Being a stay-at-home dad was one the best experiences of my life, teaching me wonders about taking care of my family. But for some reason, I struggled to find acceptance in the Muslim community for it. How can we move toward a prophetic way of acceptance in our community?
“Ya Allah! Please, please, please, don’t let us miss ‘Arafah and allow us to make it in time today.†With time running out before Maghrib, and chances of a bus arriving for our tent getting slimmer by the minute, it seems like the worst thing that could happen was destined for us: having our Hajj not count at all. How did we get into this situation? Did we make it to ‘Arafah? Did our Hajj count?
I read a tweet from Wisam Sharieff the other day, on how he tried to spread awareness of Ramadan to non-Muslims by way of handing out treats.
This inspired me to do something like this on my own, so I consulted my wife: “I want to take something to work tomorrow. Do you think I should make brownies?†I asked her, before leaving for tarÄwīḥ night prayers on the first evening of Ramadan. “We could. But, how about a cake?â€
Mina, ‘Arafah, Muzdalifah, Jamarat. People who come back from Hajj often mention all these places that you know very little about or have never heard of, making the experience even more of a mystery to you. To give you a better understanding of Hajj altogether, here’s a look at those major places and what they mean for a pilgrim.
Your whole life as a Muslim you’ve been praying towards it in one direction. But that’s all it’s been, a direction. Imagine you’re praying in front of the very thing that you’ve been facing towards your whole life. It’s an entirely different experience, especially when it’s right in front of you.
When people you know come back from Hajj, you notice them talking about how much they “miss” Hajj and how they can’t wait to go back. There are many possibilities for what exactly each person misses from their journey, but what’s common between them is the reason why they would say that and feel that way.
When you come back from hajj, everyone asks, “How was it?” Only, you can’t really answer the question. It’s an unexplainable wonder, and everyone reading this that has gone will definitely agree. Yet, here I am trying to recap hajj in blog post form. Why am I going to even try?
A friend of mine direct messaged me on Twitter saying, “Mubarak bro! Radio Islam is doing a show on Hajj today and I would like you to be a part of it,” after seeing an update I posted about how I was just a week from embarking on the journey to Hajj. Excited and up for the offer to be on the local radio show based in Chicago, IL, I got in touch with the program, set up the time for an interview and went at it.
Right after this speech ended, every high schooler I came across was raving not only about how good it was, but even saying it was the best speech of the conference, only halfway through the entire program. What made this speech so good for such a critical crowd?
When Muslims seek the Night of Power (
Lailat Al-Qadr) during the last ten nights of Ramaá¸Än, they often find themselves wondering what the best act of worship is to perform on such a blessed night. Is it praying
á¹£alÄh? Is it reciting the Qur’Än?
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