Beginnings to Freedom Can Be Scary

This should be a happy morning. I remember all those promises I made to myself while slaving over stinky diapers and shaking boiling hot milk over my wrists at 2 A.M. just six short years ago. "Just wait," I told myself. "When this whole mess is behind me I'll go back to bed in the mornings, have lunch with someone who doesn't eat his meat with a spoon, finish writing the novel I started before I took on the "Mommy" title, shed fifteen pounds, finally get my degree, learn how to send text messages while driving, and blow this firetrap called home that has held me a virtual prisoner."
I nurtured this dream through chicken pox, fractures, flu shots, sibling traumas, Oprah, Dr. Phil, Super Nanny and rooms covered with "English sight words" and Arabic Alphabets. And now that I am so close to realization, I feel guilty. What am I doing? Sending this "baby" off to learn calculus before the cord is healed. How can I possibly think of my own comforts when he is harboring all those insecurities? Indeed, how does the State of Maryland know my son is ready for the first grade? They look at him and what do they see? A birth certificate and a record of immunizations.
I look at him and I see a smile...like he just let out a silent stinky. I see two skinny legs that won't get him through the day without a bandage on one of them. I see two fidgety hands that can't work together to hold a slippery bar of soap. I see a shock of curly black hair that only just reaches below his father's ribcage when he hugs him. I see a little boy who never went to the restroom all during Summer Day Camp because he didn't want to admit he couldn't spell the difference between B-O-Y-S from G-I-R-L-S on the door.
I should have prepared him more. I piffed away all that time on consonants and vowels, basic addition and subtraction, days of the week and months of the year. I should've dealt more with the basic realities like Tawheed, Taqwa, The Sirah of the Prophet Muhammad (saws), tolerance, forgiveness, compassion, and honesty. For from this day forward his world can only widen. And existence that began in a crib, grew to a house, and extends over a two-block bicycle ride will now go even beyond that. I will share him with another woman, other adults, other children, other opinions, other points of view. I am no longer leading. I am standing behind him ready to guide from a new position. Who is this woman who will spend more daylight hours with him than I? Please, Miss Chalkdust or whatever, show him the patience and gentleness he needs. Please have a soft voice and a warm smile. Please don't be too pretty or too smart, lest I suffer from the comparison.
A note. Maybe I should pin a note on his kufi to make sure she understands. I could say, "Dear Miss Chalkdust or whatever: I submit to your tender, loving care my son who is a little shy and a lot stubborn. Who can't cope yet with zippers that stick or buttons on sweaters that don't come out even. One who makes his 5's and S's identical but works seriously and in earnest. I may sue you for alienation of affection, but for the moment, Thank You!"

*This is an exert from a book I've been enjoying by Erma Bombeck called "At Wit's End." I've adjusted much of the content to apply to my lifestyle. But I feel she sometimes hits the trials of motherhood and family right on the nail.*

The Circle Of Life...A Mommy's Perspective

There's a hanger haphazardly dangling from the bathroom doorknob. Let's not get into why it's there or who put it there. To reach a conclusion to these mysteries it would take us through a time warp and onto the set of that Abbott & Costello episode, "Who's on First." So to prevent having to converse with my children for more than 2 minute intervals, i take the hanger to my bedroom, throw it on my bed (i should've hanged it in the closet right then of course, but hey, I'm grown and I can do what i want...right?)

Morning continues with a mad rush to the kitchen to make toast with jam for my son who is on his way out the door to Hifzh class(Quranic memorization). He will be leaving his wholesome lunch at home and will complain later that i didn't risk life and limb at 120 miles per hour on the highway in order to catch up with his ride and catapult his khaki-brown, Land's End thermal lunchbox into their sunroof. This is our ritual and it must be done bi-weekly in order for the world's cosmic energy to continue to flow properly.

While in the kitchen i go ahead and decide that all of my children deserve breakfast today in spite of my empty threats from last night to starve them until they shrivel into jerky meat and sell them to a dog food company. You see, "Not Me" spilled milk onto everyone's food while apparently attempting some kind of circus act at the dinner table (his sisters pay him with fries, garlic bread and desserts for his prime-time entertainment).

