Ramadan Kareem

Dear sisters!

Subhan'Allah the holy month of Ramadan is right around the corner! Alhamdulillah, I am so grateful that Allah (swt) has made it possible for me to experience another Ramadan!

As for blogging I can't promise that I will be posting and commenting. I might choose to not use the Internet during this month... No matter what, I hope you're all doing well and see you after Ramadan, insha'Allah. Thanks for a wonderful (Blogger)-year! :-) I started blogging and meeting you wonderful sisters and friends during Ramadan 2010. Thanks for all the love and wonderful comments you have left here. It means so much to me and has made me smile so many times, Alhamdulillah. You all are very unique.

I hope all of you will have a beneficial, spiritual month and that Allah (swt) will make it easy for you and shower his blessings on you and your family and loved ones!

Ramadan Kareem!

Wind of Change

Assalaam Alaikum sisters!

I hope you are doing well and are at the best of iman, insha'Allah!

I am taking a bigger break from computers than I intented, but I don't think it's that bad at all although I know it increases the amount of posts from you lovely sisters that I didn't read or comment on... My apologies!

Allah says: “Truly, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.” 
(Quran 13:11)

It seems like changes are happening for many sisters and brothers at the moment. At least I see it on quite a few blogs: Sisters are making important changes in their lives with the goal to achieve (more) peace, contentment, nearness to Allah (swt) and to get to know their deen better. Alhamdulillah, the same things are happening at my place. Recently I have had more time to look at my own stuck patterns and convictions and have had a lot of a-ha-moments, Alhamdulillah. It's so dangerous if we stop reflecting and if we don't try to make our hearts become cleaner and increase our nearness to Allah (swt)...

My husband and I are starting to read more Arabic together, he teaches me and his daughter more about Islam and we want to study the Qur'an together. As a Muslim I find it really essential that you learn Arabic so you can study the Qur'an and unlock the beautiful secrets in it. Without the understanding of the many meanings of the words in Arabic, I don't think I will benefit a 100% from the Qur'an and I would be sad to die without having known the Qur'an in it's many facets!

This Ramadan we have planned to meet 3 times a week with another family - and eveybody else who wants to join in - and read Qur'an, become better at Tajweed, get to know our deen better, make Dhikr etc. Insha'Allah it will be beneficial!! The days we don't meet up with the others, we will do all these things together (my husband and I), insha'Allah.

I pray that all sisters and brothers who are trying to make positive changes in their lives and try to get closer to Allah (swt) will succeed and will eventually feel peace and contentment in their hearts. It's a big challenge being a human in this world and there are so many ways to approach it!

"And remember the Name of your Rubb and devote yourself to Him with a complete devotion."

(Quran 73:8)

Take care dear sisters!! And let me know what changes you are going through lately? (If you feel like sharing them <3)

"When I [Allah] love him..."

With this beautiful hadith below I wish all of you a wonderful week. On Thursday I'm attending the last exam of this semester and I can't wait for my holidays! :-) :-) :-)

Thank you to every one who follows my blog. I am astonished of all the followers I have and so grateful for that and for the comments you leave, masha'Allah.

 

On the authority of Abu Hurayrah (ra), who said that Rasulullah (saws) said:

Allah (swt) said: "Whosoever shows enmity to someone devoted to Me, I shall be at war with him. My servant draws not near to Me with anything more loved by Me than the religious duties I have enjoined upon him, and My servant continues to draw near to Me with supererogatory works so that I shall love him. When I love him, I am his hearing with which he hears, his seeing with which he sees, his hand with which he strikes, and his foot with which he walks. Were he to ask (something) of Me, I would surely give it to him, and were he to ask Me for refuge, I would surely grant him it. I do not hesitate about anything as much as I hesitate about (seizing) the soul of My faithful servant: he hates death and I hate hurting him."

[Bukhari, hadist qudsi]

Jummah Mubarak

Allah is the Light of the heavens and the earth. The example of His light is like a niche within which is a lamp, the lamp is within glass, the glass as if it were a pearly [white] star lit from [the oil of] a blessed olive tree, neither of the east nor of the west, whose oil would almost glow even if untouched by fire. Light upon light. Allah guides to His light whom He wills. And Allah presents examples for the people, and Allah is Knowing of all things.

