Marrwa’s Rendang Inspired Beef!
How to prepare for Ramadan this year, 2009.
A lot of us yearn to prepare for Ramadan, but we have no idea how to start. Below are a few tips to insha’Allah help prepare our minds and hearts for this upcoming Month of Mercy.
1. Making the Intention
Simple to do and has a powerful impact. Maybe you want to prepare for Ramadan, but between school, work, family, and any other activities, you just have no idea how to fit in ‘Preparing for Ramadan’ time. Instead of making ‘preparing for Ramadan’ something separate from your daily activities, MAKE your daily activities a means of preparation for Ramadan.
For example, perhaps your mom asked you to pick up your brother from school on the day you finally had time to read a few extra pages of Qur’an. Instead of feeling upset and feeling like you have lost a great preparation for Ramadan opportunity, make the intention that you are picking up your brother to please Allah subhanahu wa ta’ala and prepare for Ramadan by obeying your mother, helping your family members, building ties of kinship… and the list continues.
The point is that preparing for Ramadan does not have to be some magnificent, enormous, extra-special thing that needs to be done at a certain time of the day. Many of your daily actions can be turned into Ramadan preparation actions with a sincere intention, insha’Allah.
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Can a woman breastfeed her child in front of her mahrams?
Question:
Is it permissible or not for a woman to uncover her breast in front of her mahrams in order to breastfeed her child, if there is no fear of fitnah?
Answer:
A woman’s ‘awrah before her mahrams such as her father, brother, and brother’s son is her entire body except that which ordinarily appears such as the face, hair, neck, forearms and feet. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“and not to reveal their adornment except to their husbands, or their fathers, or their husband’s fathers, or their sons, or their husband’s sons, or their brothers or their brother’s sons, or their sister’s sons, or their (Muslim) women (i.e. their sisters in Islâm)” [al-Noor 24:31]
How to raise righteous children
Question:
I find disciplining my children difficult and often become angry and beat them. Can you give me any advice on the subject, as well as any books that would be appropriate to read?
Answer:
Raising and educating children is one of the duties required of parents. Allaah has enjoined that in the Qur’aan, and the Messenger (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) also enjoined that. Allaah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“O you who believe! Ward off yourselves and your families against a Fire (Hell) whose fuel is men and stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allaah, but do that which they are commanded”
[al-Tahreem 66:6]
Imam al-Tabari said, commenting on this verse:
Here Allaah is saying: O you who believe in Allaah and His Messenger, “Ward off yourselves” teach one another that which will protect those who do it from the Fire and ward it off from them, if it is done in obedience to Allaah and they do it in obedience to Allaah. The phrase “and your families against a Fire” means, and teach your families to do acts of obedience to Allaah so that they may protect themselves from the Fire.
Tafseer al-Tabari, 18/165
First Ever American Muslim Mom Online Magazine Launched!
(Hamden, CT) July 17, 2009– AmericanMuslimMom.com is the first and only online magazine that offers free tips, tools, reviews, contests and resources for Muslim Moms living in America.
AmericanMuslimMom.com is an online magazine aimed for Muslim Moms living in America or American Muslim Moms living aboard. American Muslim Mom began as a family blog in 2005, and has blossomed to a repository of useful articles for Muslim Moms aimed to help them with all aspects of raising Mu’miniyn (true believers) in a non-Muslim country.
Mums, are you distressed over dinner?
What to cook: Distressed over dinner?
>> Plan your dinner a week in advance!
By planning out your weekly dinner, you can do all your shopping needs in one go!
>> Cook in bulk and freeze, freeze, freeze!
Freezing your food comes in very handy especially for those lazy days when you just cant be bothered cooking. It saves you time, energy + money (gas/electricity/water).
>> Go out with your family; be it once a week or once a month!
Get rid of routine,take your family out for a nice meal and enjoy not having to cook.
Get Your Kids to Drink Water!
Assalamualaikum,
We should all get into the habit of drinking water and that means, getting your kids drinking water at a very young age! I have seen many families, where they give sugary drinks to their kids but regret doing that now because their kids have grown to love sugary drinks and have ditched the ‘pure water’ which is meant to be very good for their health.
Pepsi, juice and all sugary drinks are not considered healthy drinking! Although, there is nothing wrong with minimum consumption of sugary drinks, if given on special occasion or as a treat.
Water is crucial to your family’s health and wellbeing. It makes up, on average, 60 percent of your body weight. Every system in your body depends on water.
Some benefits of drinking water are:
- Improve Your Energy
- Increase Your Mental and Physical Performance
- Remove Toxins & Waste Products from your body
- Keep Skin Healthy and Glowing
- Help You Lose Weight
- Reduce Headaches and Dizziness
- Allow for proper Digestion
- Help to keep you more Alkaline
Sometimes, people find drinking plain water is boring…”there is no taste”. Well, spice it up! You can always add some drops of lemon, orange or whatever fruit you like and InshaAllah once your kids get the hang of it, they probably don’t even need the extra taste anymore. And remember, make sure you keep a bottle with them at all times. It definitely comes in handy especially when they have been running around.
Wassalamualaikum.
Tips on Getting Your Child to Enjoy Salah
In a hadeeth narrated by Abdullah ibn Qart the Messenger of Allah (saws) said,
“The first act that the servant of Allah will be accountable for on the Day of Judgment will be salah. If it is good, then the rest of his acts will be good. And if it is evil, then the rest of his acts will be evil.” (Tabarani)
Furthermore, salah was the first act of worship that was made obligatory by Allah. Therefore, due to its extreme importance to the Believer, salah should be one of the first acts of worship that parents should teach their children.
Teaching your child about Allah in simple terms
A child can be taught about Allaah in a suitable manner, according to his level of understanding. He can be told that Allaah is One and has no partner. He can be told that He is the Creator of all things, so He is the Creator of the earth, the heavens, people, animals, trees, rivers, etc. The educator can make the most of some situations by asking the child, whilst walking through a garden or in the countryside, about Who made the water, rivers and things in the natural scenery around him, to draw his attention to the greatness of the Creator. The father, mother or educators in general may be with a child or group of children in a car on a journey or a trip at the time of sunset, when the sun disappears from sight gradually. All that the educator has to do at that point is to draw the attention of those who are with him to the power of Allaah displayed in that.