Eid Decorations 2015

Asalam Alaikum sisters,

Every year I try to make Eid Spectacular. Every year I fail. As I make my way to the masjid prayer a heavy feeling in my heart weighs down what should be light filled, bright and the most happiest moments of the year. 

Every year I expect to have at least the following:

The house decorated according to a theme - top to bottom

A gift table set up

A party table full of table decor matching the wall decorations 

A perfect cupcake stand with equally perfect cupcakes

Party bags set for my own kids and kids who visit

A piñata 

A 4 tiered Eid Cake that compensates for 4 birthdays we do not celebrate to honour the Sunnah

I read too many blogs and see the amazing efforts mums from all over the world make for Eid. 

In my critical mind I was a terrible mother. Everyone could everyone else manage to do so much more than what is on my list. Why couldn't I do it? 

Not meeting my expectations for sixth year in a row I was so upset on Eid Al Fitr. I ruined it for everyone with my sad face. 

Then I realised something - they weren't sad because the house was plain and cupcake less. They were sad because of my face. 

Through the decorations I wanted Eid to be an amazing day for my kids. And all an amazing Eid needed was a good faced mum. That is all. A happy mum with a smile and good spirits. 

From my childhood I remember blurry snippets of the henna designs, gifts and streamers. I don't remember how exactly the house was decorated nor what flavor the cakes were.

What I do remember is my mum's radiant face being the first thing I saw when pulling the curtains wide to welcome the first rays of the Eid morning. I remember her pleasure at seeing at us dressed and ready and her laughter when we went to greet neighbours and friends.

So this Eid Al Adha, I decided just to be happy.

I bought only a few things for Eid and subhanallah the simplicity of things just made eveything so much more beautiful. Anything that reduces stress is a beautiful thing.

I picked up these banners at an AliGator Book Fair:

And all of these items from one shelf at Coles in under 30 seconds (world record for Eid Shopping?). 

And that's it! I put up the banners, the bunting and the balloons.

Done! :)

I made no plans whatsoever. Wherever the kids wanted to go, we went. Whatever they wanted to eat, we bought. Whoever they wished to see, we invited. 

Finished. Best Eid Ever. 

Alhamdulilah!😃

To top things off, I read an excellent article at Ruqayya's Bookshelf which completely did away with my guilt afterward, please read here - http://www.ruqayasbookshelf.com/why-i-didnt-bake-or-decorate-my-house-for-eid-silencing-our-harshest-critic/

Umm Musk :)

Speaking about Niqab without Knowledge

The Danger of Speaking Without Knowledge

Asalam alaikum wr wb

Many times I hear people speaking about Niqab and it's deeply concerning. It gets me quite worried that Fiqh rulings are thrown out so easily - on the street, in the shops, at juice bars. This is fard, this is sunnah, that is haram. 

No. It's a big thing to make these rulings. We can't just give them out.

We don't give out medical advice if we are not doctors. It may end up hurting someone. We are scared to speak in worldly matters on things we are not experts in, yet when it comes to Islam some people take on the role of the Faqi as if it is child's play. 

A faqi is an expert in rulings of Islam. They learn this by studying the Quran, Hadith and Islamic Jurisprudence for many, many years. After studying at a level of scrutiny higher than universities and taking very harsh exams and pretty much memorising hundreds of books off by heart.

When people tell me Niqab is not fard and that I shouldn't wear it, I don't worry about what they say but rather I get so worried by the way they say it...so casually, like tossing an empty drink can on the road.

A muslim shouldn't be littering the roads and we shouldn't be littering the dunya with our opinions unless we have a sound backup of knowledge with Quran, Hadith and evidence from the Sahaba (ra).

Subhanallah we think that knowledge is looking up fiqh questions on Islamqa (great website by the way for all your Fiqh questions). That is good, but not enough to qualify us to hand out rulings. 

To learn the terminologies of beginning to study takes about a year itself! There's a whole study of it for Hadith, like the Tafe course Medical Terminologies, there's a course in Islamic study called Hadith Terminologies! 

Here is a hadith on this topic from the Book of Ibn Majah: Sunan Ibn Majah

Hadith no: 572  
Narrated / Authority of: Ata bin Abu Rabah
said: “I heard Ibn ‘Abbas saying that a man was injured in the head at the time of the Messenger of Allah (saw), then he had a wet dream. He was told to have a bath, so he took the bath, became rigid and stiff, and died. News of that reached the Messenger of Allah (saw) and he said: “They have killed him, may Allah kill them! Is not the sure for a lack of knowledge to ask questions?’” ‘Ata’ said: “We heard that the Messenger of Allah (saw) said: ‘If only he had washed his body and left his head alone where the wound was.’” (Sahih)



Subhanallah sisters our deen is not child's play. This goes for both sides. We can't say Niqab is Fard without knowledge and can't say Niqab is it Sunnah without knowledge.

