UmmSqueakster

Why would anyone want to engage in a discussion with you when you insist on deriding their marriages?

Also, Squeaky caterwauls. I do not. She's been caterwauling quite a bit lately, missing her daddy, my fake husband AbuS.

This has been discussed several times over the last 4 years. Why go another round? Briefly, the requirements within all 4 madhabs are simple:

1. Offer

2. Acceptance

3. Two sane, male muslim witnesses

4. Publication

In all but the hanafi madhab, the woman should have a wali representing here. The man offers mahr, the woman can accept or refuse it.

Nah, I think I'll just continue to enjoy my fake marriage with my husband who clearly has no respect for me

Prophetic Guidance Regarding the Excellence of Reciting the Qur'an

Abu Umama said, "I heard the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, say, 'Recite the Qur'an. It will appear on the Day of Rising as an intercessor for its people.'" [Muslim]

Ibn 'Abbas stated that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, "A person who has nothing of the Qur'an inside him is like a ruined house." [at-Tirmidhi]

re: the topic at hand, when we were first contemplating the visa process waaay back in the days before VJ even exisited, I read a few do it yourself marriage visa books. Several of them mentioned that it was ok to do a religious ceremony and still apply for a K-1. So that's what we did, after much research of the fiqh of the matter on both our parts (and yes, I did know exactly how my marriage stood in the eyes of the community and in all 4 madhabs + my husband's beloved ibn Hazm and zahari madhab). 7 years later, I still have a husband who loves, honors and respects me. Meh.

People have opinions on everything. Someone having an opinion doesn't make them a scholar. Someone studying Islam at university doesn't make them a scholar. They may have some knowledge, but Islam has a tradition where knowledge has been passed down from teacher to teacher for centuries and that transmission is documented.

My definition are opinions that cannot be found in any school of jurisprudence. We can probably find an opinion on the internet that says it is fine to eat pork or to have sex outside of marriage. These views would be peculiar by my definition because they are only held by a few stray individuals, have never been held by the schools of jurisprudence or scholars of tradition. If you have 99% of scholars for 1400+ years agreeing on a matter, but you have some people who cannot come close to matching the knowledge of their predecessors yet hold a differing view, I think that view is peculiar.

True that.

People can take their religion from whomever they will. If you want to take it from an anonymous person on the internet, well, if that floats your boat, bully for you. Just be prepared to explain yourself to Allah (swt) on the day of judgment (which of course, we all will have to do for all our actions and choices).

I'll gladly trade places with you

In general, the twin cities aren't bad. We have excellent public radio, lots of diversity (for the midwest), lots of great restaurants, pretty decent public transportation and housing costs have gone down considerably in recent years.

Our sales taxes are pretty high from paying for all the stadiums that are now charging ticket prices that are too high for me to attend. Booo. I tried to get Badgers/Gophers football tickets last year, and they were $200 You would think since I helped pay for the stadium, I should get to actually afford to get inside.

Right now, it's hovering just above freezing and it's raining. And it's going to rain all week. Bah.

Love and Marriage

Haven't listened to it yet, but it's going on my ipod next update

2 years later, still not MENA-ized. Still can't cook more than the bare minimum of Egyptian food. Still can't speak arabic worth beans. Still wear western (albiet islamizied) clothing.

Good news for those who attended the thursday broadcast of Celebrate Mercy that had a ton of technical difficulties. Sign up for one of the future broadcasts for free:

Thursday, March 4 at 9 PM EST [2 AM in London] (No Cost)

REBROADCAST: Sunday, March 7 at 2 PM EST [7 PM in London] (No Cost)

REBROADCAST: Thursday, March 11 at 8 PM EST [1 AM in London] (No Cost)

REBROADCAST: Saturday, March 13 at 9 PM EST [2 AM in London] (No Cost)

It looks like only the one on March 4th will be held live, but I think the rebroadcasts should be ok. I signed up for the March 11th showing.

