Attention All Muslim Converts!!!!!!!

Open Letters, Open Hearts
Personal Letters from Muslims to Family, Friends and Others
 
Working Title: Open Letters, Open Hearts
Narrative Author/Editor: Christine (Amina) Benlafquih
Publisher: An-Najm Publishers, London , UK
Deadline for Submissions: January 31, 2008 (see Guidelines below)
 
 
About the Book
 
The anthology-style Open Letters, Open Hearts will feature heartfelt letters written by Muslims who appeal to their family, friends and others to open their hearts and minds to the message of Islam.
 
Most of us have been touched and inspired by an emotional piece of writing. Something as simple as a greeting card or as lengthy as a novel can successfully evoke emotion in a reader. Whether raw and direct, or gentle and persuasive, the power of the written word can not be denied. 
 
Muslims worldwide are invited to use this power and compose open letters which address the people and unique circumstances in their own lives from an Islamic perspective.  Whether differences need to be solved, religious issues explained, or concern expressed about someone’s harmful life choices, a letter allows the writer to convey sincerity and present Islamic values and teachings in a positive, relevant light.
 
Although Muslims naturally wish for others to recognize the truth of Islam, one of the main objectives of Open Letter, Open Hearts is to appeal to the emotional ties that connect us to family, friends and humanity in general. It is hoped that people of all faiths will find common ground with Muslims through the personal stories and situations revealed in the letters. Inshaa’ Allah, this connection will help open the door to better understanding of Muslims and Islam’s true teachings. 
 
The Open Letters, Open Hearts project was born of the editor’s desire to meet her personal da’wah obligation and help her non-Muslim family better understand her decision to embrace Islam.  All Muslims have a religious duty to give da’wah (invite others to Islam through teaching or example of good actions).  However, many Muslims are uncomfortable doing so, either due to inhibition or because family and friends aren’t open to such discussion.
 
Da’wah is not only directed at non-Muslims. Born-Muslims often find themselves dealing with family and friends who either don’t practice the religion at all, or neglect certain aspects of it.
 
Submitting an open letter to the anthology – and inshaa`Allah directly to the person(s) to whom it is addressed – offers a positive step towards meeting our da’wah obligation.
 
 
Submission Guidelines
 
– Please limit your letter to 1200 words or less.
 
– Submissions must be in English.  Proofread your letter carefully for spelling and grammar. Poorly written submissions will not be considered.
 
– You may submit more than one Open Letter, but each letter must be submitted separately.
 
– Letters may be written to an individual or a group (i.e. an entire family, colleagues, neighbors, etc.).
 
– Although general content to promote understanding of Islam is acceptable, letters which address very unique, personal situations are most likely to be selected.  For example, a revert to Islam may feel the need to explain his reversion to an angry family member. A born Muslim might want to clarify to her mother why some of her “Islamic” cultural practices are actually not compatible with the true teachings of Islam. Another writer might address a friend’s alcohol or gambling addiction. 
 
– Open Letters of a political nature or letters which address a vast group of people (i.e. letters addressed to the West, all Americans, world leaders, etc.) will be considered only if the content and message will outlive today’s current events.
 
– Whatever the letter’s theme, the content must contain relevant and correct Islamic perspective or teaching. Passages from the Holy Qur’an and Ahadeeth should be referenced.
 
– Write from the heart. Letters with a strong emotional component are highly desired.  References to personal events and family history will help evoke memories and stir emotion in all readers.
 
– The tone of the letters should be kind, informative and non-judgmental. Hateful or inflammatory language will immediately disqualify a submission.
 