[al Noor 24:35]

Dear sisters!

Jummah Mubarak to all of you!
I'm going to clean the house today, study, attend Jummah, buy groceries, study, cook, study... :-) Insha'Allah.

I wish you a beautiful day! I leave you with Surah al Jummah:

Studytime & Heart Touching Hadith

My dear sisters!

It'll be a bit silent on my blog the up-coming weeks until the 23rd of June, where I have my last exam at university. If I have time to post, I'll do it, I promise, but else you know why I'm so silent - on my blog and on yours.

I am already looking so much forward to having finished this semester and to have holidays!

I hope you're all doing well and before I'm off to study, I want to share this amazing, heart touching hadith with you:

Narrated by Abu Huraira (RA):

Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:

"There is a group of Allaah's angels who move about the streets searching for the people who mention Allaah (swt). When they find a group doing that, they call each other, "Here is what you are looking for." Then they cover that group with their wings right up to the sky.

When these angels return to the heavens, their Lord asks them, although He knows the answer, "What were My Servants saying?"

They say, "They were describing Your holiness and greatness, and were busy praising and glorifying You."

Allaah (swt) then asks, "Have they seen Me?" The angels reply, "By Allaah! They have not seen You."

Allaah (swt) says, "What would they have done if they could see me?" The angels reply, "They would then be even more busy in their worship, glorification, and praise."

Then Allaah (swt) asks, "What did they want from Me?" The angels reply, "They asked You for Jannah (Heaven)."

Allaah (swt) says, "Have they seen it?" They answer, "No, by You! They have not seen it."

Allah (swt) says, "What would they have done if they had seen it?" The angels answer, "Had they seen it, they would desire it more eagerly, and would work harder to deserve it."

Then Allaah (swt) asks, "From what thing did they want Me to protect them?" The angels answer, "They wanted to be protected from Hell."

Allaah (swt) says, "Have they seen it?" They answer, "No, by You! They have not seen it."

Allaah (swt) says, "What would they have done if they had seen it?" The angels answer, "Had they seen it, they would have feared it and run from it even more."

Then Allaah (swt) says, "Be My witnesses: I have forgiven them!"

One of the angels then says, "But among them was a person who is not one of them. He had simply come for something he needed."

Allaah (swt) says, "I have forgiven him too, just because he happened to sit with them. Anyone who sits with those people will not be a loser."

(Sahih Bukhari Volume 8:417)

Beauty...

What is beauty? What do we perceive as being beautiful? What should we perceive as beautiful?

I love that Dove made a series of commercials a few years ago to focus on womens self esteem and how our perception of beauty is distorted. Look at this video if you don't know what I am talking about (it gives me chills!!):

Well, I would have loved to see this video already about 10 years ago, when I first started thinking about who I was becoming as a woman and making myself look "more beautiful" when I had to go outside. But being 15 at that time, it would probably already have been too late to influence me, 'cause society would already have completed my view on beauty and my demands for myself and my looks... :-/
The habit of putting on make up every day stuck to me until recently (after meeting my husband and reverting to Islam), where I would never walk outside without make up on (i.e. mascara, eyeliner, (eye-shadow), concealer)! I thought I looked ugly without - and I'm still getting used to not wearing (much) make up outside and getting to know the stranger in the mirror better.
My husband has helped me a great deal, by really letting me know that he appreciates me just the same with and without make up. He says I just look different, but always beautiful (in his eyes). That (among other things) has made me feel more secure and also the fact that I have been working on my self esteem, which has never been sky high. I'm still working on not letting beautiful women and commercials make me feel inadequate and insha'Allah I will learn soon that Allah (swt) loves me and that He loves the unique way that I look and that the purpose of being in this world is not to compete about outer beauty (- or compete at all...).

Sometimes I wish I lived in another country, where the majority were Muslims and people were dressing modestly, 'cause it gets too much for me in the West, where people reveal so much of their bodies no matter where you go and there is this on-going competition about who's hottest, smallest, thinnest, tallest......

