Strangers striving for Allah

Assalam alaikum & Peace to all

Come and join this new forum for Sisters (only) inshallah
it will be 'open' to read for 1 week and then it will become a private
group. I am looking forward to having some good chats inshallah!
Its all about sisters helping out sisters, exchanging information,
laughs, struggles. Let's make online less strange and come together!

You are not qualified to talk about Islam

Assalam alaikum & Peace to all

I came across this article and I think its worth the effort to read it,
I'll post 'snipits' of it here though!

"You are not qualified to talk about Islam". How many times have I heard and read that same line, again and again? And more often than not, the same sentence is uttered or written by precisely the sort of self-trained autodidact whose own knowledge of Islam came from whatever he or she read on the internet or some cassette he bought at the local market.

This is the point that is often lost in the over-heated debates that take place between Muslim progressives and the more conservative Ulama in our midst. Whenever there is an attempt to question, debate, reform or develop the normative religio-cultural praxis of Muslims anywhere in the world, we often see the same reaction from conservative Ulama who will never accept that those who didn't go to the same schools as they did have the right to speak on matters of religious praxis.

If, for instance, a Muslim feminist were to abide by the rules set by some conservative male Ulama, they would be forced to conform to all the standards set by men: They would have to start from the beginning, go to the same schools as the ulama did, read the same books, dress and behave the same way, etc. But in the end, they would still be faced with yet another barrier to their participation into the discursive domain: "No, you are not qualified to speak on Islam. Why? Because you are a woman of course!"

Muslim women are more intellectually emancipated and equipped than ever before. Rather than silencing the voices of Muslim women who are trying to understand and make relevant Islam for the age we live in, the conservatives among us should learn to listen to the critical and often constructive comments of others instead. If Islam is indeed a universal religion, then it has to be open for discussion for all. If Islam is indeed for everyone, then everyone has the right to have a say in it.

Read the whole article
http://www.islamicity.com/articles/Articles.asp?ref=IC0906-3886

I think it is important not to fall into the cultural aspects of Islam
and unfortunately so many people do! I look forward to a day when
Islam is taught from a non-cultural perspective and all kinds of
cultures are accepted to be as Muslims!

First pregnancy related purchase

Assalam alaikum & Peace to all


Just thought I would share my first pregnancy purchase mashallah.
http://www.ingridandisabel.com/bellaband.html

It's a band that goes around your tummy so you can still wear your
regular pants (unbuttoned) and not have them fall down you have
a bumpy appearance. I actually will inshallah get a lot of use out of this
as my back is always cold and somehow the longest of tops will slide up and
my back will be exposed - this always happens in the car and I hate it!

So now I will be able to wear some of my clothes for much longer
than I though I would have....because I do feel my mid-section growing!

I am now 10 weeks alhamduillah! I have another ultra-sound at
12 weeks inshallah all will be well - please keep 'us' in your dua's.

If it looks like a Mosque...

Assalam alaikum & Peace to all

Tonight hubby and I and another couple are going to a Turkish
eating place/restaurant. I am not looking forward to it too
much only because the place is inside a Mosque.

Now me being a revert and all sometimes I will carry my
"Catholic baggage" with me. So because of that I have a problem with putting
'money making' things inside a place of worship.
I kind of go back to the story in the bible of where Jesus tore up
the market place because they were selling stuff outside the temple
and on a Sabbath (I think). Basically don't be making a profit where
people come to worship. I like that idea so the first time I saw a
restaurant under a Mosque I was more than surprised. It was in
Turkey, that a big beautiful Mosque had a restaurant under it and to the
side, the place was beautifully decorated and all but somehow it just
didn't sit right with me.
We went exploring around the building a bit and went
inside the restaurant and there was a corridor, so of course I wanted to
see what was there. Well as we kept walking there was a clothing store and
a food store. Oh my... what next?? Luckily there was nothing more to it.
Ok, it wasn't really under the Mosque but more towards the right of it and
down a level or two. But still I felt like it was wrong, somehow?
I tried to reassure myself that this was yet another case of, my "Catholic
Baggae" inter-fearing with Muslim beliefs. So I asked hubby if this was 'ok'
and something 'normal', he said yeah they do it a lot in Turkey.

Ok, but that still didn't answer my question, is it allowed or encouraged to do so?
I found this online by accident actually.
http://www.daruliftaa.com/question.asp?txt_QuestionID=q-20125779
(ok so this question relates mostly to building of a 'rental apartment' but
there were some parts that answered my question)

Based on this fact, the Hanafi Fuqaha state that once a Mosque is built,
it will not be permitted to build anything else on top of the Mosque or below it.
It will not be permitted, for example, to build shops, a library, a house,
rooms for resting, toilets and other such things above or below the Mosque.
"If a basement was made under the Mosque for a purpose that is
beneficial for the Mosque itself, then this is permitted, as is the case
with the Masjid of al-Quds. However, if the basement or vault is made
for the benefit of other than the Mosque or a house was made on top of
the Mosque….. then the Mosque will not remain.”
Therefore, it would be permitted, for example, to build below the Mosque
the ablution area for the usage of those attending prayers, a library,
shops that are given on rent with the revenue returning to the Mosque and
other such facilities. Similarly, it will be permitted, for example, to build a house
or rooms on top of the Mosque for the Imam, as that is in the interests of
the Mosque (provided the house does not come into the personal
ownership of the Imam). Similarly, it will be permitted to make rooms
that are rented out with the rental income returning to the Mosque.
However, what will not be allowed is to have someone build his own
personal house above the Mosque or someone have his own personal
shop below the Mosque, etc

.

So technically it is allowed as long as the profits go to the Mosque.
Hmm interesting yet again my baggage has bogged me down, so to speak.
I can also understand that we live in a world that you need money to survive
and the governments don't really give any money to Mosques (I'm not
certain but I am fairly sure they would not) so they need to have money
in order to keep the place in order, etc. So in that way it is a very good thing.

As well maybe it is a good thing to have other things inside or around
the Mosque as it will create a more community feel for it?
Hmm don't know it will take time to digest all this
(haha yeah I know funny as I am going to a eating place!)

The funny thing is that I saw an Orthodox church that had a pharmacy
attached to it - here in Toronto! Go figure?

Your thoughts?