(By the way Muhammad (saw) with the above hadith has asked for a special deal with Allah that if he curses on of his companions, it becomes a mercy for that person on the Day of Judgement. So the person he is reffered to by saying "May Allah kill them" - is actually going to be safe and nothing bad will happen to them because the Prophet (alayhis salam) is a person too and can say things out of intense emotion). The point however of not speaking without knowledge is still illustrated here.  

If we have love and sincerity in our hearts and want the best for our sisters then we need to guide them in ways that will be beneficial regardless of our opinions. The most beneficial way is to lead the sisters to a book or to a sheikh who has knowledge.


I pray that Allah guides us to the right path. That we have love for each other and can advise each other with kindness and goodwill. Ameen.

Umm Musk :)

Sorting and Organising Toys

Asalam alaikum,

Earlier this year I had a nasty case of coughing for well over 3 weeks which left my ribs and back in a battered state, despite physiotheraphy it was a very difficult struggle. 

Alhamdulilah for recovering and duas for other sisters who are still suffering from this epidemic which seems to have crossed all over Sydney. I was buying Internet and the Phillipines call centre worker seemed to be suffering from it too, wonder how it got to there subhanallah. I think it is whooping cough. 

I needed to find a solution so that I didn't need to be picking up toys from all over the house. Littlest munchkin was 11 months then and all the toys grew legs. 

Any requests for help from the other children were met with so many little voices whinging, with mysterious little lungs having coughing attacks right at that very moment. 

I know this happens in every house. But I wasn't to be a statistic. 

All the toys are now in the garage. In a big plastic box. Next to the red back spiders. *Hmph*.

Here is a picture of our little poisonous toy guards. 

So now I have (and will inshallah since there actually spiders there today, and I'm arachnophobic myself) organise the toys into the following categories and only two boxes can come out at one time (inshallah):

Plastic blocks

Wooden blocks

Tea Sets

Beauty/Dress Up toys

Animals figures

Cars

Indoor sports 

Fiddly toys (yoyos, spinning toys)

Toolbox toys

The boxes I am using to sort the toys were marketed as shoeboxes found at the Reject Shop at $10 for three. I really liked these boxes because their size was great for storage, they are transparent and look neat when stacked. I have put my children's baby memorabilia in others I bought too. 

Take care sisters,

Do share with me how you store your children's toys.

Umm Musk

Moving to my new house + sorting allergy issues

Asalam Alaikum sisters, 

As I write I stare at this monster :)

Stare with me as I go through my allergy fighting strategy with you. In my new house inshallah I am taking no chances with bugs. 

With property so difficult to find in Sydney already, twice I have had to evacuate houses because of dust mites. Dust comes with free dust mites but when they get inside our linen, upholstery and clothes that's when it becomes a problem. The problem is in their waste, their feaces are what sets off itchy eyes, runny noses and scratchy throats. 

Brothers from the masjid have hooked us with a carpet cleaning brother from the masjid. Another brother is a professional cleaner who will inshallah take care of fly screens, nooks and corners. I'm on general scrub duty, scrubbing and cleaning anything and everything and hubby is washing almost a dozen loads of laundry - we are washing everything from blankets, curtains, mats, tea towels, decor, soft toys to clothes because dust mites love fabric. 

I am also keeping wardrobes airy, throwing away as many clothes, giving them in charity too at Auburn, Masjid Al Noor has a bin apparently. More details as I find them inshallah. 

These hanging wardrobe organizers are from Target. I prefer chest drawers but I want to let as much sun and breeze onto the clothes as possible. 

And eucalyptus is a cure for dust mite infestation. So I have these sprays all over my houses. Any other eucalyptus solution can be added to sheets and clothes in the wash to kill the bugs out. 

I pray that sisters find this post beneficial. Do share your allergy fighting tips with me too.

Umm musk :)

ICO Network Arabic Textbooks and Islamic Studies Textbooks

Asalam alaikum

I am really happy to have found the ICO Network website. Inshallah you will find this a really useful website to aid your child's journey in learning Islamic Studies and Arabic Studies.

The materials published by ICO are of the highest quality. They have demonstrated excellence in their endeavour to deliver high standard, engaging books and textbooks that aim to teach children Islam and Arabic.

My daughter's islamic school uses these text books as part of its curriculum for Islamic and Arabic Studies. I'm sure those mothers who are homeschooling have been searching for a professional set of textbooks for their children. These mothers as well as those whose children are unable to access an islamic school would be very interested in these texts. 

I definately recommend this publisher's works. I like the way the same characters are used throughout the curriculum, it is comforting for children to see Lulu, Yara, Wassim and Shadi crop up in different books and settings. Children find the lively drawings, colours and layout of the pages very engaging. 