Insha'Allah my self esteem will always get better (- and yours too, if you also feel you haven't arrived just yet -) and I/we will learn, even more, to put my/our values in the right places.

What are your thoughts on this topic, dear sisters?


Talking about beauty: Before I go, I want to share some real useful beauty tips with you!:

He Gives Life & Causes Death

Dear sisters,

I hope you're all in good health and imaan.

I had a lovely day and am off to bed after posting this. I thank Allah (swt) for His continuous guidance, for giving me hope, strength and imaan and for giving me so many beautiful memories to collect. I also thank Him that I am still here, although I do find life quite difficult at times.

We never know, if we're going to be here tomorrow. Our heart can stop beating at any second...only Allah (swt) knows the time.

"Indeed, to Allah belongs the dominion of the heavens and the earth; He gives life and causes death. And you have not besides Allah any protector or any helper."

[Qur'an 9:116]

And insha'Allah we will die with a content heart and soul full of imaan.

There is a dua, which if you make it your last speech before going to sleep and you die that night, you’ll die on faith...:

Narrated Al-Bara ‘bin ‘Azib:

The Prophet said to me, “Whenever you go to bed perform ablution like that for the prayer, lie on your right side and say, “Allahumma aslamtu wajhi ilaika, wa fauwadtu amri ilaika, wa alja’tu Zahri ilaika raghbatan wa rahbatan ilaika. La Malja’ wa la manja minka illa ilaika. Allahumma amantu bikitabika-l-ladhi anzalta wa bina-biyika-l ladhi arsalta."

 (O Allah! I surrender to You and entrust all my affairs to You and depend upon You for Your Blessings both with hope and fear of You. There is no fleeing from You, and there is no place of protection and safety except with You O Allah! I believe in Your Book (the Qur’an) which You have revealed and in Your Prophet (Muhammad) whom You have sent). Then if you die on that very night, you will die with faith (i.e. or the religion of Islam).

Let the aforesaid words be your last utterance (before sleep). ”I repeated it before the Prophet and when I reached “Allahumma amantu bikitabika-l-ladhi anzalta (O Allah I believe in Your Book which You have revealed).” I said, “Wa-rasulika (and your Apostle).” The Prophet said, “No, (but say): ‘Wanabiyika-l-ladhi arsalta (Your Prophet whom You have sent), instead.”

Take care sisters and brothers and I wish you a beautiful day tomorrow, insha'Allah <3

Gratitude, Salah & Calmness of Heart

My dearest sisters!

I have not forgotten you! :-) I think about you every day! And I hope you're feeling well - all of you.

I haven't been posting much, because I've been enjoying the beautiful Spring weather, Alhamdulillah! We've had sunshine for almost two weeks in a row - and that's awesome in a place like Denmark :-) Also my exams are getting closer - I've got one month to write two papers and to study for an oral exam in Audiology... Please make duaa that I'll pass everything... :-)

I've had quite a few experiences recently, where it has been very obvious that Allah (swt) has answered my prayers.

'...and it may be that you dislike a thing which is good for you and that you like a thing which is bad for you. Allah knows but you do not know.'

(Surah Baqarah: 216)

- So sometimes we might wonder, why are duaa's "aren't answered"... Allah (swt) answers our duaa's in this life or in the Hereafter and He knows what is best for us. But these days I experienced that my prayers were answered and Allah (swt) really showed me that we human beings can never foretell the future. He does make possible the impossible, as I wrote in my previous post.

After 4 difficult years with my family and their relationship to my husband (and vice versa) it has suddenly become easier and my family seems more accepting of him than ever before. In 4 years we've only visited them about 4 times... Next weekend will be the 5th time.

It was a load off my mind and now I just pray that it will become even more relaxed and easier with time, insha'Allah!

'O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and put your hope in Me, I have forgiven you for what you have done and I do not mind. O son of Adam, if your sins were to reach the clouds of the sky and then you would seek My forgiveness, I would forgive you.'

