Spiritual Appetite blog - Latest Comments

Re: Koran by Heart: Wajahat Ali

Azra Jamal — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 08:38:12 -0000

Assalamu alaykum
I am currently studying an undergraduate degree in Psychology with Education Studies (Bsc). For my final year dissertation, I have chosen to research the topic of Ramadan and explore the lived experience, spiritual benefits and challenges of this Holy month. I will be analyzing online diary entries of Ramadan that people have posted.
I will be working with a supervisor to assist me throughout my research project. He is an experienced researcher with an interest in Islamic perspectives. Having researched this topic, there have been many papers published on the health implications of Ramadan but much less academic work on the spiritual aspects. As a Muslim psychology student, I have chosen to study deeper into experiential accounts of fasting in Ramadan as it is an under researched area.
I hope your diary entry can be one of the entries that can assist me into exploring experiences of Ramadan. To be ethical and respectful, I intend to only include on-line material from individuals who have given me consent by e-mail. If you are willing for me to include your web-posts in my analysis then please reply as I will only be able to proceed with your e-mailed consent. My e-mail address is: azra.jamal@myemail.dmu.ac.uk
If you would like to discuss potential inclusion of your postings further before making a final decision then please contact me at the same address. Please be assured that you are under no obligation to agree to your data being included after our e-mail exchange if you decide to not give consent.
You are also welcome to e-mail my supervisor Dr Iain Williamson at iwilliamson@dmu.ac.uk if you wish.
Thank you
Sincerely,
Azra Jamal
azra.jamal@myemail.dmu.ac.uk

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

Sheemadali — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:29:36 -0000

Please respond to me ASAP

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

Sheemadali — Tue, 09 Oct 2012 16:24:02 -0000

I feel I am being punished for my sins so I have a son with global devp delays. Please help I feel I am not doing enough for my child that I am not a good mom . I am scared of dying and feel time is going by too fast and there is no quality to it.

Re: Koran by Heart: Wajahat Ali

Shaista Quamber — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 07:46:11 -0000

So true! Its when one is praying, that ALL kinds of erronous, extraneous and highly diverting streams of thought jostle in your mind....Very well written! Enjoyed it a lot!

Re: Koran by Heart: Wajahat Ali

Elkenga — Tue, 07 Aug 2012 07:36:53 -0000

Great piece. Thank you for sharing. Perfectly said.

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

Saad Abd — Sun, 26 Feb 2012 23:51:59 -0000

Dear Sister!
Let me disclose to you a secret.
It is not a secret in a real sense but due to the clouding of mind in this world it has become a "strange secret"

Allah says in the Quran: You people have in your mind the betterment of this world and Allah wants for your the betterment of the eternal life.

The above quoted translation of the verse may look simplistic and even confusing to a grieving and afflicted mother.but infact it has a very real meaning if some one wants to understand.

These days the world is filled with things of sensory pleasures and sins.Leaving aside the KAFIR (Those who reject God and day of judement after knowing the truth) even the muslims and the momins cannot resist the seductive temptations and dazzling fantacies which this world has to offer.It is very difficult for these momins that in such a spiritually distructive enviornment they could develop or maintain a meanigful relationship with the All mighty Allah.

Every effliction in a sense drives a momin away from these NAFSI temptations of this world and as a result they try to become closer and closer to God.And that is what is solely required from a momin.

If common muslims were left to connect to God via there own efforts it would almost be impossible keeping in view the current world and its enviornment so such afflictions work as a catalyst to bringing and keeping people on Sirat-e-Mustaqeem.

Our Prophet (May peace be upon him) is our role model for this life ,none of his male child survived .You could not imagine how tough it could be for a parent in thos days of tribalistic arabia to withstand such a thing .As people around would not only try to mock but would also say that Mohammad(May peace be upon him) is issueless(childless) and tomorrow there will be none to carry his name.That is where Allah send his revelation
Surah kausr" .."lo,,(It is not You) but your enemies whose name shall be wiped out.

In the same surah ,Tha Prophet (Peace be upon him ) was also given basharat of hauz-e-kausr and Prophet (Peace be upon him) was so happy while he was telling about this Surah to his companions.

Now what we can learn from the above is :It was far easier for God to give Prophet (Peace be upon him) a male child even the Prophet (pbuh) may have had Dua for it and Inshallah it would never have been denied .But Allah knew and the prophet (PBUH) had perfect faith on what Allah knew .

The perfect wisdom of the Almighty chose to to pass his messenger through a process (Which Allah deemed necessary) and after passing him through this painful process not only the eternal reward were given to him the shape of KAUSR but even in this world Allah has kept his promise and now every House hold in in this world not only knows his name but there are millions of muslims who eagerly love there prophet ,say drood for him and even love him more then there own selves.