After the chaos of breakfast, "Mommy, i don't want jelly on mine," "Mommy, she's looking at me when i chew," and my all-time favorite "Mommy, she put a boogie in my juice," I sit down with my cup of coffee and attempt to steal 5 minutes of downtime before the next catastrophe. It's looking good. The girls are now hypnotised by the DVD i put on for them (4 kids ago I'd never have so many DVD diversions/sad attempts at peace and quiet)and my feet are propped up while i take my first sip of hazelnut cof- WHAT?!!! That blasted hanger is now in my 2yr old's hot hands! She must have quietly followed me (this kid will make a great stalker one day) into my room and taken the hanger back out. "Go put it back now," I scream-I mean, I calmly say to her. Realizing that she has closed the door to my bedroom, I know I've lost the battle again. I can tell her until my lips chap to go put it back, but she hasn't learned the twist and push/pull method it takes to open a door yet. So, because I've vowed that the next 5 minutes belong to me and my coffee, i tell her to just hang the stupid thing back on the bathroom door. We've gone full circle...the story of my life.

Bedtime Story

After the birth or her 5th child, she noticed the time and experience had begun to wear on her and she felt, well, quite less than desirable. She used to wake up and when she looked in the mirror she liked what she saw. Now, in order to achieve that sentiment she needed additional time to spritz, moisturize, conceal and emphasize.

So one day she was reading the second sentence of the same book she'd been trying to read for the past month. Was she slow, you ask? No, she was not slow. Dear reader, she was, a Mommy. Like so many women, she opted to have her children close together in order for them to grow up together and have a tight sibling bond. She never fathomed they would also band together in siblinghood against the dictatorship of the "Mommy." Anytime she attempted to read, sleep, organise, think or exercise her right to personal hygiene, they were there to disrupt it like a merry band of "down time" thieves. They were so very thorough that she began to believe they were union organised. She often found herself in the laundry, checking their little pockets for union dues slips.

She remembered cynically the days way back when she looked forward to children uttering that priceless word for the first time: "Mom-mee." Now the gross over usage of that phrase had practically become a curse word to her. 4 of her children now uttered, cried, screamed, laughed, coughed, choked "Mommy" on an average of 300 times a day each. She knew this on account of the fact that she took a day off from attempting to read the first sentence of her book in order to take a tally.

As her ears nearly bled from the constant pounding of that word, she had an idea. She could kill two kids with one stone, so to speak---hmm? Oh! Oh yes, you're right that is two BIRDS with one stone. Exactly. Honest mistake. Ahem! So like i was saying she had come up with a marvelous plan! She would change her name just in time for baby number 5 to learn rather than following in the footsteps of the others who shouted that dreaded obscenity at her minute after minute.

Two years passed and I had the pleasure of running into...er, "Not-Mommy Anymore" in the grocerystore. And I asked how her plan worked out for her. Her coy smile said it all. While we continued our conversation her 5th child, now age 2 was feeling a bit left out. So he called out to his mother using the name he'd been taught shortly after his birth, "You're Pretty!" "I want juice." The woman smiled and continued to talk with me. "You're Pretty, buy cookies please!" The toddler began to get irritated by his mother's lack of attention. "YOU'RE PRETTY," shouted the child, drawing the attention of other shoppers. She then turned to him and gave him a great big hug, an 8pack of juice boxes and a family size box of Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies. And everyone lived happily ever aft--not so fast! A month later she was blessed with the news of a new baby on the way. I havn't seen her since.

Dear Blog: I Still Love You (and Facebook too).