[Hadith Qudsi]

I have a question for you sisters - or brothers too. I don't know if this is just something a revert might experience,  but I've found it very hard to simply "let go" in my prayer and "disappear" (so to say) or perform salah as a form of meditation - which I consider it to be. I might be too focussed on my Arabic pronounciation or saying the right things at the right time... My goal is to be able to really disconnect from the world these 5 times a day and only have Allah (swt) in mind and insha'Allah feel much more calmness of heart afterwards - more regularly. (I know salah in not only about that, but it's an aspect of it, which I personally feel is not always present for me).

If any of you experience the above:

How did you get there - did time just do it or something else perhaps? :-) Most Muslims I know say that it came with time... But perhaps some of you have another perspective on this. I also think that if every Muslim felt a huge difference inside after Salah, there wouldn't be as many people "missing" their prayers... - Just a thought I had, which I don't know is true or not. Allahu Alim.

Please do share your experiences with Salah - if you're a born Muslim or a revert :-)

And have a beautiful day - I'm off to pray Asr in a few minutes, insha'Allah :-)

He Made Possible the Impossible

Subhan'Allah, He did it again. He answered my prayers and made possible the impossible. Alhamdulillah.

I wrote in my last post that my husband and I were going to attend a "non-firmation" this Saturday. My husband and I have been together for almost 4 years and I tell you; those 4 years have not been easy, when it comes to my family accepting my husband :-/ (because of various reasons -like Islam...). It's been a battle! And I was fearing that the party yesterday would be like the other ones, where my husband doesn't feel included at all and my closest family doesn't really talk to him.

But Alhamdulillah, He answered my duaas and my husband told me today that yesterday was the first time that he felt that my family (at least some of it) was his family too! Alhamdulillah. My mother invited us to their place next Sunday and I pray that it will be a positive experience for us, 'cause until now, there hasn't been many and I get all anxious, when we have to see my parents or other family. Please make duaa for us -- that the warmth in my family will increase and my husband will feel accepted and welcome. Insha'Allah. And "Allah does not charge a soul except [with that within] its capacity" (2:286).

This morning I read some of Surah Al-Imran and was especially moved by the following, which I feel is so true and powerful indeed:

قُلِ اللَّهُمَّ مَالِكَ الْمُلْكِ تُؤْتِي الْمُلْكَ مَن تَشَاء وَتَنزِعُ الْمُلْكَ مِمَّن تَشَاء وَتُعِزُّ مَن تَشَاء وَتُذِلُّ مَن تَشَاء بِيَدِكَ الْخَيْرُ إِنَّكَ عَلَىَ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيرٌ ﴿

Say, `O Allâh! the Lord of all power, You grant power to whomsoever You will and take away power from whomsoever You please, and confer honour and dignity on whomsoever You will and disgrace whomsoever You will. All good lies in Your hand. Verily, You are the Possessor of full power to do all You will, (3 : 26)


تُولِجُ اللَّيْلَ فِي الْنَّهَارِ وَتُولِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي اللَّيْلِ وَتُخْرِجُ الْحَيَّ مِنَ الْمَيِّتِ وَتُخْرِجُ الَمَيَّتَ مِنَ الْحَيِّ وَتَرْزُقُ مَن تَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ﴿٢٧

You cause the night to merge into the day and cause the day to merge into the night, and bring forth the living from the dead and bring forth the dead from the living, and provide (all sorts of provisions) to whomsoever You will without measure.' (3: 27 )

Yesterday was a reminder for me of the power of duaa and how Allah (swt) is always there and that we never know, what will come! The impossible can become possible by His Will.

Allahu Akbar! The Missing Muslim Woman - Alive and Well

Ya Allah!

Look at this:

(Copied from the blog This Little Life of Mine)

Wazineh Suleiman - ALIVE AND WELL!!!!

GOD IS GREAT!! All praise is due to Him!

Behold, the power of prayer!

Wazineh Suleiman, has been found alive and well.  Regardless of the reasons behind her disapperance, she is ALIVE!


via Wazineh's support group on Facebook


Article here.

And here.

Edited to add:  Making 70 excuses for others in Islam  via Seekers Guidance

People need to stop dwelling on the reasons behind her disappearance and praise God that she is alive. No one knows what happens behind closed doors, only God. No one can judge, only God.  

