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?

Vacation pictures

Assalam alaikum & Peace to all

I am back... and refreshed but have had to go back to work...not easy after a vacation!
Alas I only have great memories now from being away... but I do have pictures as well...and I thought I would share some of the more memorable ones!
I had much time to think and contemplate things...and I am so overcome with joy that I could see this place. I sat there and was so thankful to God that these beautiful places were created!

The view from a small bridge - this was the ocean side

This is the other side of the bridge...kind of an amazing difference!


The amazing blue-green waters!

Sunset from the city

Sunset at the port


Towel art left in our room!

Beautiful flowers they left for us

Hotel lobby/outside area

Hotel lobby...very grand enterance

Yummy chocolate cake

More desserts

Beautiful sky ...mashallah

View of the beach

Sun was setting slowly

Through the palm trees

One of the many palm trees

Sky and palm trees!

Islamic reforms... oh no the R word!

Assalam aliakum & Peace to all

Ok, controversial and political (kind of ) post ahead. I came across an interesting video last night where a Saudi anthropologist talks about how Islam has to be 'reformed' (somewhat). At first (because of my prejudices and seeing past videos)when I saw the guy in the typical saudi clothing, I feared the worst and assumed that he is going to be very judgemental and flaming with rage - yeah I know I shouldn't assume anything! He starts out by saying: "Our educational institutions are very deficient in various aspects." Hmm, now that was totally unexpected! Aalya continues to watch with a sense of fascination of where this talk will lead to. "You are not meant to think, but to memorize and repeat by rote." (this was said about critical philosophical thoughts) I had my eyes glued to the screen and couldn't quite believe what I was hearing, this man was making such sense !! I have always disagreed with just 'memorizing' things without learning about them! He later goes on to talk about how things have to be re-interpreted for today's times and that the fundamentals of Islam are fine, it's just how we will interpret them that can and should be encouraged to change.

Watch the Video Here

I have always thought about these things, it never made sense to me to not interpret things for the here and now. Islam is a great religion and the basics are the basics which will never change, the 5 pillars will always be the 5 pillars! What I have a problem with is when people try to live life as it was 1400 years ago. We do not ride camels, nor do we trek around in the desert and set up camps, nor do we have to dress as they dressed then (should we choose to that is another matter all together) So why are some people clinging to that lifestyle, does it make people feel closer to Islam and Muslims, should it? (immitaion is the sincerest form of flattery comes to mind but really are we that in need to imitate people who lived 1400 years ago in a place very far away - well for those who live far away from the Middle East) As Muslims are we forbidden to 'move with the times' and use technology? Are we not allowed to have a phone, computer or electricity? As these all were not available at the time when Islam came into the world. Why does it seem that the moment the word 'reform' is uttered someone somewhere automatically hears the word 'bidah' - innovation! Oh no... the 'I' word!! Ahh, run for your lives, change is around the corner!! I mean seriously! If we did not innovate things we would still be riding around on camels, horses, and have no electricity. Ok, I do realize that 'bidah' is mostly in terms of religious innovations, as said by the Prophet (saw)
“Whoever innovates something in this matter of ours [i.e., Islam] that is not a part of it, will have it rejected.” ^{[1] [2]}

I know that lots of people take innovation in 'wordly' matters as something that should be avoided. Hmm, well there has to be a balance somewhere, somehow, right?
RIGHT! (Inshallah)

Now here comes Turkey and its movement to 'reform' Islam - sweeping statement that that is! But let's just examine exactly what these scholars want to do.

Since the 19th century, the demand for a re-evaluation of the hadith has become common among Muslim intellectuals. But it is Turkey's official religious authority, the Diyanet, which took the first authoritative step toward a hadith revision. Why? .... Turkey has a growing Muslim middle class - also described as "the Islamic bourgeoisie" - which is becoming modern in many ways, but which also wants to be loyal to its faith. Hence comes the demand for "modern Islam". In the past two decades, Turkey has seen the rise of popular modernist theologians who argue that "the Islam in the Qur'an" is much more rational and liberal than "the Islam in the tradition".

