Book Love

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

Good morning! I got sucked into The Hunger Games last night and stayed awake until I was finished with the book. Needless to say, I didn't get up again this morning to workout. I guess that means I'm going to have to workout when I get home tonight. I hate working out at night, I'm way more into the morning thing. 

This morning I'm at Barnes and Noble, yes, again. I enjoy the atmosphere here. It's so quiet and helps me be more productive. When I walked into the store today I immediately grabbed the second book of The Hunger Games, Catching Fire. I haven't been into a book this much for a long time, it's exciting to take your mind somewhere else for awhile. 

I also have a sense of guilt because I know I've been spending way too much time reading The Hunger Games while I could have been reading the Qur'an or some other Islamic book. I try to make time to read the Qur'an everyday, but I have to admit some days it just doesn't happen. I have an app on my phone with the Qur'an and that helps a lot. I feel better having the Qur'an at my finger tips but without having to carry the actual book around. I get nervous when I carry the Qur'an around in book form. I'm always scared I'm going to get it dirty or drop it on the ground so having it on my phone helps. 

I've been meaning to tell you all about a book I came across at the Islamic bookstore this past weekend. It is called The Metamorphosis of a Muslim! Can you believe it, that is my little slogan for this blog. I was thrilled when I seen it. It's a book on a converts story to Islam and was around $10 at my Islamic bookstore. The book is probably around 100 or so pages so should be a quick read. InshAllah I plan on picking it up next time I'm there. 

Look at this awesome bookshelf!

As you can probably tell, I love books. I try to prevent myself from going crazy and buying a bunch of books at one time so I get a chance to read each one, but sometimes it's just so hard. Also, having an actual hard copy of the book on a shelf seems more "real" to me than having it in Kindle form on my phone. Don't get me wrong, having it on my phone is super convenient but I love being able to look at a shelf of books and find something that is right for me. 

Have any of you read The Hunger Games? If so, what did you think of it?

What books would you recommend, Islamic or not?

Articles of Interest:

http://johnshore.com/2010/08/18/evangelicals-and-muslims-both-love-jesus/

http://theletteredwayfarer.wordpress.com/2011/08/11/why-i-love-the-prophet-muhammad-so-much/

Enjoy your day!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Death and Denial

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

Here we are again, another Monday. Monday always feels like a fresh new start for me, even though I hate getting out of bed so early. I couldn't sleep last night. I was up thinking about death, life and how I still have so much to learn and accomplish.

Death scares me sometimes, I know I'm not ready and I hate to think that someone I love dearly could pass away any minute. I know we all have our day, it's just sad to think about. Alhamdulliah I haven't had to deal with death too much. The only close relative that has passed, has been my grandfather. I remember that day vividly. It was so sudden. 

At the time I wasn't Muslim, I was 18 years old and had just started college. I was researching Islam and was planning on converting soon. The last time I seen my grandfather he was watching his favorite television show, The Price is Right. That show always reminds me of him. =) 

I remember getting a frantic phone call from my mother saying that my grandfather had a heart attack and that she was coming to get me and bring me to the hospital. When we arrived, we couldn't see him and no one was telling us anything. It never crossed my mind that he was going to pass on that day. I was in BIG denial. All of a sudden the doctors wanted to take us to a room. All seven of us gathered in the small quiet room. The doctor told us he was gone. A flood of tears came cascading down my face, I couldn't help it. We went to go say our last goodbyes and I still could not believe he was gone. It was so hard for me to grasp that he was no longer with us.

My mind immediately went to the grave. I had learned about the questioning after death and the life in the grave. I was scared for my grandfather. I wanted him to know the answers to the three most important questions: Who is your Lord? Who is your Prophet? What religion are you? I spent the entire night thinking about it. 

When we buried him, I didn't want to leave the grave because I knew the questioning would start. I wanted to stay for as long as possible even though I knew eventually the questioning would have to take place. I prayed that he would be okay. 

To this day I still wonder about him and from time to time will find myself crying out of no where. I didn't have a father growing up, so he was my only "father" figure. He was the nicest person around and I'm sad he never got to meet my husband, I know they would have hit it off. =) 

Death isn't an easy thing to come to terms with but we all are going to face it. We can't prevent death and no one is immune. Prepare for death every. single. day. you are alive and remind yourself of the grave frequently. Don't pretend that death will never come and know the answers to the three most important questions of your life:

Who is your Lord? -Allah, the One and Only God

Who is your Prophet? -The Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him

What is your religion? -Islam

Please feel free to share your thoughts down below in the comments. 

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Free Stuff!

Assalaam Alakium girlies!

InshAllah you all had a great Saturday! Alhamdulliah mine went well. I started my day off on a juice kick. I juiced a half pint of raspberries, handful of strawberries and half a lemon and topped it of with some Ginger Ale. Yum. 