“If a friend among your friends errs, make seventy excuses for them. If your hearts are unable to do this, then know that the shortcoming is in your own selves.” [Imam Bayhaqi, Shu`ab al-Iman, 7.522] 

I pray that God gives her and her family the strength to get through this difficult time. 

Allahu Akbar! I couldn't have seen better news today :)

Another Morning & Intuition

Good morning dear ones.

I want to thank all of you, who are so kind commenting on my posts! It means very much to me and I continuously enjoy reading your comments!!

And I thank Allah (swt) for being able to experience another day - and beautiful morning - of this life:

الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي أَقَالَنَا يَوْمَنَا هَذَا وَلَمْ يُهْلِكْنَا بِذُنُوبِنَا 

All praise be to Allah who has forgiven us today and not destroyed us due to our sin

I had a lovely night's sleep and got up early to go to lessons at university. I knew I had a long day ahead of me: Lessons from 8-11AM, three hours break (to study, buy groceries, go to the library) and lessons from 2-5PM and then off to an appointment after school!

I didn't think about not attending the first three lessons, but right when I stepped out of my front door, I remembered that I forgot a bottle of water and when I went inside again, I thought to myself that I'd better stay home! Then I could study, write emails to friends whom I have neglected a bit for some time, go to the library, buy groceries and then go to school around 1PM.

So now I'm sitting here with a cup of green tea and am looking forward to start my day anew :-)

Sometimes I find it hard to know, if the voice inside you (call it intuition) is coming from a good- or bad place. Do you always know if you're being guided from a good- or bad place?

I believe that it is Allah (swt) who sometimes makes us change our minds in the last minute and by doing so, He is actually saving us from something (i.a.). This might have been the case today for me. Or perhaps He wanted me to prioritate differently today, than my "routine"-attitude was making me do. Allahu Alim.

Sometimes I have experienced that I was going to do something, which I'd convinced myself to be good for me. I experienced that recently! And in planning this, nothing worked out smoothly! And on my way to the place, even after looking at a map, I couldn't find it without lots of struggle!

In this case I should definitely have listened to that inner voice/feeling telling me that what I was on my way to, wasn't going to be good for me!

And then again we might all know the story of how a man struggled to go to his Fajr prayer in the mosque, because Shaitaan made him fall repeatedly...! (Read it here). But although it was a struggle for him to get there, it was good for him to attend the prayer!...

Perhaps there's a difference here though, because we need to perform salah and that can never be bad for us!... So if you have a bad feeling concerning salah, it might well be Shaitaan whispering in your ear!

And again: probably the world is not at all black and white - neither in this matter of the inner voice/feeling! :)

If you have some thoughts on this subject, you're very welcome to share them and perhaps also about how you navigate, when it comes to your inner voice/feeling (intuition) :)

Take care all of you and may you have a wonderful day!

My Friday & Days of Prayer

Dear sisters!

I hope you've had a lovely Friday! My day started out with an acupuncture treatment by such a great Chinese (female) doctor. Masha'Allah she was so talented - and my body is so sore now :-/ Hehe. I've been treated with acupuncture before in my life, but never did it regularly, but this time I will - and drink lots of green tea too :-) I do my best to keep my body, heart and spirit in good balance, insha'Allah.

My parents-in-law visited us for some hours today - and before that, I was really busy cleaning the house and cooking! :-/ :-) The food turned out well, although the food my mother-in-law brought with her was so fabulous! Insha'Allah I'll cook as great as her, when I get older.

So the weekend has come and I wish you all a nice time! I really like the hadith below:

The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "For the Jews (the day designated by God for communal prayer) was Saturday, and for the Christians it was Sunday. And God turned toward us (Muslims) and guided us to Friday (as the day of communal prayer). In fact, (God) made Friday, Saturday and Sunday (as days of prayer)."

Sahih Muslim, Hadith 417

I'll try to spend more time in prayer this weekend and insha'Allah recite the following duaa. I think it's very beautiful:

Hazrat Imam Muhammad Baqir (a.s) says, “Whoever recites the following Dua’a thrice after finishing the prayer and without having moved. Allah will pardon all his sins even if these be as many as the foams of the sea.