That is How God system works.Allah is perfect ,you are his creation and ABd ,Know that he has your best interest in his mind.Know that he loves you for your weaknesses and supports you in moments of weaknesses .

Like you want to your child to take care of himself and manager himself that is your earnest and sincer wish for him ,Like wise,Your Allah wants for ,you his Abd, to be sucessful in the AKHIRA.
No child can learn to walk until first taking a few tumbles if parents hold there childrenr for fear of never tumbling they will never learn to walk.Process is necessary ,without process no seed can grow to its potential.

Wallahu aalim o bissawab.

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

kiran — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 22:16:25 -0000

samya i have twin boys with autism(moderate 2 severe)they are 3 yr old ,i want ur advice pls contact me my email add is(wshammas@yahoo.com)

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

Hayaah — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 18:23:12 -0000

I read and liked all the comments, as I let my heart cry out post reading your beautifully written post. Most of the things that could be said, have already been said, therefore I'll only add... in the most testing of situations when my choice is to scream, cry or control myself, I find it really useful to chant to myself incessantly:

HasbeyAllahoWaneymulWakeel - Allah swt is the Best of Planners and He Alone is Sufficient for me...

AudhobillaahiminashaytaanirRajeem BismillahiRahmaaniRaheem - and you know what that means... it is the darned shaytan who makes us doubt all things good, our patience, our prayer, and it is from him that we at such times need to seek safety.

The above two have proved helpful to calm me down, and pacify me. InshaAllah, if you haven't used these two in dhikrs, I hope they help you - Ameen.

~ FiamaanAllah

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

Nhd2004usa — Sat, 08 Oct 2011 16:54:51 -0000

May Allah bless your family. I have an Autistic elder brother who is just 14 and half years old. He is not verbal and

hard to communicate. Having an Autistic brother is really challenging and exhausting..

My emotions are like roller coaster lurches from disbelief, anger, relief at finally having

an explanation for my brother unusual behavior, surprise, helplessness devastation, an

explanation for list goes on. At early age my father taught us how to help my disable

brother and how to take care of him. He hugs and laughs with me. It is a very special

relationship. Sometimes it is difficult and strained when his behavior is bad and loud voice.

But overall, it wouldn’t change a thing about my relationship, he is still like an baby

brother for me. I am the youngest, and my elder brother together take care of our eldest brother. My mom says, if I help my brother, Allah will send us in heaven with my Autistic brother.
We are on this ride together for better or for worse and we share in the responsibility.

As the time pass, everything will be fine . Once again may Allah bless Daanish him and always keep him happy.

Re: Koran by Heart: Wajahat Ali

Najma — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 03:28:09 -0000

Funny, accurate, and interesting! Thanks for a wonderful read!

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

Samyia Ahmed — Fri, 26 Aug 2011 18:26:37 -0000

salam mualaykum Dilshad too am an autistic woman with 5 autistic children who were all diagnosed as being moderate to severe. Islam saved me in many ways subhanna Allah and up to when I found Islam i was quite severe n my presentation also. Managing autism is difficult but not impossible it means following a very strict if not even extreme lifestyle that our beautiful Religion teaches us. Teaching a child with autism requires a different approach but they can learn and being calm and predictable and setting up the correct environment is essential for development. please contact me if you need advice insha Allah.

Re: A Christian Reflection on Ramadan: Rev. Susan Thistlethwaite

maria2006 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:54:13 -0000

I just paíd $20.87 for an íPad 2.64GB and my boyfriend loves his Panasoníc Lumíx GF 1 Cámera that we got for $38.79 there arriving tomorrow by UP S.I will never pay such expensive retail príces in stores again. Especially when I also sold a 40 inch LCD T V to my boss for $657 which only cost me $62.81 to buy.
Here is the website we use to get it all from : http://BidsBit.com

Re: Ramadan Despair: Dilshad Ali on raising a child with autism

maria2006 — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 07:53:44 -0000

Re: Facebooking Your Ramadan: By Pakistani Kuri

Pak-Am — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 01:31:21 -0000

Salaams. Of course, you have a point, and once people get used to social media and learn to use them appropriately, I don't think most mature individuals will abuse it, especially not in Ramadan. The fact is, though, that Ramadan is partly an individual experience, and partly a social one, and so will always enter into the social realm, whether it be iftars or Facebook or something else. What is necessary is to limit oneself -- to be brief, appropriate and relevant.
And Allah knows best.