After breakfast we got ready to go to the mall and walked out with nothing. I'm fine just browsing around and since we are trying to budget it made since not to buy something we didn't need. We did get something for free though. Everyone loves free stuff, right? While in Sears there was a woman demonstrating knifes and  she handed out these cool little carving knifes. You can create things like this with it:

I'll be sure to share any creations I make using it. After our quick trip to the mall we hit up the local Islamic book store and bought the Purpose of Life by Khalid Yasin cd for my mom and Healing with the Medicine of The Prophet book. I plan on sharing some natural remedies I find so look out for that!

Next we hit up the families house and hung out with them for a few hours. It's always nice to see them and see how their week has been. We only get to see them once a week due to work and distance, inshAllah in the future we can live closer and can see them more often. Who wouldn't want to see this face more often?

She took this picture of herself!

After saying our "see ya laters" we decided to make a quick trip to WalMart before heading home. Sometimes it's nice to just browse around and have fun. While browsing, the Writer picked up this hat and I had to take a picture of him with it. Hilarious

Don't judge us....lol

We also picked up a few items that we just came across, like a mini juicer. I love making smoothies but it's kind of a hassle to use a huge blender for just one person. The time it took to clean up made me not want to use it. InshAllah this will make my life a tad bit easier.

Well that was my day. Was that too many pictures? Let me know if I went overboard with them today. I like to add pictures from my day to liven things up. My eye lids are getting heavy so I'm going to read some of the book I bought today and see what goodies I can share with you all. 

Have a great night, inshAllah I'll be back with another post tomorrow morning. 

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Makeover in progress....

Assalaam Alakium ladies!

How's your day been? Alhamdulliah, mine has been great! As stated in my previous post, I was flipping through David Ramsey's book The Total Money Makeover. Well I've finished "flipping" and wrote a few quick notes that I'd like to share with you all. 

First of all, I'd like to state that in Islam being debt-free is a Sunnah. We all know that Riba (interest) is forbidden and most of all debt has interest attached. It is encouraged in Islam to pay off debt as swiftly as possible. Here are a few hadiths (sayings of the Prophet, peace be upon him):

"Narrated Salama bin Al-Akwa: Once, while we were sitting in the company of the Prophet, a dead man was brought. The Prophet was requested to lead the funeral prayer for the deceased. He said, "Is he in debt?" The people replied in the negative. He said, "Has he left any wealth?" They said, "No." So, he led his funeral prayer. Another dead man was brought and the people said, "O, Allah's Apostle! Lead his funeral prayer." The Prophet said, "Is he in debt?" They said, "Yes." He said, "Has he left any wealth?" They said, "Three Dinars." So, he led his prayer. Then a third dead man was brought and the people said, Please lead his funeral prayer." He said, "Has he left any wealth?" They said, "No." He asked, "Is he in debt?" They said,  Yes, He has to pay three diners.", He refused to pray and said, "Then pray for your dead companion." Abu Qatada said, "O Allah's Apostle! Lead his funeral prayer, and I will pay his debt" So, he led the prayer."

Narrated Abu Huraira: "The Prophet said, "Whoever takes the money of the people with the intention of repaying it, Allah will repay it on his behalf, and whoever takes it in order to spoil it, then Allah will spoil him."

We all see the importance of paying debt in Islam. Now I'd like to give a few of Dave Ramsey's tips. Note: I won't be posting too many details because I don't want to take away from Dave Ramsey. If you can, I recommend buying the book to get a detailed explanation. 

First of all, write down all of your debt from smallest to largest. Then pay off your smallest debts first. This way you get an emotional response to paying off debt and feel that you can do it. 

Once you have written down your debts and have started paying them down, write out a budget. Be detailed as possible! After this, save $1,000 for an emergency fund. This is only for emergencies, not that new Ipad3 coming out! Once you're debt is being paid off start saving enough money to last you 3-6 months of expenses and add that to the $1,000 emergency fund. This is for an emergency, for an example if someone loses their job. This money is used to pay bills and bills only. 

Once you have conquered these steps you are on your way to debt freedom! It's really that easy. It takes some planning and organizing to accomplish but it'll be a great feeling when you finally have ZERO debt. Another quick tip is to implement the "envelope system". Divide your expenses into categories such as food, gas, clothing, entertainment. Get an envelope for each category and put a certain amount of money in each envelope. Once the money in that specific envelop is gone, you are done for that month or pay period. Any money left, put in savings. 

I hope this helps some of you and if you are doing this now, please share how this is working for you and your family!

InshAllah, in the future I'll be posting updates on the Writer and I's budget and "Total Money Makeover".

Have a great day!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Saturday, errand day!

Assalaam Alakium girlies!

Happy Saturday! The Writer had to go into work this morning for some video production work so it was an early morning for us. Let's just say, neither one of us wanted to crawl from out of the covers. 

I woke up feeling fine though Alhamdulliah! Green tea and honey works! We had to get an oil change this morning and then I went to go get those groceries I was talking about in my last post. I got a bunch of fresh organic fruits and veggies for juicing, can't wait! 