ASTAGH-FIROOLLAHAL-LAZI LAA ILLA HOVAL-HAYYOOL-QAYYOOM ZOOL-JALALE VAL-IKRAME WA ATOOBA ILAIHE

I seek forgiveness of Allah who, there is no deity other than him, the Ever-Living the Self-Subsistent, the Glorious and the Gracious. I turn unto Him (repentant).

The Prophet said: "If your hearts were always in the state that they are in during dhikr, the angels would come to see you to the point that they would greet you in the middle of the road."

Muslim narrated it. Imam Nawawi in his Sharh sahih muslim commented on this hadith saying: "This kind of sight is shown to someone who persists in meditation (muraqaba), reflection (fikr), and anticipation (iqbal) of the next world."

And Allah (swt) said: "So establish prayer for My remembrance." (20:14).




I hope this inspired you aswell and that you'll have a great weekend full of dhikr, insha'Allah :)


Take care all of you.

Noor نور

 Alhamdulillah! The sun is shining again today and Allah (swt) brought sabr into my heart, because I am experiencing (small) things, where all I need is indeed patience. And alhamdulillah, I already see how the patience is beneficial. Allahu Akbar. I think I feel gratitude like the gratitude I felt emerging from this post the other day by bosnishmuslima :) It was very inspiring to read - (thanks sis!)

I hope you sisters out there are doing well.

Before you leave, you might want to listen to this beautiful duaa below! I love the way it is recited. I'm sorry that the end of it isn't totally complete...I just couldn't find a complete version with the same reciter. But insha'Allah you will enjoy it anyway, just as much as I did:

BISMILLAHIR RAHMANIR RAHIM ALLAHUMMA S'ALE A'LAA MUHAMMAD WA AALE MUHAMMAD (We seek fulfillment of our desires) in the name of Allah, the light, in the name of Allah, the light, the light, in the name of Allah, the light over light, in the name of Allah, who is He who manages all affairs, In the. name of Allah who created light from light. Praise be to Allah who created light from light, and sent down light on the mountain (Tur), in between the inscribed book, in the parchment unrolled, by a measure, well-determined, on the (Holy) Prophet, the giver of glad tidings. Praise be to Allah; it is He who is remembered with the highest of the high attributes, who is known to be the most glorious. In joy and happiness, in sorrow and distress, He (alone) is thankfully praised. Blessings of Allah be on our master, Muhammad, and on his pure children.

Source: Duas.org - Noor
Visit the website for many more beautiful duaa's and much more, masha'Allah.

Have a beautiful day, sisters!

Imaan

It's been a sunny Sunday here, Alhamdulillah. I got up early, went to the fitness center, studied, prepared a healthy dinner and am now chilling on our bed with my little labtop. I'm looking forward to sleeping :) 'cause I'll have to get up early tomorrow to bring my stepdaughter to school and go to university.
Now it's dark outside with a beautiful yellow fullmoon shining, masha'Allah!

Before I go to bed I love to have something positive on my mind... and one of the best things I know in this case, is a beautiful hadith. Please enjoy it below and perhaps you will too fall asleep, being thankful for the gift of imaan that Allah (swt) gave to you, Alhamdulillah.

Rasul Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “Allah gives worldly things to those He loves and to those He does not love, but He gives eeman (faith) only to those He loves, so he who is given eeman by Allah, has been loved by Him.”

[Ahmad, Bayhaqiy]

Source: http://dailyhadith.adaptivesolutionsinc.com/index.php#

Forgiveness from Allah (swt)

Dear sisters! I hope you are doing well and had a beautiful day. I had a long day at university, but did enjoy the sunshine anyway :)
Thanks to everyone who joined my Tea- & Coffee-party!! I really loved all your entries! If you didn't join, it can be done at any time.

