varies from day to day. Two things are always there plus lots of Shorbet and me needing my water. We say our evening prayers and then return for dinner. At that moment you don’t feel like eating anything because you are all ready stuffed to the brim with what you ate earlier. The boys and my son depart for their Taraweeh. Taraweeh are special prayers added to the Isha (night prayers) prayers in the month of Ramadan.

For those who don’t know, we have five prayers daily. Morning prayer called Fajr prayer, before the sun rises is the first one. The second prayer is called Zuhr. It’s about 1.30 pm at noon. The third prayer is Asar which is about 5.00 pm. The fourth prayer is the evening prayer called Maghreb and it is after sun down at about say 8.30 pm. The last prayer is the Isha. You can call it the night prayer.

My son after returning from office, the first thing he did was to check up on me, to see how I was faring in my fasting. I assured him that I was feeling as right as rain. Masha Allah. (Thanks to God) So he went off to get his much needed rest. Lately he hasn’t been okay and I am worried about his health.

Last year I didn’t fast because of my operation. In lieu of that I gave money to the poor. If my kidneys started paining I will have to stop fasting. I am hoping it won’t happen. Wish me luck.😐

In the mosques free food is available. So here is a cartoon based on that.

Cartoon courtesy of Web.

Learning The Quran

Before learning the Quran, a person has to start with a preliminary book called the Qaida. This has the Arabic alphabets (28 in all) plus the different shapes of the alphabets when they are joined. A religious teacher makes you learn their different sounds. After finishing the Qaida, you start with the Quran.

Normally, parents start with their children at an early age. They hire a teacher who can come and spend time with the child to make him or her learn. Now times are different. It’s easy to connect to a teacher via internet. My learning started at the age of three. A maid servant would accompany me to a nearby mosque. My lessons were thrice a week. I used to dread going there. The moulvi sahib (religious teacher) would be punishing boys left and right (I was the only girl there). Though he was never harsh with me, it was scary for me. Fortunately, my father got posted from that area so my learning came to a stop.

After a longer period, I started again with a lady teacher. My mother would send me to her house twice a week. This lady was a smiling sort of a woman. I don’t think I learnt a great deal from her. After my mother died and I shifted from uncle’s house to live with my father, my school started. Father hired another moulvi sahib to come in the evenings daily, except for weekends. I would be tired from school and homework, and there would come the moulvi sahib. I resented him a lot. Why? Because he would make me recite the Holy Book over and over (there was no escape from it) and my elder brother Lala would go scot free after a few minutes of his lessons. I would be sitting for hours on end (to me the time looked endless) and wanting to go and play.

One day I got so fed up with my teacher I threw my sipara (one of the thirty parts of the Quran) down on the floor. It was a terrible thing to do. I expected dire punishment from him, but he calmly told me to pick it up and went on with the lesson. I don’t exactly remember when I finished learning the Quran. Perhaps I was about seven.

I was eleven when my father gave me a Quran with English translation by Abdullah Yusuf Ali as a gift. It was a marvelous gift. To this day, I have not seen a better translation. Before that, I did not know what was written as it was all in Arabic. Reading the Holy Book with translation opened its doors to me. My favorite time was reading the Quran after Fajr (morning prayers). Here, I confess sheepishly, I think as a child the stories fascinated me more than the religious aspect of it.

My childhood reading continued into adulthood. The Quran has always been my mentor, guiding me on the right path. Shukr Alhumdulillah (thanks and praise be to Allah) for giving me this Book. I would have been lost without it. Reading it has always been an uplifting experience for me. The Quran opens a person’s spiritual eyes. I always feel a sense of wonder,joy and elation. I feel truly blessed. There so many people who go through life unaware of what they are missing.