“On the Day when their tongues, their hands, and their feet will bear witness against them as to their actions.” [Surah Noor 24:24]

Islam in a Flash!...Card!

Having problems with remembering or learning Islamic vocabulary while living in a non-Islamic environment? Well fear not! I stumbled across this website; using electronic "flashcards" it allows you to find out the meanings of words you're not sure about, maybe words you forgot, or learn new words all together! I've only tried a handful so far but there must be thousands of words to learn from. A great website and a wonderful tool for reverts as well as Muslims who want to freshen up on their arabic. Also nice for anyone who is curious about what words like "jihad" or "Islam" actually mean!
http://quizlet.com/774914/islam-vocabulary-flash-cards/

GTMO Guard Turns to Islam

Trying to take my mind off the fact that I'm sick and brain-drained alone at home, I was looking through some articles over the internet, checked my email, the usual. Finally on seeing I had no new messages I logged off of it. I was so frustrated because my computer keeps changing the defaults I set it to. At this point it had set the msn homepage to my default web-browser. What does this have to do with anything, besides me complaining about unimportant minor details of my life? Well actually, because the default was sent to that particular setting I came across this article called "The Guard who Found Islam". Naturally this Caucasian Muslim brother with the large inserted hoop earing caught my attention. Apparently the guard Terry Holdbrooks, who was an Army Specialist, now served in the Guantanamo Bay prison and during his stay he spoke to some of the prisoners. Looking back on his life, Terry had two drug-addict parents and was riddled with tattoos all over his body, and at one point he became an alcoholic before he entered into the army around the beginning of the war in Iraq. Later on as a guardsman when there was nothing or little to do in his shifts he sat down across from the prisoners on the floor, seperated by the bars of the cells, and began to talk. Their conversations entertained his curiosity long enough that not only did he develope a sort of relationship with the prisoners, but he began to question the necessity of his job, and even the necessity or at least the complete credibility of the prison and holding these men as prisoners (of which other guardsmen have seemingly shared the same questions as far back as 2002), but he also began to feel some of his own inner questions arising. He began asking them questions about their religion, and even started ordering in books on arabic and about Islam. One fine day, a conversation led to the shahada, the Testimony of Faith. He slid over a pen and a piece of paper to one of the prisoners he had become accustomed to talking with, Ahmed Errachidi (*who was released in 2007*), and who shared a mutual respect, and asked him to write down what it meant in english as well as the arabic transliteration. He spoke the words and he converted to Islam. May Allah guide him away from his troubled past and give his heart and mind peace in his findings.

I Saw A Woman in the Rain

A few days ago on my way home from class one night I waited underneath a canopy roof. The rain poured down the bricks like a river being thrown against the wall. It was a beautiful storm that let us see the wind as it blew and which flickered with light. I saw two elders speaking with one another, a man and a woman, and I heard the words being asked to the professor that perked up my ears as we stood waiting for the storm to end. In hearing those words I turned in their direction and watched the professor leave. A much longer time after, when the storm had not yet ceased and people grew tired of waiting, I walked over to the elderly couple who were dawning their rain gear to forge out into the harshness of the weather. I stood opposite them and spoke up hesitantly, because I had no idea what I was going to say. "Sorry to bother you, but did I hear you ask about a translation of the Qur'an?" I ended up saying. Either intentionally or by accident, she didn't give me a straight answer on the subject. It was dark, but it seemed as though they had stopped smiling when I came over. I then added, "there are many many translations you know, but only one Qur'an, which is in arabic, and you can always go back and check it. If it seems like the translation is wrong or what you are reading does not fit, you know what else you can do to check? "What?" she asked, she probably could have cared less but I like to think she was interested. At least I had her attention now. I reached for the strap on my backpack to take it off and write something down for them , but stopped when I noticed they looked annoyed. I continued. "Do you know what ahadith are?" She didn't know. "They are the words and acts of the prophet Muhammed (saw) when he was alive, dictated by those closest to him. They were recorded through history, and he is the best example of a Muslim and the source Muslims go to for guidance if there is an interpretation or meaning that is unclear in the Qur'an, like...beating women is a big contraversy in the media all the time, whether or not it says in the Qur'an that men are allowed to beat their wives. Some people say yes, some people say no, but if you look at Muhamed (saw) you would know right away that he never "beat his wives" in todays meaning of the term, never got close to it and was upset by it really...". This wasn't going anywhere. She did agree that it was smart to go back to the source, even if she did seem irritated at my presents, and seeing that they were ready to brave the storm, I quickly recommended to them the English translation of the Qur'an I had first read when I came to Islam three years ago (al7amdolillah). The translation is by Ahmed Ali, and gives good footnotes, multiple ways of explaining the interpretations through science, philosophy, history, and does a good job of explaining the concepts derived from the arabic words. The couple smiled and we went our seperate ways, and as I turned my head to see them from afar, they held still, resuming their previous descussion, disregarding whatever it was that I had said. I ran down the hill as the rivers of rain ran with me, streaming and rippling with a snakelike rythm, and the loudness of the rain sent shivers down my spine. You know that the power of Allah is always with you, but on some days you can feel it more than others. I reached my car, soaked to the bone, and drove home through the blinding rain. Today, I returned to my class. I opened the door, returned a smile to the gregorious elderly British man who sits in the corner, took off my backpack, and was eyeing the room for my seat when I saw a hand waving in the air. I turned my eyes in that direction and I saw the elderly woman smiling up at me in the front row. "Oh hello" I said, smiling that she had even acknowledged my existence. Without even returning the greeting, though out of excitement rather than rudeness, she asked me "is this the one you were talking about?". She showed me a book with that beautiful familiar cover-art from the Ahmed Ali's translation of the Qur'an. Green with gold design. I smiled inside and out and nodded, yes that was the one. "Wow...you have it..." I said slowly while beaming. She smiled explaining that this is the one she had "had all along". Sub7anallah. I smiled and joked, yet with the utmost sincerity, "I guess it was meant to be then, no?" She chuckled and agreed, "I guess it must be"..."Thank You" she added. I returned to my seat, and watched from afar, the elderly woman who was blessed, as I was blessed, on her journey in reading the greatest book in the world. May Allah guide her, and may Allah guide us all. Ameen.