I like to think of these reforms as a step to look at the Quran again and have it reflect our lives of today, instead of bogging down Islam with `cultural`issues that never had any basis in Islam whatsoever!

Actually most Muslims don't like the term "reformation". Ali Bardakoğlu, the president of the Diyanet, has emphasised that "this is not a reform". The term sounds to Muslims as if it implies that Islam's divine sources are or have a problem, and that they need to be fixed by people. No Muslim worth his or her salt would say that. But a believer can well accept that there are problems in the "cultural baggage" of Islam - and that the time has come to deal with them. This is what the "Turkish Islamic reform" is all about. By revising some of the hadith that have been used to suppress women, and putting some of the others in their historical context, the theologians in Ankara are really taking a big step.

Keep reading here...

All I will say on this is that Inshallah people are doing this for the right reasons, and not for political manipulation. Looking for knowledge, gaining knowledge and spreading knowledge comes at a price and that price can be very high. You may land yourself in a pit but if you have the knowledge you will climb out of that pit and above all you will seal up the pit so that nobody else will fall into it!

Ramadan Diary - Day 1

(not the actual food I made but close to it!)


Assalam alaikum & Peace to all

Well so here it is Ramadan 2008 has started! I pray that all of our fasts are
accepted and that we will have the strength to continue with
these thirty days!
So, how was my first day? Well I can tell you that it was very difficult
and I had a massive headache right before breaking fast and for most
of the night afterwards.
Hubby and I had gone out earlier in the afternoon to a park to just walk
around and relax, we ended up being there for over two hours.
Got back home and I started to cook - yeah big surprise!
I made a veggie-bean soup, some small pastry type thing filled with
potatoes and cheese and the final piece was a whole roast chicken.
I also cut up some fruit for a fruit salad that we ate late in the night.
At around 7:15 I was really starting to 'suffer' with the headache but
I managed to finish the first Juz of the Quran -mashallah - every time
I started to read it my headache would feel a bit better.
Finally the time came to break our fast - which we did with dates and water.
I then served out the soup and we enjoyed the time together.
However after I ate the soup my stomach complained severely,
somehow the food was not sitting well with me and made it turn over
and over again, but thank God all the food stayed where it was
supposed to! So then after eating the soup we prayed Maghrib, which
was nice and continued to eat the rest of our dinner.
After eating for a bit we sat down and watched a bit of TV and before
we noticed it was time for Isha prayer, so we did that as well.
Before we knew it the time was already past 10:00 and we were feeling very
sleepy and tired. So I prepared our place setting for Sahur and went to sleep.
We woke up and had a light meal, of the pastry filled with potatoes and cheese,
boiled eggs, tomatoes, cucumbers and some more fruit and of course
lots of water!
So that takes me until today (day 2) I will Inshallah post how today goes!!


Ps. I had a comment from Houda that she was looking for a
Ramadan Timetable for Jacksonville, FL -
well I found this link - Inshallah it helps!

Timetable for Ramadan

Why am I inquisitive Muslimah?

Assalam alaikum & peace to all.

I was sitting here wondering what to write for my next blog and got to thinking
why did I name this blog "Inquisitive Muslimah"
Well I am a woman so that covers the second word but what about the first one?
Anyone who knows me, knows that I tend to ask a lot of questions and I tend to
push the limits and try to completely understand a topic or discussion.
So I thought what better way to describe myself!

The Quran states : 96 1-5

Read: In the name of thy Lord Who createth,
Createth man from a clot
Read: And thy Lord is the Most Bounteous,
Who teacheth by the pen,
Teacheth man that which he knew not.

