Our Somalia

There is a place right here in my heart,
Nourished within me everywhere I go.
The cool sands of Hamar tickling
My toes out of every cry or moan.

Sunshine replicated
In the mirrors of the river Shabelle.
The grand mountains of Sheikh and Bari…
What a feast for the hungry…but then...
What better panorama has Mother Earth on offer?

I nourish within me these scenes of my land
Children at play carefree in their land
I pray for the whole body:
Land, Sea, River,  Lake, Mountain
Flora and fauna.

And "us" the people, Muslim, wholesome,
Not the pieces thrown here and there.
I pray for the whole body blessed,
In the name of Allah unified
Having no wish for any sickly pie, dispersed,
Handed down to divide, disgraced.
I cherish the term “we” the collective “us”
Not “i” or “they”.

I dream of the milky white Ari of "our" land
The dazzling speech of “our” moon
North and South, East and West,
Sky is the limit
Our geel to graze, proud, majestic
A free herd
Coming home everywhere they gaze:
Lascanood and Hargeisa
Bandar Qaasim and Las Qorey
Barava and Borame
Marca, Jowhar, and Kismayo
Sweet scents of uunsi and anbar, everywhere we go.

Farewel, boys! Farewel!
O you with the Pen,  Unity!
May the pens be dipped in the Springs of Baidabo.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------Copyright . Safi Abdi 2005, edited 2007

New HIjaab Styles

Salaam 

So the other night I found these new cute hijaab styles.. Here are some of my favorites :
click on the titles to watch a video tutorial .

Crossover method:

Double Layer method:

 The Alex:

Princess Leia Twist:

Eid Mubarak

 Salaam Everyone

WoW  I haven't updated my blog since Ramadan...Busy Woman, Eh?   The Quarter is almost ending and we have Final Exams coming up in about three weeks. I signed up for my winter quarter classes, I'll be taking a Biology Seminar, General Chemistry (Part 2), and Intro to Islam. I can't wait to take Intro to Islam, sounds like an exciting class!!

I went to Los Angeles , California last week for the Gates Millennium Scholars Leadership Conference. It was awesome and I got to see John Legend and Bill Gates Senior and so many awesome Gates Scholars. I want to go back to California inshallah some time this summer, it's so beautiful and breath-taking.

This quarter is going well, my life is basically studying and MSA , don't have time for anything else lol.

Today is the Day of Arafat and tomorrow's Eid ul Adha. I'm so excited for Eid, I bought this beautiful abaya, can't wait to spend time with family and friends. I want to go see the movie Precious.

John Legend at the Gates Millennium Leadership Conference 

 

The view from my hotel window 

Dessert. We got special treatment, Mashallah.  

 

Bill Gates Senior 

Ramadan Kareem

Ramadan Reflections And Other Random Thoughts

Asalamu Alaykum Wa Rahmatulahi Wa Barakatu Everyone

Ramadan Mubarak!!! I've been so busy with Ramadan and haven't found time to blog. Wow, Can you believe Ramadan is almost over, Subhanallah!

I love this month of Ramadan, I feel that in this month, one becomes more self-conscious and more aware of their actions.

This Ramadan has been different for me in many ways. First off, it's the first Ramadan that I didn't have school the whole month of Ramadan (yay me! ). Second of all, I feel like I haven't been reading much Qur'an ((I want to start Reading more Qur'an during the rest of this month)), this is the first Ramadan that I have had Iftaar at the masjid ((something I have never done in the past eighteen years of my life)) and it is such a beautiful experience to break your fast with other Muslims ((outside of your family)), I also had the wonderful experience to organize theses Iftaars ..it feels great to be part of something bigger than yourself...

Okay now I'm just going to go on to Random events/thoughts that have happened recently..

So yesterday I was at the masjid (( there's A LOT of somalis that go to my masjid..like 99.99%)),
anyway.. I'm sitting in between two elderly woman reading Qur'an and out of nowhere they start talking about Somalia . The first woman mentions how the Al-Shabaab fighters said that they would double the fighting in this month of Ramadan ((I could have sworn fighting was prohibited in the month of Ramadan)) and she went on to talk about how they claim to be Islamic but they are not Islamic at all.. she said what's Islamic about killing children?..what did the children do??.. the children..the children..and then she started crying and she started cursing the Al-Shabaab fighters and the other woman said please dont curse them , let's pray for their guidance, and they both started talking about how Somalia used to be peaceful back in the day and how it is today.. how it's so dangerous to enter Mogadishu..and both of them were sitting there crying and while this is going on I'm just sitting there blinking back tears because I didn't want to cry..but Subhanallah that was an emotional incident to witness ...

So Lately, I've been thinking about death and akhira a lot, just like trying to imagine it , we always try to put off the thoughts of death and think that it's something that will come later in life, but I am trying to make myself accept the fact that we are all going to die, and just embrace it and think of it more often...

Thus my new motto is the Prayer of Prophet Ibrahim and his people when they said...

رَّبَّنَا عَلَيْكَ تَوَكَّلْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ أَنَبْنَا وَإِلَيْكَ الْمَصِيرُ

"O our Sustainer! In Thee have we placed our trust, and unto Thee do we turn: for unto Thee is all journeys' end" (Surah Mumtahina: Ayat 4)

Inshallah I hope to make the best of the remaining of Ramadan , Inshallah I want to attend Tahajjud and/or do Itikaaf ..

Ma'Salaam!

Favorite Quotes

Salaam All,
So remember how I told you that I love to collect quotes, well I'm going to dedicate this post to some of my favorite quotes, Currently I'm reading a book called "Instruction of the Student, The Method of Learning" By Imam Al -Zarnuji , the original Arabic title is "Ta-lim al-Muta'allim Tariq al-Ta'allum", It's pretty interesting so far, after I'm done reading it I will post lessons that I learned from it/ my favorite parts of it..Inshallah

So Here are some of my favorite quotes/sayings:

If all the water was to become ink it wouldnt be enough to write the greatness of Allah

All that is gold does not glitter; not all those that wander are lost."By J.R.R. Tolkien

Character is what you are; reputation is what you try to make people think you are.

War does not determine who is right-War determines who is left.

Be nice to everyone you meet, they're fighting a battle you know nothing about

Now out of fear you desire to die (But) even after death, if you do not find peace, where will you go?Now, overpowered by calamities and problems, you desire to die and you consider death a solution to all your problems, but if, after death, you do not find peace in the grave, if you do not find peace on the Day of Qiyaamah, if you do not find peace on the Pul Siraat and you are deprived of entry in Jannah, then where will you go?--urdu poet

Yes, we love peace, but we are not willing to take wounds for it, as we are for war. - John Andrew Holmes

“Bra Lapisht brabe magar muqader la lay khodabe” (Even if a brother supports his brother, God’s decree can overcome them none-the-less)--kurdish proverb

"Solo le pido a Dios Que la guerra no me sea indiferente" (Lenny from Outlandish, a Danish music group)

We will show them our proofs in the horizons, and within themselves, until they realize that this is the truth. Is your Lord not sufficient as a witness of all things?Quran 41:53 ---[3:60]

Surely, the case of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam. He created him out of dust, then he said to him, "Be', and he was. (Quran)

And among His Signs are the ships, smooth-running through the ocean, (tall) as mountains. (Quran, Surah Shura)

Life without repentance is spiritual agony; to be absent from God is immediate death. Life and death both are sweet with God’s presence: without God even the Water of Life is fire. by. Mathnawi

Shed Crazy From Your Life

Salam Everyone,

Here is an article on various ways to shed craziness from your life:

http://www.muslimahsource.org/wellness-health/shed-crazy-from-your-life/