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~

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~

Al Jumuah Magazine

Assalaam Alakium!

Finally it's Saturday! What are you all up to today? After the Writer gets back from some video production stuff we're going to visit family. Maybe I'll bring them some of the red velvet cake pops I made! :)

I love to bake, especially fun things like cake pops. Yesterday was my first time making them, I need to tweak a few things and then inshAllah I'll do a how-to post. 

On another, healthier note, I wanted to discuss a magazine I'm subscribed to, Al Jumuah. Before I was Muslim I subscribed to all of the big magazines one of which was Cosmo. After becoming Muslim I went on the hunt for an Islamic magazine that was available here in the United States. I found a few that were for sisters but they had gone out of business before I could subscribe to them. :( Last year I finally found Al  Jumuah and I subscribed immediately. They always have a great range of articles to read like family matters, Quranic miracles, fatwas on frequently asked questions and plenty more. I highly recommend this magazine for those of you who subscribe to magazines. 

http://www.aljumuah.com/

I love getting a new issue in the mail each month. The articles are so informative that I saved them in sheet protectors and put them in a binder for future reference. InshAllah, in the future I plan on doing some feature posts on topics discussed in this magazine. Is this something you are interested in? 

Spotlight on hadith:

"Do you know what is better than charity, fasting and salah (prayer)? It is keeping peace and good relationships between people, as quarrels and bad feelings destroy mankind." (Bukhari and Muslim)

Do you subscribe to any magazines? Is Al Jumuah one of them?

What kinds of posts would you like to see here?

Have a great morning!

Wasalaam, 

~Hijabi Butterfly~

Fajr Double Advantage

Assalaam Alakium, good morning everyone!

It's only 9:30 AM and I've already been up for 3 1/2 hours, yup that's right I stayed up after fajr prayer. My husband and I call this "fajr double advantage" when we stay up after fajr. Basically, you wake up for fajr, pray and do something productive before your workday starts. Today, we went to the gym and got a good sweat session in. Feels good to get your workout over with early in the morning.

The key to the fajr double advantage is to GET A GOOD NIGHTS SLEEP. Go to bed at least 7-8 hours before fajr prayer. I often feel sluggish getting out of bed in the morning but after 15 minutes I'm fine (if I get my 7 hours). I usually pray fajr, read some Qur'an or study a new surah I want to memorize and get a workout in. I don't do this everyday of the week but when I do I feel accomplished by the time I am off to work.

Make sure to prepare the night before. Set out workout clothes if you are going to workout, gather books for studying Qur'an, write a list of things you'd like to get done..ext. Preparing the night before will make things easier on you, especially when you're still half asleep or don't want to get out of those toasty blankets.

Do you stay up for fajr double advantage? If so, what things do you do?

Spotlight on hadith:

"Abu Musa (Radhiallaho anha) reported: Messenger of Allah (Sallallaahu 'alaihi wasallam) said, "He who The observes Al-Bardan (i.e., Fajr and `Asr prayers) will enter Jannah.'' (Al-Bukhari and Muslim)

Have a great day!

Wasalaam,

~Hijabi Butterfly~