Before I'm off to bed, I want to share this beautiful and touching hadith (subhan'Allah!!):

On the authority of Anas, who said: I heard the messenger of Allah say:
Allah the Almighty has said: “O son of Adam, so long as you call upon Me and ask of Me, I shall forgive you for what you have done, and I shall not mind. O son of Adam, were your sins to reach the clouds of the sky and were you then to ask forgiveness of Me, I would forgive you. O son of Adam, were you to come to Me with sins nearly as great as the earth and were you then to face Me, ascribing no partner to Me, I would bring you forgiveness nearly as great as its.”

Join My Tea- & Coffee-party!

My little PC and a Coffee Latte Tiramisu!

I'm having a lovely Saturday. It seems to be the first real day of Spring because there are +10 degrees Celcius in some parts of the country :-D So I just had to get out of my home and go to one of my favorite café's and have a Coffee Latte Tiramisu! How I love that drink. Hehe. Also I felt like I'd been home a bit too much this week and I needed to go out... I already feel how that also makes it greater to get home later and see my husband again :-) 'cause sometimes I feel like we see each other a bit too much, which makes it less exciting... You know what they say, "it's good to miss each other a bit sometimes".

Well, back to my coffee. Yummi ;)

I feel like inviting you all here! But because it is impossible because of obvious reasons, I invite you to my virtual tea- and coffee party! Please join in my dear sisters :)

And because this is rose water throwing this party, you should all try making this lovely rose tea some day, if you're throwing a party yourself:

This recipe will make one gallon of rose tea.

• 8 bags of earl grey tea

• 1 large orange or two medium ones - sliced

• 1 cup of white sugar

• 3 tablespoons of rose water

• 1/2 gallon of hot water - 2 quarts

• 2 quarts of ice

I got the delicious recipe here, where you can read how to make it: http://www.fun-tea-party-ideas.com/rose-water-tea.html

But for this tea- and coffee party, tell me what you choose to drink :) and answer these 3 questions:

1. Do you have a memory connected to marshmallows, cornflakes or strawberries - if yes, what is it?

2. If you were going to have your last meal ever, what would you have?

3. What is freedom to you?

Here are my answers to the 3 questions:

1. Once (when I was 10)  I was on a wonderful vacation in the mountains of Norway with my family. We lived in a little house without water and electricity - and had to get water from a river :-) Every morning sheep would lick the plants and grass outside the house and I would go out to them on my bare feet and feed them cornflakes and suddenly more and more sheep would crowd outside the house every morning, begging for cornflakes :-D

2. I would have a vegetarian Indian dish with Indian bread and sweet mango lassi and for desert I'd have icecream with hot chocolate sauce and also a piece of cheesecake and a cup of green tea with roses...!

3. Freedom to me is when you feel free inside -- a peaceful and happy heart and soul, feeling the presence of Allah (swt) and feeling satisfaction and gratitude for everything there is.

Please join in my dear sisters! And I tag ~ x Aisha x ~, Alice, Marie & MoOn to throw the next tea- & coffee-parties :)
I send you lots of love and happiness on this beautiful Saturday!

Raindrops are Falling

At 7 AM the sun was shining brightly and my husband and I had homemade bread and afterwards cheesecake for breakfast. Yummi. And now it seems like somebody seriously turned on the big shower outside with a mix of water and snow!! Whew! And I have an appointment in the city around 1... :-/ Now there is thunder and lightening too... If I had a lot of money I'd definetely go by taxi. Hehe. But I'll wait just a little longer, perhaps have another piece of cake, and some green tea with roses :)

I wish you all a beautiful day :) no matter how the weather has turned out. And before you leave, listen to how wonderful Allah's (swt) creations sound: Alhamdulillah if you were blessed with normal hearing and can listen to these birds and the raindrops touching the leaves and ground...

A Lovely Day

Assalaam Alaikum dear sisters!

I feel so content right now, Alhamdulillah! This weekend and this day has just been perfect. Today I got to do everything that I felt like doing and needed to do, such as cleaning the house, buying groceries, offering salat, listening to Qur'an, spending time with my husband and his daughter - and my rabbit :) And last but not least my cooking has been perfect to day, Alhamdulillah. I've prepared a Waldorf-salat (the recipe I linked to was not the one I used, I just wanted to post an English recipe (and not a Danish one). I don't add pepper, mayo, lemon juice and lettuce so you could leave that out too :). I prepared spaghetti bolognese (which is still cooking) and baked an Italian foccacia. My family is already excitedly waiting for the dinner and my husband already tasted the Waldorf-salat and fell in love with me all over again. Hehe. Of course these are not my homemade recipes, but still I'm glad the cooking has been a success today and I love serving good food for my family.