I like this verses because it talks about teaching and learning.
I like that in Islam it is encouraged to ask questions and always reaffirm your faith!
Coming from a Christian/Catholic background we were always told to just
believe and do not EVER question your faith because if you do then
you are lacking faith and you are on the road to disbelief.
Hmm... wonder if they are scared that the truth will come out
if you start to question things? I can say that yes, once I started questioning,
I started doubting my faith! (So I suppose they are right wink-wink)
I must say that in Islam up until now every time I have questioned
something I have gotten a good answer for it.
Ok, admitedly it has not always been the answer I wanted to hear but
mashallah it has never left me thinking or doubting Islam!
I think that alone in my mind confirms that it is a 'true' religion!

So I keep on learning and questioning, I keep on being an Inquisitive Muslimah!

Dawah...only the person won't know it!??

Assalam alaikum & peace to all

I have a question. My mom is Catholic (she is practicing but in her own way) and of late she has become very 'devout', in the terms that she has gone back and is reading the bible a lot more. This makes me happy yet also makes me sad.
I tried to tell her about Islam (she does not know that I am Muslim -long story) and we've had some good discussions about it, but I know in her mind it's just not the 'right' religion. Sigh ....
So now I came up with an idea that I would print off for her (in her own language - she is good in English but I know that if I print it in her own language it will be more meaningful) some verses of Quran but not say it is from there, just tell her that it is some religious writings.
Ok, so is this totally and utterly wrong? Yes, it is a bit deceitful but I'm trying to show the writings in a positive way. I know she would never bother to look at the Quran if she knew it was that... so I thought I would give her the print out and let her read it and see what she thinks of it...and maybe one day I'll tell her its Quran?? Ugg maybe this is a bad idea. Let me know what you all think.

Thanks!

Muslim call to adopt Mecca time

Interesting article - anyone have any thoughts on it?

**Edited to include my thoughts **

When I first glanced at the title I was intrigued by it....thinking hmm maybe this is about achieving some unity in the Muslim community
( trying to unify Eid's so that we all start them at the same time,
or at least not have such heated debates about it ) but as I opened the article and started to read it, I found sadly that that was not what it was about. Nope, it is about GMT or should it be MMT (Mecca Mean Time - sorry couldn't help it)

I mean really, is this the only 'problem' of the Muslim Ummah (community), gee is there not poverty, injustice running rampant in many of the 'Muslim countries'?? (Ok, I realize that it is not only a problem with Muslims, but for the sake of argument, lets focus on Muslim communities)

Alhamduillah, (all praise is due to Allah) Mecca is the spiritual center for all Muslims, and as such we are told to turn towards there when praying. We are mandated to make a pilgrimage there when we are able to financially, so yes we can say as Muslims we consider Mecca the center of our spirituality. Why do we need to concern ourselves with how and where the world time is centered? I feel that this will only incite a bit more discord between Muslims and Non-muslims (as if there is not enough already). I think non-muslims will see this as yet another way muslims are looking to 'distance' themselves from the rest of the world. I certainly feel that way, I mean I have not looked into the history of where GMT came from, nor do I really wish to do so. I am basically happy to know what time it is where I live. Do I care where the center of 'time' should be or where it is right now? No, not really.

Sarcasm at its best...

You Have Your Sarcastic Moments

While you're not sarcastic at all times, you definitely have a cynical edge. In your opinion, not all people are annoying. Some are dead! And although you do have your genuine moments, you can't help getting your zingers in. Some people might be a little hurt by your sarcasm, but it's more likely they think you're hilarious.

How Sarcastic Are You?

Well in a nut shell I suppose that does describe me fairly well, although if you catch me on a bad day I will totally be a complete 'sarcastic witch' (wink wink)
I often wonder what makes all of us the way we are?? Is it from birth or is is from social surroundings? Hmm, I think maybe a bit of both because I know my mom can have a bit of a sarcastic streak! Ok before this gets too much like a psychology course, I want to ask anyone reading this ... why do you think people use sarcasm?
Personally I think I use it to just get my point across and try to make the person feel like,
'duh, don't you know that ' and why are you annoying me, type of idea. (shrug) Should probably work on not being so sarcastic, hubby hates it when I do that (blush) and he's right it's not a very appealing trait to have!