– Any topic is welcome, as long as the writer successfully relates it to Islam. Possible topics include:
 
– Culture versus religion
– Comparison of Christianity and Islam
– Explanation of conversion/reversio n
– Incompatibility of the Trinity with Islam
– Infinite Mercy of God
– Women in Islam
– Islamic appearance and dress
– Comparison of the Torah, the Bible, and the Qu’ran
– Current events and terrorism
– Tawheed and the belief in One God
– Islam’s views of Jesus and Maryam, peace be upon them
– Harmful lifestyle choices and practices
– Polygany
– Concept of submission to Allah
– Non-Muslim and Islamic holidays
– Rights of parents and children
– Tenets of Islam
– Commonalities and differences between Christianity and Islam
– Shirk and the association of others with Allah
 
 
How to Submit
 
Submissions must be made electronically by email to OpenLetters.OpenHearts@yahoo.com.  Please write “Submission” in the subject line.  
 
Include only one submission per email.
 
Use double spacing and select a 12 pt. Roman font (such as Times New Roman).
 
Save your document as a Word file (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf) and attach it to the email.  (Please do not copy and paste your submission into the body of the email.)
 
Include the following information on the first page of your submission.  Copy and paste the header directly into your document.
 
Your name
Nationality
Email address
City/State/Country of Residence
Introduction
 
The introduction should be a sentence or short paragraph which offers background to your letter. An example might be: I am an American Muslim convert of 14 years writing a letter to my brother, who is considering converting to Judaism.
 
 
Privacy and Anonymity
 
Your privacy and that of your family and friends is important. If your letter is selected, you will be asked what name you would like to be published under (real name, first name, kunya or pseudonym).  Names, localities, and other details which help identify the addressee(s) will be changed when needed to protect their privacy.
 
 
Payment
 
As this is a da’wah project to promote better understanding of Islam and Muslims, the publisher, editor and contributors will receive no monetary compensation. Writers of letters selected for publication will receive two copies of the printed anthology.
 
 
About the Narrative Author/Editor
 
Christine (Amina) Benlafquih is a freelance writer and the current publications officer of the Islamic Writers Alliance.  A former publications and public relations director, she accepted Islam in 1993. She lives in Morocco with her husband and six children.
 
 
Contact Information
 
If you need more information, please contact the editor at OpenLetters.OpenHearts@ yahoo.com

When Death Knocks On The Door…

It was early in the morning at four,
When death knocked upon a bedroom door, Who is there? The sleeping one cried.

I’m Malkul Mawt(the angel of death), let me inside.

 At once, the man began to shiver,
As one sweating in deadly fever, He shouted to his sleeping wife,
Don’t let him take away my life.

Please go away, O Angel of Death!
Leave me alone; I’m not ready yet.

My family on me depends,
Give me a chance, O please prepense!

The angel knocked again and again,
Friend! I’ll take your life without a pain,

Tis your soul Allah requires,
I come not with my own desire.

Bewildered, the man began to cry,
O Angel I’m so afraid to die,

I’ll give you gold and be your slave,
Don’t send me to the unlit grave.

Let me in, O Friend! The Angel said,
Open the door; get up from your bed,

If you do not allow me in,
I will walk through it, like a Jinn.

The man held a gun in his right hand,
Ready to defy the Angel’s stand.

I’ll point my gun, towards your head,
You dare come in; I’ll shoot you dead.

By now the Angel was in the room,
Saying, O Friend! Prepare for you doom.

Foolish man, Angels never die,
Put down your gun and do not sigh.

Why are you afraid! Tell me O man,
To die according to Allah’s plan?

Come smile at me, do not be grim,
Be Happy to return to Him.

O Angel! I bow my head in shame,
I had no time to take Allah’s Name.

From morning till dusk, I made my wealth, Not even caring for my health.

Allah’s command I never obeyed,
Nor five times a day I ever prayed.

A Ramadan came and a Ramadan went,
But no time had I to repent.

The Hajj was already FARD on me,
But I would not part with my money.

All charities I did ignore,
Taking usury more and more.