Dear Blog:
I'm sorry for yet another stint of neglect on my part. I have been cheating on you. I'm not proud of my actions but I feel I must put it out there and let you decide where you think we should go from here. I was surfing the net and had been hearing about a site that many folks have enjoyed. I thought it'd be harmless just to go take a looksy and see what the hype was all about. Well from that day foreward I've been hooked. I've made so many reconnects with friends and we leave eachother lil comments daily that just make me smile when sometimes i really need the pick-me-up. It's not that you don't do it for me anymore, I just like the variety. I know, I've been gone awhile, but i think if you still want me, i can find a happy balance btwn you both. Now, don't be jealous, there's really nothing to be jealous about. Here, if you don't believe me, this is what I've been doing:

Islamic term of the day is Niyyah. Niyyah is one's intention made to do an act, for example my niyyah (intenetion) is to share information with all my FB friends
April 27 at 6:33am

ManicMonday: "when you've exhausted every other possibility, the problem is probably you"
April 27 at 3:22pm

ManicMonday: "conserve energy: stop talking"
April 27 at 6:51pm

ManicMonday: Never ask if a situation could get any worse. You will not like yourself when the answer comes.
April 27 at 10:27pm

i know one day, one day, one day it go bettah!
April 28 at 7:30am

Here w/ my head on my pillow reflecting, i thank my Lord for the trials & tests He sends my way. Thru them there is a purification.
April 28 at 11:44pm

Homeland Security: "...Hmm, Swine Flu? This reaks of Al Qaida."
April 30 at 1:43am

I wanna live in a treehouse
May 3 at 9:04am

Just finished my fajr prayers and am listening to beautiful sound of silence in the world.
May 4 at 5:05am

HEEELLPP! I'm drowning in baby drool!!!!
May 6 at 1:18am

ok, so i'm time travelling today:I've just traveled back and taken lunch money from my third grade self. I totally see the appeal now.
May 7 at 6:01pm

1992: 1st husband proposes. "Will you marry me?" "Yes!" Future me jumps out from behind a wall and smacks 21yr old me in the back of the head. SMACK! "Snap out of it! And RUN...FAST"
May 7 at 6:43pm

1983: cousin Tammy says, "Let's take your dad's Jag for a drive. He'll never know." Two 12 yr olds spin off in a Jaguar down E14th st. Future me is in the back seat, "Hey ladies, pull over at the next corner store, i'll be right back, keep the engine running."
May 7 at 7:34pm

1982: future me watches L tell past me, "come here, I wanna show you something, it's just around the back of this bldg." future me grabs a switch, shoves "past me" aside, goes behind the bldg and beats the crap outta lil'mr. filthy mcNasty.
May 7 at 7:54pm

Prayers made: check! family fed: check! boy off to school: check! Great! Momma back to bed...checkmate
May 8 at 8:29am

Just because someone is gracious enough not to point out your shortcomings doesn't mean you are perfect.
May 8 at 8:04pm

Time Travelling: Jamaica 1977, Bob Marley's matches got dampened in the rain and he can't get his splif lit. I tell him, "Don't worry about a thing, every little thing is gonna be alright." He smiles and reaches for a pen and paper. Glad that worked out for him.
May 11 at 7:11am

Time travelling: 16th Century, on a beach in what will be Virginia, chillin' with my indigenous sisters and brothers and we get to talking about travelling. I warn them about transparent-skinned men that will soon arrive from the sea bearing disease ridden gifts and speaking with forked tongues. My people laughed and warned me to stop eating the shrooms growing under the dying oak tree. What-r-ya-gonna-do?
May 11 at 9:07am

A man who fights with his wife all day will get no piece at night
May 12 at 6:04am

I have to the lab and do bloodwork today. My Dr. wants to check my cholesterol, etc.... I drive way too fast to worry about cholesterol.
May 12 at 6:15am

"Words of the Day Wednesday!" Here's a strange one: "PomPom" (as in pompom girls or cheerleaders): adornment - a decoration of color or interest that is added to relieve plainness...Not to be mistaken with "PumPum": Jamaican term for the female sexual organ...or is it? Hmm
May 13 at 9:11am

Words of the Day Wednesday: Effect vs. Affect: generally speaking (but this is English and that means there r rule breakers) "effect" is the noun and "affect" is the verb, ie. "I was negatively affected by her comment. The effect of this was disastrous for her."
May 13 at 9:24am

My husband says I'm nuts because I talk to myself
May 13 at 9:35am

The reason that I talk to myself is that I enjoy hearing a good conversationalist, and I appreciate an attentive listener.
May 13 at 9:36am

It's alright to talk to yourself. It's even alright to answer yourself. It only becomes a problem if you're talking to yourself and you go "Huh? What did you say?"
May 13 at 9:39am

My Cheerios ARE healthy! They just aren't allowed to say so on the box, that's all. FDA meanies...
May 13 at 2:24pm

"Words of the Day Wednesday": SHARI'AH: literally means ‘way to water’ – the source of all life – and signifies the way to God, as given by God. It is the Way which encompasses the totality of man’s life. ;the divine code of Muslim conduct.
May 13 at 4:09pm

"Good evening. Welcome to JetBlue Airlines flight 321 destination Oakland, California. My name is Hussain AbuBakr bin Saleh and I will be your pilot for this flight. So relax and enjoy the ride. We should be taking off as soon as Homeland Security and the FBI have removed my name from the "No Fly" List..
May 13 at 6:20pm

"This is my life Thursday":Got all of 2 hours sleep last night before time to get up, eat suhur (early morning meal before starting a fast) and pray. Now Zombie Mom will attempt to feed kiddies and sleepdrive Chief (my 6 yr old) to school.
May 14 at 5:46am

"TIMLT":Droping Chief at the school and a big red, over compensating truck man in a hurry nearly crashed into me! "What the f***! This is a f***ing school you a**hole! These r f***ing little kids you dumbf***!" @least I only thought most of that and didn't verbalise it (still bad i know). The window was up so he didn't hear me at all. And my face is covered so he couldn't read my lips. But I had on my ANGRY EYES
May 14 at 1:22pm

TIMLT: i think i need to a) lay off the coffee for a while b) make tawba c) make tawba
May 14 at 1:24pm

TIMLT: @red light behind yet another red truck. Hypnotized by its back windshield wiper. It's been broken off and just a stub is waving from side to side.
May 14 at 2:13pm

Nearly missed my green light focusing on the mundane
May 14 at 2:15pm

TIMLT: for speedy in the red truck from this morning: "A man who drives like hell, is bound to get there."
May 14 at 6:15pm

Last TIMLT of the day...stop applauding: tomorrow i'm going to Ikea w/ my husband. He wants to buy a podium to lecture me from.
May 15 at 12:22am

Welcome to "For The Record Friday": for the record, i am a Muslim. i am not oppressed on most days. right now my 3yr old won't leave me alone, so today i am. when i'm out i dress in hijab (loose fitting clothes and head covering). i also wear a veil (cause i just loooove to hear the snickers from passersby). Oh and i'm always trying to be funny, but it comes out cynical instead. And i love Calvin and Hobbes

For The Record Friday: It is not grammatically (nor politically) correct to call a Muslim a "suicide bomber" to his or her face. If one were a suicide bomber, then you couldn't possibly be talking to him because he's dead. Just thought i'd share
May 15 at 1:17pm

For The Record Friday: i may need a FB intervention real soon
May 15 at 10:25pm

Who Said It Saturday: "One may ask: 'How can you advocate breaking some laws and obeying others?' The answer lies in the fact that there are two types of laws: There are just and there are unjust laws. I would be the first to advocate obeying just laws. One has not only a legal but a moral responsibility to obey just laws. Conversely, one has a moral responsibility to disobey unjust laws."
May 16 at 10:36am

Who Said IT Saturday: "I am so self-sufficient that I am in no need of having an associate..."
May 16 at 10:52am

Who Said It Saturday: "Say a good word or be silent."
May 16 at 10:49pm

If FB were around sooner: Elvis' last status update: "Aww, brb gotta go see a man about a horse..."
May 17 at 4:56pm

Last Status Update: Janet Leigh as Marion Crane in the movie Psycho: "Dude, just snagged $40,000 from my wack a** boss. Checked into dumpy motel for the nite. That Norman dude is a strange cookie. Gonna hook up with my man Sam later. I just need to freshen up a bit, maybe take a shower. Peace!"
May 17 at 11:35pm