I hope you're all having a good day too, and if not, offer perhaps some more prayers and see how you feel afterwards :) Or try to think about 1 thing that you could do right now, that would make you feel just a little bit better, insha'Allah.

Asking You a Favour

Dear sisters. I think I need to ask you a favour. I've been making lots of duaa myself and will make more, because my dad has gotten diagnosed with cancer and is going to get operated tomorrow. It isn't an operation, which is going to cure him, but an operation to see, if the cancer has spread throughout his body... Insha'Allah it hasn't! And he will be able to get a curing treatment. Insha'Allah!

So I ask you to please make duaa for my dad and also my family to keep up the good mood and the hope.

Cancer is a scary disease (also when you're not afraid of death...) and so many people are getting it :-/ But I do believe that we can heal, also from cancer, if we have trust in Allah (swt) and are devoted to Him and ask Him for help.
Actally I am not terribly sad (yet), which I think is because I didn't give up hope yet and neither did my dad, but I do think he could need some duaa, because undergoing surgery isn't easy and being sick isn't easy either... I know Allah (swt) knows best, what is going to happen to us and in the end, it is up to Him, what the destiny of my dad is, when it comes to staying in this world longer or leaving it. Us who love him of course hope that he will stay for many many more years. Insha'Allah.

Jealousy

Have you ever been jealous? Have you ever been afraid of your husband finding somebody else more attractive than you or more intelligent or more pious than you and afraid that it would start something in his mind? And you could eventually loose him?...
Most of us know that jealousy is a very strong feeling! People have even killed in the name of jealousy! And of course we as Muslims also know that Shaitaan is part of this destructive game.
Sadly I am one of these women, who can easily become very very jealous and insecure.
I know that this feeling started already when I was a child and my dad would sometimes talk more to some other woman than to me. I got so jealous and so afraid of losing him! And if you know just a little about psychology, it's not uncommon that such childhood-patterns continue in your life as an adult. I believe that we also through our thoughts attract more of the same experiences - that we get what we expect or that we see the world through our own filter and interpret our environment, the way that we think it really is. That's one of the reasons why I think I have experienced this feeling over and over again in relationships with boys (before I reverted to Islam) and also now in my marriage. Sadly I have not just once experienced the one I had given my heart to, being unfaithful to me and I do realize that most people would become jealous and of course angry too in such situations. I guess these experiences have made my jealousy much worse in the way that I often actually don't have a reason for my jealousy. It's just a feeling that I have become so used to having - and if I hear that my husband talked to some woman and if he tells me something about her, which I think sounds just a bit toooooo "great", the green-eyed monster pops up.
I've never been proud of it and even less as a Muslim, because I think jealousy is such a "wrong" feeling and so much an opposite to all the wonderful feelings I can have. But I guess this is just part of being human - there are feelings we need to learn to tame and we need to grow more as human beings, insha'Allah.

I could so much be the blonde girl in this picture... :-/ "Jealousy is a terrible disease. Get well soon". This quote I read somewhere on the Internet and it made me smile, but also reminded me, of how destructive jealousy is. I also read that "Jealousy is a form of anger brought on by a fear of loss", which is also very clear to me.

So... I guess I know all the reasons for my jealousy, fear, anger and insecurity! I just haven't found the magic key to dissolving this issue and living a life, where I don't mistrust the ones I really love. If you have any experience with jealousy and overcomming it, you are so welcome to share it here with me. I would love to hear Muslim women's approach to this and how some of you might have learned to move on and become happier people. I've heard the phrases "just trust in Allah (swt)" and "it's just Shaitaan, who's whispering into your ears" and sadly these phrases haven't helped me this far. I know I have to trust more in Allah (swt), but somehow I haven't been able to do this enough to rule out the jealousy...