As for the rest of the day I may hit up one of my favorite stores.... Target! I love Target, I can literally spend hours in there just browsing around. I used to work there when I was 16 and it was a great company to work for. Later on, my in laws are coming over so we can treat them to Genghis Grill tonight! It'll be their first time so we can't wait to get their reactions! I'll let ya'll know how everything goes down. 

In the meantime, I'm going to be doing a little research for some upcoming posts on rules of hijab and my tips on becoming a hijabi. I'll share my story as well so look out for that! I also want to do a series discussing the medicine of the Prophet (peace be upon him), I found a great book at my local Islamic bookstore inshAllah I'll pick that up later next week.  Maybe a book review? 

Have a great Saturday!

Wasalaam, 

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Feeling Sick?

Assalaam Alakium!

How was your day? I accomplished my goals for the day, as previously mentioned in my last post. It took me awhile to get enough motivation to clean my apartment. Now that it's spic and span I feel relieved. I'm a borderline neat freak ask the Writer and he'll say I'm a full blown neat freak. Order, organization and cleanliness = happiness for me. I feel out of whack when the house isn't clean and organized. Any of you out there who are like me? 

After cleaning I made a quick but healthy dinner which consisted of grilled tilapia, sauteed veggies and ranch style beans. This meal gets a lot of show time over here. 

As for the meal planning I got that finished as well. With a little input from the Writer I finally got it done. I only planned for four days because 1.) We need groceries now and 2.) I prefer to grocery shop during the week, in the morning. That means tomorrow I have to go grocery shopping. 

Right before I started writing this blog I started coughing and I feel a tad bit sick. Whenever I feel this way I head straight for.....the green tea and honey! I adore green tea with honey mixed in. I just finished drinking my cup and I already feel a little better. If I still feel sick tomorrow morning I'll do the same. Honey is a natural medicine, even the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and the Qur'an talk about the benefits of honey. 

"And Your lord inspired the bee, to build your dwellings in hills, on trees, and in (human's) habitations. Then, to eat of all the produce and follow the ways of your Lord made easy. There comes forth from their bodies a drink of varying color, wherein is healing for men: Verily, in this is a sign for those who give thought." (Qur'an 16:68-69)

Reported by Bukhair "A man came to the Prophet (Peace be upon him) because his brother had a stomach disorder. The Prophet said 'Let him drink honey.' The man returned a second time and again the Prophet (pbuh), responded again, 'Let him drink honey.' The man returned again, and said 'I have done that.' The Prophet then responded, 'Allah has said the truth, but your brother's stomach has told a lie. Let him drink honey.' He drank it and was cured."

Have a great night inshAllah I'll see you in the morning with another post. 

Wasalaam, 

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Allah is with those who are PATIENT

Salaam again!

How has your Saturday been? It's been pretty chill over here. Mr. Writer (husband) and I just got back from one of our favorite Mexican food spots: TACO CABANA! If you live in Texas, you know what I'm talking about. We love this place! The Cabana Bowls are amazing along with the fajitas and tres leches for dessert...who can resist tres leches! They have the best sauces, the green sauce is by far the best sauce I've ever had before. It's made from tomatillos and is love in a cup. :)

Now for the topic at hand. Patience. Everyone knows the famous saying "Patience is a virtue", Islam agrees. You will often times read about patience (sabr in Arabic) in the Qur'an and Allah specifically speaks about patience a number of times to show it's importance.

Allah tests us with different trials to see how patient we will be. Illness is a time for patience; Islam teaches that when you are inflicted with an illness and you bear that illness with patience, you will earn Allah's forgiveness. How great is that? We are all bound to fall sick and as long as we bear that aliment with patience we will earn Allah Al-Mighty's forgiveness. I'll take that!

One of my favorite surahs (chapters) of the Qur'an is chapter 94 Ash-Sharh: Solace or The Relief. When I think of patience I think of this surah.

Surah 94: Ash-Sharh

"1. Did We not expand for you, your breast?, 2. and We removed from you, your burden 3. which had weighed upon your back 4. and raised high for you, your repute. 5. For indeed, with hardship (will be) ease. 6. Indeed, with hardship (will be) ease. 7. So when you have finished (your duties), then stand up. (For worship). 8. And to your Lord direct (your) longing."

When you have endured your hardships, whatever they may be, with patience, Allah will grant you ease. You  must be patient and know that Allah is the ultimate planner. Whenever any of us are conflicted with hardships and find it hard to be patient we should look to our Prophet Muhammad (May Allah's peace be upon him). His life was full of trials and hardships, but Allah has granted him eternal ease, the best ease of all, paradise. The Prophet (PBUH) spent 12 years of his life preaching the message of Islam, often times to those who opposed his messaged and persecuted him until his death. He slept on a mattress made of palm tree leaves and often only had a few drops of milk to nourish himself with. Throughout all of this, he never became impatient with Allah. 

InshAllah in the future I'll talk more in-depth about patience in Islam. Please let me know what other topics you'd like to read about. 

Share a time where you had to be patient. 

Take care all, 

~Hijabi Butterfly~