Romeo & Juliet (my Mom's cats):Juliet: "Hey my water dish is movin. Is this the earthquake we've been expecting?" Romeo:"Yeah, this is it." Juliet:"Hmm...u think we should have warned the humans? I mean that IS our job." Romeo:"Nah, forget um, no more warnings till i get some organic cat food in this here dish."
May 17 at 11:58pm ·

Manic Monday: The Positive Affirmation of a SocioPath: "I will not let the imperfections of others dissuade me from believing in my own infalibility."
May 18 at 8:20am

Manic Monday: I used to think i'd like to buy the world a Coke. But now I'm like, "Nah, trick'um."
May 18 at 7:10pm

My emotional stability seems to be lacking a bit. I think i'ma cry...or maybe just laugh it off...or...should i be angry?...Oh heck, i'll just go sleep on it.

TimeTravel: I was like: dude, i heard this play sucks. You'd be better off kickin it wit us in the ole'slave quarters t'nite. I heard it's about to be ON! Abe was like: Nah, i heard Our American Cousin was the shizzle. I'm goin to the early performance. I'll holla @chu in the quarters when I get back.
May 24 at 2:17pm

TimeTravel: 9/4/2000, Presidential Campaign in Illinois: me: "oh yes Mr. Bush, your mic is turned off now." GWB: "There's Adam Clymer, major-league a**hole from The New York Times."...I swear that election was fixed.
May 24 at 2:28pm

TimeTravel: i was like: ya huh! He was like: nu uh! me: Ya HUH! him: Nu UH! me: look Mr. President, I'm telling you i can smell trouble on that one. I'd advise you to let that Lewinsky girl go ASAP. Why don't ppl listen to me?
May 24 at 2:36pm

This Just In: After unsuccessfully attempting to get enough votes to sustain a filibuster over Obama's choice for Supreme Court justice, The Senate's No. 2 Republican Sen. Jon Kyl went on an emotional shooting rampage at a local KFC. When Kyl's case comes to trial, he hopes to get a judge who shows empathy for Kyl's "emotions & feelings & preconceived ideas."
May 24 at 5:48pm

Kids r irritating me so much i wish i were an animal that ate her young. They'd probably give me heartburn just to have the final word.
May 25 at 10:20am

ManicMonday: once we're gone, our children will be the only remaining evidence of our flaws.
May 25 at 10:21am

ManicMonday: Everything's going to work out, just not necessarily for you.
May 25 at 3:56pm

It's been raining ALL night and the ground is so flooded I'm expecting to see animals lining up at the bus stop in pairs .
May 26 at 6:01am

TimeTravelTuesday: Heading North w/ Harriet Tubman & other runaways. I'm tired. My feet hurt. All I said was "can we just take a rest for awhile? I haven't been to the gym in ages, im outta shape and i missed breakfast--" Harriet: "i will bust a cap in your a** rite now and you can 'rest' in peace!"...She didnt have ta go there...ya gotta love her tho. We should b in Philly by morning.
May 26 at 9:57pm

WhatnotWednesday: Ok, so why is an Orange named after its color? An apple isn't called a red or a green or a yellow. Yeah, I hear you, an apple has more than one color. Then what about bananas? They're tipically yellow. Why don't we call them yellows? Maybe whoever named the fruit(assuming Allah left that up to us)named all the fruit and then got to the Orange and was like: oh heck, what color is it? Lets go w/that.
May 27 at 9:30am

ForTheRecordFriday: My parents were right. Fat meat IS greasy. Wow, do u think that means they were also rite about a hard head making a soft a**?
Yesterday at 1:41am

I'm a "stay at home" Wife & Mom (childcare provider, dietary specialist, teacher, housekeeper, schoolbus driver, hairstylist, secretary & nurse). Now some folks might say that i don't have a job. But tell me, how much do folks get paid to do just the childcare part of my multifaceted occupation? I need a better union

KnowledgeOfTheDay: Hadith(saying of the Last Prophet, saw): "The example of a good friend in comparison with a bad one, is like that of the musk seller and the blacksmith's bellows (or furnace); from the first you would either buy musk or enjoy its good smell while the bellows would either burn your clothes or your house, or you get a bad nasty smell thereof."

SatiricalSaturday: Calfornia Supreme Court upholds Gay Marriage ban: Same Sex couples resolve to resent each other without a cake.

SatiricalSaturday: UR not supposed to wear white after Labor Day, but did you know UR not supposed to wear silver after Memorial Day? My handcuffs & accessories are in Storage.

SatiricalSaturday: I just got an e-mail that said: WANNA BE A TEACHER? And I'm not kidding, 1st line was: Are you having trouble reading this?

SatiricalSaturday: Hey ya know how folks say something unbelievable or undesirable will happen "when pigs fly"? Well, Swine Flu= Past tense of “pigs fly.” So brace yourselves...

Ok, my 6yr old just tied my hair in a knot while i was typing. I think he's trying to tell me something. I better go now. (CUL8r)Yesterday at 11:49am

WisdomOfTheDay: “A man follows the lifestyle (deen) of his close friend, so each of you should be very careful about whom he takes as a close friend.” (The Prophet Muhammad, PBUH) [Reported: Abu Hurairah: Abu Dawud and at-Tirmidhi]
Today 8:58am

StrangeHappenigsSunday: This Just In: Energy Drink RedBull has been found to contain the narcotic Cocaine. Consumer Sales Rise 85% as I Rush2 Costco Calculating the Street Value Per Can.
2 seconds ago

Report Suspicious Activity (revisited)

A grandmother decides to mail a check to her grandson as an Eid (Muslim Holiday) Gift. She writes the check payable to her daughter in order for her to cash it and give it to the grandson. In the place left for writing what the check is for she writes her grandson's name. the check is mailed. It travels across the country to where her grandson lives. Her daughter receives the check and takes it into the bank to cash. She approaches the teller and explains that she'd like to cash this check. The teller looks at the check, pauses momentarily, and then excuses herself. She returns 5 minutes later with her supervisor just as the police enter the bank. They approach the daughter and gruffly request that she come with them. She questions the reason as they forcefully remove her from the bank while the scrutinous eyes of other bank patrons watch with confusion.
Across the country 20 minutes later, Grandma's doorbell rings. She opens the door and to her surprise she's met by two police officers and two men in suits. They inquire who she is and when she tells them, she too is taken into custody.
WHAT'S THIS ABOUT, YOU ASK?
Ok, let me add more detail this time.
A grandmother on the West coast wants to send her grandson some money for an Eid Gift. Even though she's not Muslim herself, she wants to celebrate with him his holiday and let him buy himself something he'd like. So she writes the check payable to her daughter and in the place left to write what the check is for she writes her grandson's first name: Jihad.
The check is received on the East Coast by her daughter who promptly takes it to the bank to be cashed. She enters the bank in full hijab, all black (veil included) and approaches the teller. As usual, all eyes are on her and conversation stops as she makes her grand entrance into the bank and walks the not-so-red carpet towards the teller. The daughter feels momentarily as if she has just stepped into one of those old commercials for that investment firm, "When E.F. Hutton speaks(immediate silence), everyone listens."
She explains that she'd like to cash this check. The teller looks at the check. And not to her surprise, because she figured "they" were all terrorists anyway, the check said it was for a "JIHAD."
Now Vikki, the teller, has been with the bank for 5 years. She sees herself as responsible and reliable. As she looks at the woman dressed in all black, covered from head to toe, she instantly remembers the TV news program she viewed last night. They spoke about the infiltration of "Al Qaeda Terrorist Cells" right into the backyards of America. As she drove on the highway to work this morning she read the flashing billboard that stated: "Report Suspicious Activity". "This is not suspicious," thinks Vikki, "This is BLATANT. This woman is getting funds from across America to ignite a Jihad on US soil!" She knows it's her duty as an American to report this to the proper authorities. As the Star Spangled Banner rings in the background of her thoughts, she realizes that she may be single-handedly stopping a terrorist attack from being carried out! The word "Hero" comes to to mind as she excuses herself for a moment.
Back to the other side of the country, where the proper authorities have also been contacted, Grandma has been arrested for funding a "JIHAD IN AMERICA" with a $50 check.
DID THIS HAPPEN? COULD THIS HAPPEN? YOU TELL ME.