O Angel! I appeal to you,
Spare my life for a year or two.
The Laws of Quran I will obey,
I’ll begin SALAT this very day.
My Fast and Hajj, I will complete,
And keep away from self-conceit.
I will refrain from usury,
And give all my wealth to charity,
Wine and wenches I will detest,
Allah’s oneness I will attest.
We Angels do what Allah demands,
We cannot go against His commands.

Death is ordained for everyone,
Father, mother, daughter or son.

I’m afraid this moment is your last,
Now be reminded, of your past,

I do understand your fears,
But it is now too late for tears.

You lived in this world, two score and more, Never did you, your people
adore.

Your parents, you did not obey,
Hungry beggars, you turned away.

Your two ill-gotten, female offspring,
In nightclubs, for livelihood they sing.

Instead of making more Muslims,
You made your children non-Muslims.

You ignored the Mua’dhin Adhaan,
Nor did you read the Holy Quran.

Breaking promises all your life,
Backbiting friends, and causing strife.

From hoarded goods, great profits you made, And your poor workers, you
underpaid.

Horses and cards were your leisure,
Moneymaking was your pleasure.
You ate vitamins and grew more fat,
With the very sick, you never sat.
A pint of blood you never gave,
Which could a little baby save?
O Human, you have done enough wrong,
You bought good properties for a song.

When the farmers appealed to you,
You did not have mercy, tis true.

Paradise for you? I cannot tell,
Undoubtedly you will dwell in hell.

There is no time for you to repent,
I’ll take your soul for which I am sent.

The ending however, is very sad,
Eventually the man became mad

With a cry, he jumped out of bed,
And suddenly, he fell down dead.

O Reader! Take moral from here,
You never know, your end may be near

Change your living and make amends
For heaven, on your deeds depends.

If this poem inspires you,
It can help someone too.

*This was emailed to me. Unfortunatley, I do not know the author. However, I felt it is a beautiful reminder for us all during Ramadan.*

A Ramadan Guide for Single Muslims

A Ramadan Guide for Single Muslims

By Sound Vision Staff writer

For most Muslims, Ramadan is family time. You get up together, eat Iftar together, pray together, etc. But what if you don’t have your family near you?

Waking up in a lonely apartment and eating food you’ve sometimes burnt in an effort to catch Suhur in time are some of the realities of being a single Muslim in Ramadan. But there are ways to make Ramadan special when you’re on your own. Here are a couple of ideas. Please feel free to post yours at the bottom of this article.

1. Establish a Suhur telephone tree

Get a couple of friends together and establish a telephone tree to wake each other up for Suhur. Establish a time to call and a schedule of who will call whom. Make it a little exciting by adding some funny phrases every week that will really wake everyone up (e.g. “ASSALAMU ALIAKUM” This is the Suhur Sister/Bellowing Brother calling. Rise and shine y’all for some morning grubÓ).

2. Invite people over for Iftar

Even if even you couldn’t eat the food  the last time you cooked, invite people over for Iftar. Make it a potluck, order pizza or if you can afford it, get it catered. The food isn’t the thing. The blessing is in the company, and you’ll be rewarded for feeding everyone. Make sure to especially invite those who are away from their families.

3. Attend prayers at the local mosque/MSA

Even if the Imam’s recitation isn’t the best and the behavior of other Muslims can be more than annoying, try to attend Tarawih prayers organized by your local mosque or your Muslim Students’ Association (MSA). While praying alone in peace and quiet is great, praying shoulder-to-shoulder with other Muslims with whom you have nothing in common except your faith is a unique and uplifting experience.

4. Get involved in community programs

It may seem hard to squeeze in time for anything else in Ramadan, but try, at least once, to do some volunteer work. Cook a meal for those who attend the MSA Iftar; volunteer for a day at a soup kitchen; help make or distribute flyers for a Ramadan program; make Ramadan Mubarak loot bags of candy for the kids at your local mosque. The possibilities are numerous. The point is to give to others so you can get back what’s priceless.