MrsAmera - Oo, I'm jealous re: CSA. Which one are you doing? I almost had AbuS convinced, but then he said he wanted to see what a basket looked like first, and the pictures on the website weren't enough. But, a small victory in that he said that we can arrange some weekend outings to various locally owned farms to see the whole CSA process first hand and then next year, get a CSA share. I think perhaps this year I'll just purchase most of my produce from a farmers market. But here in the cities, that doesn't always = buying local. The downtown minneapolis one allows people to sell stuff from california. Sure, it's from a farm somewhere, but not quite what one has in mind re: farmers markets.

zahra - thanks for the link! I'm going to read it through with AbuS. We drink a lot of milk and eat a lot of apples (and quite a few potatoes. Hmm, I wonder about onions, cuz we go through probably 3 lbs of those a week). Maybe we can integrate one new item in every few months.

Henia - oh, don't I know it! Apparently in Egypt, they don't follow the manufacturers' instructions on assorted pesticides and other nasty chemicals, and apply them way too late in the growing process, so there's even more dangerous ####### in the produce than there should be. Make sure you're washing everything super well

Ooo, you're doing better than me! While we've chucked all the processed food stuffs, I'm still working on the organic. We've watched Food Inc., and I'm currently sending him pictures and videos of poor featherless chickens stuffed in cages who've never seen the sun to bolster my argument that we need to buy free range eggs.

AbuS is a huge budget person, so I'm trying to figure out how we can buy more in the way of organic without going over his carefully crafted budget. Budgets, meh.

Are you guys going to do a CSA this year? That's also on my list of things to convince the husband about.

We're planning to move to the gulf at some point in the future. Could be this year, could be in a few years. Ah, I love uncertainty

Love for the Sake of Allah (swt)

In this sermon, Sheikh Abdal Hakim discusses the significance of love for our fellow mankind that is purely for the sake of Allah, rather than for any worldly attachment or desire.

Since I started in the middle of February, I've lost 8 lbs. That's the most I've ever lost in my entire life in such a short period. I usually suck at dieting and eating healthy, but this really isn't too hard. It's about changing the way you think about eating - avoid refined foods like white flour, rice and sugar. Avoid junk food and highly processed food stuffs. Cut down on meat and dairy products. Greatly increase your consumption of whole plant based foods like fruits, veggies, legumes and whole grains. And don't beat yourself up for cheating, so long as you don't cheat too often.

I don't know if you can order the book in Algeria, but do look into it. It's really worth it, although I don't know how much the first half about big agro business would apply to food production where you are. The recipes in the second half are fabulous.

I *heart* food matters. Never before in my life have I had success losing weight, but now that I'm following it's suggestions, the weight is literally melting off. And I was so crazy busy with work when I started, I didn't make it to the gym, and I STILL am losing weight.

I can eat pancakes for breakfast, PANCAKES, and still lose weight. I'm in heaven AbuS has also enjoyed every recipe I've made from here so far, which is quite a feat, considering they're light on the meat.

Whole Grain Pancakes

The secret to light whole grain pancakes is to beat the egg whites really well, so the batter can support not only all whole grain flour – no mean feat – but small amounts of add-ins as well. Some ideas to get you started: ½ cup cornmeal, rolled oats or oat or wheat bran in place of ½ cup of the flour; up to 2 tablespoons of ground flaxseed; add up to ½ cup of any light, cooked grains like couscous, millet, or quinoa; freshly grated orange or lemon zest; chopped nuts or chopped dried fruit.

For an exotic bread replacement, omit the sugar, increase the salt a bit, replace the cinnamon with cumin, and serve the pancakes as flatbreads with soups, stews or salads.

• Butter as needed
  
  
• 1 2/3 cup whole wheat flour
  
  
• 2 tablespoons sugar
  
  
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
  
  
• ½ teaspoon ground coriander or cardamom (optional) [ummS note – cardamom makes these taste awesome even without a topping)
  
  
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
  
  
• ½ teaspoon salt
  
  
• 2 large eggs, separated
  
  
• 2 cups milk
  
  

1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, spices and salt.
   
   
2. Beat the egg whites with an electric mixer or a whisk until still peaks form, but do not overbeat. In a separate bowl beat the yolks, milk and melted butter until foamy, a couple of minutes. Add the milk mixture to the flour mixture and give a couple of good stirs, but do not overmix. Fold in the egg whites and stir until the batter is just evenly colored and relatively smooth; it’s ok if there are some lumps.
   
   
3. Heat a large skilled (preferably cast iron) or griddle over medium heat until a few drops of water dance on its surface. Add the butter as needed (or use a thin film of vegetable oil) [ummS note – I used natural cooking spray]. When the skillet is hot, spoon the batter into pan. Cook until bubbles form and pop, about 2 minutes; you may have to rotate the cakes to cook them evenly, depending on your heat source and pan. Then carefully flip pancakes. Cook until well colored on other side, another minute or two more. Serve or keep in warm oven for a few minutes. Serve with maple syrup, fruit compote, jam or caramelized apples
   
   

UmmS also adds – I make 8 to 9 very large pancakes, and eat one each day at breakfast with a light drizzle of real (no fake cra*p allowed) maple syrup). They last about a week in the fridge, so if it’s going to be just you eating them, I’d freeze half after making them.

Thanks for the responses everyone. He was planning on going in the non egyptian line and paying the $15.

Amysaid, by Tahrir Square, does he mean Mogama? I'm sure AbuS will be thrilled to know he has to waste a day running around there

Only 9 days until he leaves! I've got to make up my list of things for him to get me and finish up on the present shopping. I got my SIL a nice black leather purse and a gorgeous shiney pinkish scarf from Len Druskin. AbuS insisted on a cinderella handheld video game for my niece, but I got her a cool hot pink purse (she's 9). Microwave from egypt for the MIL. Hmm, what else?

I got an email from them around noon with a link to complete registration and get the link for the actual event.

If you need help, email tarek.elmessidi at gmail.com

According to the state department website, they encourage dual citizens to enter egypt on their US passport, as any assistance they can render will be limited if they enter on the egyptian one. He's already registered with the US embassy about when and where he'll be, so inshaAllah everything will be good. I'm just such a worry wart

So, finally, finally, finally, AbuS is going home to visit his family. He arrived in the US on October 3, 2005, and hasn't been home since then.

He is planning on using his US passport for the entire trip. Has any MENA person done this before and have they encountered any issues with the officials in the MENA country? He was planning on bringing his egyptian passport in his carry on as well. Will this cause problems?

It's tonight Sh. Hamza, Imam Zaid, Yusuf Islam, Sh. Faraz, Sami Yusuf, Habib Umar, Dalia Mogahed, Sh. Nuh, Sh. Abdullah, Ustadha Zaynab and more, what an awesome group to hear for only $5! Plus, a portion of ticket sales will be donated to hati. I don't know of a more win win win situation available today!

Also, non muslims can sign up for FREE! celebratemercy.com/guest.

About the program:

The webcast will feature many beautiful things: a condensed narration of the Prophet's life, reflections on his character and merciful nature, poetry and songs sung to celebrate him, and much more. We will also have many interactive portions and allow all audience members to vote for the winner of the Expressions of Love contest; three finalists have been chosen and you'll have the chance to help select the winner!

Log in at 8:30 est, 7:30 central, to hear nasheed and interact with other viewers before the program.

Asalamu Alaikum

I was wondering about this , have u ever done a webcast like this and how does it work? Im very interested in it but dont understand it comepletely. If u read this and can let me know soon so maybe I will sign up. Thanks

Salam

Raelynn Aziz

wa alaikum assalam,

It differs depending on the event. I am guessing that for this one, you log into a secure site, and they will stream a video/audio of the speakers and performers. There are mashaAllah some awesome speakers lined up.

i signed up, i think its gonna be interesting

wo0t! "see" you then!

The price of the celebrate mercy event has gone down to $5! It's a steal to be able to hear so many awesome speakers and come together with muslims from all over the world to celebrate our Prophet (saws).

We went through Saint Paul at just this time last year. I believe the biometrics were at the end of March, citizenship interview mid June, and then swearing in middle of July.

Mabrook!

Post coming soon on the month of Rabi al-Awwal and our beloved Prophet (saws), but until then, check this out:

Isn't there a middle ground between rainbows and kittens (although I would argue that there is always a place for cats) and being completely and totally sarcastic and unhelpful?