A Mommy's Day

My Dear Children,
On most days I'm awakened, much too early to the joyful sound of your persistant little voices demanding to know what's for breakfast. I spend my day wiping noses and butts and in between, cleaning your messes, breaking up your fights, cooking your meals and soothing your bumps and bruises (and that's just the tip of the iceburg). By the end of the evening I've contemplated running away several hundrend times and can think of nothing more satisfying than seeing your adorable little faces asleep in your beds. As I stare at your limp bodies, snug under the blankets, I realise there is no one more annoying that I'd love to spend the rest of my life loving and caring for. You brats ROCK!

Love,
Mommy(Slave Lady)

Birth Control and Islam

This question came up in conversation with a friend today and I thought it'd be helpful to others who may not know the answer. So....here it is:
Is it permissible to use birth control because one is afraid to have children due to the corruption of society?
Is it permissible to use birth control so that a person has a child every five years, because he sees the corruption in society and would not be able to raise a lot of children close in age in this overwhelmingly corrupt society?


Praise be to Allaah.

We put this question to Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen, may Allaah preserve him, who replied:

So long as this is the intention, then it is not permissible to do this, because it reflects a lack of trust in Allaah with regard to the hadeeth of the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) who said “Marry the one who is loving and fertile…”

But if the birth control has to do with the condition of the woman – because she cannot cope with repeated pregnancies – this may be permissible, but it is better not to do it.

Question: Do you mean that it is more important to pay attention to the woman’s condition than to the corrupt nature of society?

Answer: Of course, because there is no certainty that one’s children will be corrupt; they may be righteous people who will bring benefits to society. And Allaah knows best.


Shaykh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-‘Uthaymeen

The Current Situation

So the current situation is that we can't afford to pay the mortgages on our homes due to outlandish interest rates and we can't indulge in eating pork because of the swine flu pandemic. Good thing Allah has warned against both of these things. Allah is All-Knowing, Most Merciful

Nightmares

I had a dream that i was surrounded by blood thirsty Pygmies with sharp white teeth. One of the smaller Pygmies sprinkled an ancient powder into my eyes, blinding me instantly as the others tore at my clothes, piercing my flesh...oh wait that wasn't a dream. That was yesterday at the park with my kids.

Jihad Explained: Taken from an article by Dr. M. Amir Ali, Ph.D.

Linguistically, the Arabic word "jihad" means struggling or striving. In this sense a student struggles and strives to pass a class; an employee strives to fulfill his job requirements; a politician strives to live up to his promises once elected to office and so on. The term strive or struggle may be used for Muslims as well non-Muslims; for example, Allah (The Lord) says in the Qur'an:
"We have enjoined on people kindness to parents; but if they strive (jahadaka) to make you ascribe partners with Me that of which you have no knowledge, then obey them not..." 29:8, also see 31:15.
In the above two verses of the Qur'an, it is non-Muslim parents who strive (jahada) to convert their Muslim child back to their religion.
In the West, "jihad" is generally translated as "holy war", a usage the media has popularized. This could be a reflection of the Christian use of the term "Holy War" to refer to the Crusades of a thousand years ago. However, the Arabic words for "war" are "harb" or "qital", which are found in the Qur'an and Hadith. For Muslims the term jihad is applied to all forms of striving and has developed some special meanings over time.
Examples of Jihad:
1. Recognizing the Creator and loving Him most
2. Resisting pressure of peers and society
3. Staying on the straight path steadfastly
4. Striving for righteous deeds
5. Having courage and steadfastness to convey the message of Islam
6. Defending Islam and the community
7. Helping allied people who may not be Muslim
8. Removing treacherous people from power
9. Gaining freedom to inform, educate and convey the message of Islam in an open and free environment
10. Freeing people from tyranny