5. Keep the Quran playing when you are alone at home

It’s often tempting to keep the TV or radio on when we’re alone at home to avoid the silence. This Ramadan, find a CD or cassette of a Quran reciter you like and play it during those moments when you want to fill your place with some sound. Choose selections you’d like to memorize, like the 30^th part of the Quran.

6. Eat properly- don’t resort to burnt toast and egg

Not eating Suhur and Iftar properly will make you crabby, irritated and sick (as opposed to healthy, wealthy and wise). Establish a personal Ramadan meal plan. Choose healthy, easy-to-make recipes so you’re not scrambling at the last minute for something to eat.

7. Keep in touch with family and friends back home

Send Ramadan e-cards, thoughts, reflections, questions, etc. via phone or email to family and friends. Keep in contact at least once a week and share three Ramadan-related things you’ve done in the last ten days of Ramadan.

8. Take care of others

Know a new person at the school/office? Is a friend who lives nearby having problems with their spouse? Or is someone you know having money problems? This Ramadan, reach out with an attentive ear, a generous hand, and most importantly, an open heart to others. Don’t let these small opportunities for gaining blessings slip you by.
9. Decorate your crib

Add some festivity to your spare surroundings by dressing the place up with a Ramadan banner, balloons and streamers. Even after a rough day, coming home to a decorated home is a boost to the spirits.

10. Pick and pursue Ramadan goals

Choose at least three goals to pursue this Ramadan. Whether it’s curbing a bad habit or starting a good one, doing this will help you focus and work harder this month to change for the better. It takes 21 days to establish a good habit. With Ramadan, we’ve got 30. Why not make the best of it by picking up the good? 

© Sound Vision Foundation  website http://www.SoundVision.com

The Muslim Man’s Dress Code

A muslim man and his wife are walking down a crowded street in Miami. It’s hot and humid. The woman is covered showing nothing but her hands and face and the man……well, many times is in jeans and a t-shirt or perhaps shorts and a t-shirt. Now, I’m not screaming “haram!” at these men. Of course not, their dress code isn’t the same as a Muslim woman’s dress code. However, this image usually fuels the arguments of many Non Muslims that women are oppressed and have too many rules attached to their dress. Just yesterday a comment was made to me “Well, that’s fine, as long as he covers his head too.” I told her “Yes, rest assured my husband is dressed in long sleeves, pants, and has his head covered too. We’re happily suffering through the heat together. Solidarity!” So, we had a good chuckle and went along our ways. I’m never surprised when I get these comments. Though, In fact, If you take a look at Muslim countries you will see many men with their heads covered. In fact many men in those countries dress in thobes, long sleeves, etc.

Some people may do a double take when they learn that Muslim men have a dress code as well. Some men take their dress code lightly. Some think the women’s code is more important and thus spend their lives lecturing various women about what to wear and what not to wear. These men need to seriously understand that disobedience to Allah is disobedience to Allah whether you are a man or a woman.

The following are some rules related to men’s dress in Islam as well as some pictures of traditional islamic clothing for men. Some of these apply to women as well (which I will mark with an *).

Trim the moustache and save the beard. [Al-Bukhari and
Muslim] It is haraam (forbidden)for women to imitate men and men to imitate women in the way they dress, because the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) cursed the men who imitate women and the women who imitate men.” Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5546.

*It is Sunnah to pay attention to keeping one’s clothes clean, without feeling arrogant or exaggerating about that.

It was narrated from ‘Abd-Allaah ibn Mas’ood that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “No one will enter Paradise in whose heart is a mustard-seed of arrogance.” A man said: “What if a man likes his clothes to look nice and his shoes to look nice?” He said: “Allaah is Beautiful and loves beauty; arrogance means rejecting the truth and looking down on people.”

Narrated by Muslim, 91.

It is haraam for the Muslim man to let any garment he wears hang down beneath his ankles (an action known as isbaal); the limit for any garment is the ankles.