The use of creative graphic design and fonts are also aesthetically pleasing. There has been a great deal of child psychology and teaching studies that have gone on in the production of these materials. 

One of the major, very major problems with the texts however is that the text is completely in Arabic. From the title to the end notes. So for those ajami (non-arabic) mums and teachers these books present a hurdle that needs to be overcome. For those who can afford a tutor or an arabic friend to help out with the translation then these books are very beneficial. For those who can not then the books still provide a great of help, especially for writing and recognition of letters and word formation. What the teacher would do at my daughter's school would be to print out a list of instructions with page numbers and fill out a table with translations for that particular unit of the week. 

There is also another website called the First Education website which is listed with the ICO Network's website but I though I'd share it here again. This website is the distributor in the UK. Though I haven't used it I'm sure inshallah it will work for Australia. 

ICO Network website: http://iconetwork.com/

First Education website: http://first-education.co.uk/


I pray that this post is beneficial to sisters and brothers

Asalam alaikum

Umm Musk 

Jan 2015 {Diary} New Islamic College + Moving Houses + New School Year

Asalamu alaikum,

The new year has officially started. I am thinking to start a diary style writing segment for sharing little things and memoirs, rather than full proper articles. Inshallah I can cope up with this sort of writing. I love to write on this blog but just can't seem to squeeze out the time with my babies getting older very fast.

I am currently shifting to Sydney. A beautiful sister in the countryside has kept all my things as I try to hunt down a place here which shows you the love and sisterhood we had as muslim sisters in the countryside. I am missing that with tears and sobs. We had some emotionally memorable farewells as I left that I don't think I can ever write up.

Sydney however is great for all the resources available that weren't in the countryside. We didn't have any learning centres or active masajid where knowledge could be sought. There are islamic bookstores here, halal chicken, halal beef and hijab stores. You just don't know the value of these things until they are not available. Indian stores are also a blessing. In the country we had one. For anyone who knows how indian shops rip you off, imagine a store with no competition for miles. Subhanallah.

I am mostly so glad to be here in Sydney as a new Islamic and Quran Centre has just been inaugrated. I missed out on places for my daughter but inshallah they will try to fit us somewhere. I have signed up to a few classes with the mercy of Allah and the first class was simply breathtaking. It is located in a multiculural business hub in a dingy, busy, noisy parking less cbd. But that centre with its tiny rooms filled with lamps of knowledge just illuminates everything around it with beauty.

Inshallah we are planning to buy a house rather than rent. Are alarm bells going off in the minds of our practising sisters? Don't worry inshallah I am aware of the ahkam of riba. I am not purchasing a house on riba. I will inshallah be purchasing it through a co-op. If anyone is aware of Sheikh Imran Hossein's lectures in Sydney in 2008, they will be familiar with the system he explains as the "only halal way" to buy a house, the one he mentions he says is only found in San Francisco. Well alhamdulilah bi idnillah we found a system similar here in New South Wales. I will ofcourse be sharing the details soon on this blog. Inshallah.

The new school year has begun and my daughter is continuing at her Islamic School. We have a very very lovely, soft spoken teacher who just smiles so nicely at pick up time. We have a new and very much improved arabic studies program. The islamic studies program is smoothly perfect as always run by another lovely sister with a very big smile. A few of my friend's children have also started school and it's nice to have that community feeling, inshallah another thing I can write about soon.

This was supposed to be a short diary note but khair I hope sisters enjoyed reading it as much I do sharing.


May Allah bless you and you family where ever in the world you are. May allah keep you surrounded with the warmth of knowledge and sisterhood ameen.

Umm Musk

Arabic Dot Tracing Wipe Off Workbook

Asalam alaikum,

I have had a bit of trouble finding Arabic writing materials for my preschool and kindergarten children. I took the long exhausting trek ( :) ) and went down to Sana Gifts in Lakemba (I love Lakemba) and alhamdulilah hidden somewhere in the back of the store I found a small shelf of arabic writing books. I wanted something with full colour, good paper, and high quality images. I wanted it also to be cost effective. Alhamdulilah I found it all.

The main thing I was searching for was dot tracing. I could not find Arabic letter tracing anywhere. No where. I would have taken anything in any quality.

Alhumdulilah though I didn't need to compromise. I found this tracing book by Paradise Publishers at Sana Gifts in Lakemba, under $10. It ticked all my boxes with bright colours, cute pictures and best of all tracable letters on plastic erasable pages so I can use them over and over for all four children. Inshallah.

May Allah reward the creators for putting their time and effort into this book. Ameen.

The book is called Al-huruf and comes in varying levels, the next levels take to joining letters and writing full words. All in dot tracing. 

The materials I find and share are not paid advertisements. These are gems I myself have found beneficial alhamdulilah and am sharing with my lovely sisters.

Asalamalaikum

Umm Musk