Re: Ramadan and Nutrition- Preventing Booty Jiggle

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 10:33:41 -0000

It's amazing how this articles like these are coming out so late after Ramadan has started. Two days before Eid I'm sure that there will be an article discussing how best to take time off from work/school since the exact Eid date may not be certain for all even though people have known for the past year which date(s) it may fall on and still struggle with communicating far enough in advance with jobs/schools to at least request them not to schedule projects/tests/exams/reports etc. fir those 2-3 days (whether the job/school listens is a different issue but at least we did our part in asking in advance and not the week before). Point being, people do all their shopping and planning for Ramadan in the days and weeks BEFORE Ramadan begins. I'll be surprised if I actually see an article encouraging better eating choices in the days and weeks before Ramadan begins and not in the days before it ends.

Re: Iftaar Interlude: A Lesson in Doubt and Forgiveness

Ghanam — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:53:03 -0000

Thank you : * )

Re: Ramadan and Nutrition- Preventing Booty Jiggle

AliNoorani — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 08:35:39 -0000

I'm not really a "faster!" but I loved the article nevertheless.
And the Ramadan vocabulary used here were very new and interesting to me, I didn't know most of the terms in English

Re: Seeking Perfection: Wajahat Ali

W.B.Abdullah — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 15:25:48 -0000

MashAllah, what a beautiful, thoughtful post. We are perfectly imperfect. And there is beauty in the cracks...your post reminded me of this hadith: “By the One in Whose hand is my soul, if you did not commit sin, Allah would dispense with you and create people who would commit sins then ask Allah for forgiveness, then he would forgive them.” (Sahih Muslim)

Re: Facebooking Your Ramadan: By Pakistani Kuri

Ak — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 04:49:09 -0000

Thank you :)

Re: Seeking Perfection: Wajahat Ali

Susan — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 17:30:01 -0000

An apt comment for Christians, as well. Nothing helps us forgive others like recognizing our own need for forgiveness and being humble enough to receive it.

Re: Facebooking Your Ramadan: By Pakistani Kuri

Anonymous — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:35:58 -0000

I live in a location where Ramadan at the masjid is full of all the people that don't attend the gaudy iftars. These pious folks push, jostle and cut in line for dates, iftars, dinner servings, prayer spots, parking spots, etc. Lectures regularly are given not about the blessings of this month but about how mothers are supposed to keep their kids with them and quiet and how everyone should be parking. There is no childcare at the masjid during any prayer time. The powers that be feel that food should be served in the least earth friendly method of Styrofoam containers for each individual meal serving along with bottled water. I do not demand a completely fulfilling, spiritual journey every time I visit the masjid but I don't feel that that this experience comes anywhere close. This in my mind makes the masjid environment kind of gaudy.

Even though Ramadan is meant to be a time for personal reflection and improvement, I really do long for some semblance of community. If the people at the masjid are not able to do that for my own personal wants, I turn to my circle of friends and prominent members of the religious community that do post their nuggets of wisdom on Facebook on a regular basis during Ramadan. Their thoughts, musings, jokes and tips actually offer me more warmth and depth during Ramadan. Were it not for them, I would be left to experiencing and reflecting on Ramadan in a much more isolating state. Keep the Facebook postings coming as I for one, want them.

Re: “Hitting the Suhoor Wall….”: Muslimah In Progress

Eileen Ward — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 22:36:19 -0000

I was always really queezy when I woke up-- I can't usually eat when I first awaken, so I would get up, check my emails and have some yogurt. I remember chugging as much water as I could too.

Re: “Hitting the Suhoor Wall….”: Muslimah In Progress

Ally Alexander — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:51:07 -0000

Salaam alaikum. Yep that's me. I am not even hungry at Suhoor time. Maybe that has more to do with my mom's cooking massive dinners in an effort to show solidarity with me - her convert daughter- than actually having lost my appetite for food. I have found watching different food oriented shows helpful inspiring suhoor cravings for things like the Juicy Lucy - Man vs. Food - which I talked my mom into making for iftar yesterday - leftovers were awesome!!

Re: “Hitting the Suhoor Wall….”: Muslimah In Progress

Glendale-Bro — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 20:43:50 -0000

Nail. On. The. Head. Thank you. Today, one of my Super Muslim friends said my suhoor of water, gatorade, grilled cheese sandwich and multi-vitamins would last me until the NEXT suhoor. WTH! It's only 300 calories. Besides, I thought getting up for suhoor was a blessing! Tomorrow, I think I'll keep my suhoor menu to myself. Dates? Meh.

Re: Seeking Perfection: Wajahat Ali

Moeyusuf2003 — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:25:58 -0000

JJazakala thanx 4 being my mirror now I can the mess. We make things like 7 layers cake, don't
Remember the true message.