It was narrated from Abu Hurayrah (may Allaah be pleased with him) that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said; “Whatever of the lower garment is beneath the ankles is in the Fire.”

Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 5450.

It was narrated from Abu Dharr that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “There are three to whom Allaah will not speak on the Day of Resurrection and will not look at them or praise them, and theirs will be a painful torment.” The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) repeated it three times. Abu Dharr said: “May they be doomed and lost; who are they, O Messenger of Allaah?” He said: “The one who lets his garment hang beneath his ankles, the one who reminds others of favours he has done, and the one who sells his product by means of false oaths.”

Narrated by Muslim, 106.

Abu Dawood (3140) and Ibn Maajah (1460) narrated that ‘Ali (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Do not show your thigh, and do not look at the thigh of anyone, living or dead.” (The majority of fuqaha’ are of the view that these ahaadeeth should be followed and they stated that a man’s ‘awrah is from the navel to the knee. See al-Mughni, 2/284 )-Some are of the opinion this is not authentic as there is another hadith stating the Prophet was riding a mule and his thigh was showing. However, most scholars say it is authentic and a man should cover navel to knee.

It was narrated by Ahmad and al-Nasaa’i, and by al-Tirmidhi who classed it as saheeh, and by Abu Dawood, and by al-Haakim who classed it as saheeh, and by al-Tabaraani, and classed as saheeh by Ibn Hazm, from Abu Moosa al-Ash’ari (may Allaah be pleased with him), that the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said:

“Gold and silk have been permitted for the females of my ummah, and forbidden for the males.”

Items died with saffron dye Narrated Anas: The Prophet forbade men to use saffron. (Book #72, Hadith #737)

Lower the gaze and guard the private parts from illegal sexual acts.*

Dress modestly*

Oh, and one of the most important rules and perhaps one of the most overlooked (after lowering the gaze): Be distinct and do not resemble the unbelievers. *

How many men actually follow these rules? How many dismiss them and think they aren’t that important? Often, the very same ones who dismiss their own dress codes are the most outspoken on the dress of women in Islam.  Brothers need to wake up and take care to make sure they are dressed correctly. It is just as important that brothers follow the rulings as women. Also, men need to know, just because a woman is dressed provocitavely, letting it all hang out so to speak doesn’t give you the right to stare at her. The rules of lowering the gaze  applies whether the woman is wearing a burqa or a bikini. Most brothers need to take care and remember that.  Dressing properly is just as much inner as outer. Like a woman’s hijab it encompasses modesty, inner pride, a desire to please your creator and follow the sunnah, lowering the gaze and protecting yourselves from such sins as illegal intercourse, lying, backbiting, and cursing. It includes being kind, just, fair, humble. It includes being kind to your wives as the Prophet(saw) said: The best of you are the one’s who is best to their wives.   In general having the character that the Prophet (saw) and his righteous companions exhibited. We like to talk about Muslim women following the examples of other pious Muslim women. Well, men should follow the examples of the Prophet and his companions. Brothers today should reflect on their kindness, compassion, fondness with their wives, integrity and implement these characteristics in their own lives. In a family we all play a part. Everyone is a shepherd (leader) over their own station. We all work together. The Muslim man needs to pull his weight as he asks the Muslim woman to do so as well. This way things will run smoothly and the family unit will be a source of peace and comfort to the heart, insh’Allah. The children will grow up with the same values and ultimatley the entire ummah will benefit.

I want to give a shout out to the brothers who do follow the dressing guidelines and are modest. Those who do implement the characteristics of a good muslim man. Because they are rare indeed. Alhamdullilah for the brothers who do dress appropriately and lower their gazes. May Allah reward you all and bless you in this life and the Hereafter. ameen. And as the Prophet (saw) said: Glad tidings to the strangers!

If I have left out any of the dress requirements for men please feel free to add.

 

Some Examples of traditional clothing for Muslim men: