Salam,

New blog. http://ifearone.blogspot.com

keep it halal yo.

Salam,
Here are some other recommended reads among those I have read or am currently reading:

The Teahouse Fire- Ellis Avery
Extremely loud and Incredibly close- Foer
The White man's Burden-William Stanley
Five people you meet in heaven- Mitch Albom
Things fall apart- Chinua Achebe

keep it halal.

Salam,
Below is a very necessary read.
The Pious Pretender

"Take off the clothing of this world, and put on the clothing of the hereafter. Divest yourself of your power, your strength and your very existence [wujud], and throw yourself down before the Lord of Truth (Almighty and Glorious is He) without power, without strength, without attachment to material means [sabab], and without idolatrous worship of any created thing. Then, if you do this, you will see His gracious favors all around you. His mercy will come to join you, and His blessing and benefit will clothe you and enfold you in their embrace. Flee to Him. Dedicate yourself wholly to Him, naked, with no you and no one other than you."

Salam,

I haven't felt this happy in so long. Alhamdulilah. After maghrib prayer and some awesome arab food at the masjid today (I believe the couscous was from Jannah) , I was speaking to a friend of mine who mashaAllah, has two of hte most adorable sons. She was telling me about how Muslim reverts are often the most consciencious of their islamic duties; whereas those from Muslim families take their deen for granted. Even the most religious of scholars have experienced episodic iman-low's. Astaghfirullah, mine's like a flipping roller coaster.

Anyways, as she was speaking, I kept thinking of a good friend I had made at Bryn Mawr. She showed interest in learning about Islam, and I was initially hesitant about helping her because I feared that with the little knowledge I have, I could have misled or offended her (inshaAllah, I did not). So when I got home around 1130pm, I found it unusual that this friend was calling at such an odd hour. We must have both said "SubhanAllah, mashaAllah, omg omg omg" about a million and one times, but how else can I react to hearing that my friend had visited the masjid earlier and converted!!! SubhanAllah, mashaAllah, I was so happy for her. Please make dua that He may give her taqwa and sincerity in her beautiful struggle to learn, grow, and please Him. ameen.
(Next week, we're going hijab shopping. yay. :-D )

After what's happened this evening, it reminds me of a quote that's on my bedroom door...
It was reported that Umar bin al-Khattab asked Ubay bin Ka'b about Taqwa:
Ubayy said, "Have you ever walked on a path that has thorns on it?"
"Yes", Umar said.
Ubayy said, "What did you do then?"
He said, " I rolled up my sleeves and struggled."
Ubayy said, "that is taqwa".

Salams,
Sometimes I wonder why I do what I do when it is clear that I am incapable of doing it.

So I figure that a screw-up like me, who believes in God, doesn't give up on her goals when they're for Him only, but everytime she stumbles (which is quite a lot), she finds that she is in the perfect position to pray to Him.

Salam,
The overwhelming bulk of comments I've recieved in the last post had made it apparent- ya'll read quite a lot. Thank you to the 1 or 2 of you who reccomended some awesome books. Below is my current summer reading list, some of which you guys might be interested in. It's basically an amalgam of fiction, and non fiction (of the anthro/socio medical type), etc;

The Bluest Eye: Toni Morrison

The Years of Salt and Rice: Kim Stanley Robinson

The Calcutta Chromosome: Amitav Ghosh

Girl in the Tangerine Scarf: Mohja Kahf

The Namesake: Jhumpa Lahiri

A Thousand Splendid Suns: Khaled Hosseini

The Secret: Rhonda Brynes (only because I'm hearing so much about it)

Mountains Beyond Mountains: The Quest of Dr. Paul Farmer: Tracy Kidder

Infections of Inequalities and/or Pathology of Power: Paul Farmer

Palestine: Peace not Apartheid: Jimmy Carter

Mama Might be Better off Dead: Failure of Healtcare in Urban America: Laurie K Abraham

Guns Germs and Steel: The Fates of Human societies: Jared Diamond

Medical Apartheid: The Dark History of Med. Experimentation on Black Americans from Colonial Times to Present: Harriet A. Washington

The Syringa Tree- Pamela Gien

---------------------------------

As for islamically relevant books, I’m probably going to stick with just a few including Imam Zaid’s Scattered Pictures and someone recommended to me, Riyadh as- Saliheen Vol I.

I find that the best way to increase islamic knowledge is with audio lectures. Mothers of Our Believers; Anwar Awlaki’s series of pure awesomeness; and if anyone is interested in online summer courses: sunnipath.com is the way to go!

Keep it halal.

Salam,
God is Great. I am home and well and NOT studying for exams. Which is why I ask you all to send over suggested reads! The list is never ending, but I only made mental note of them, which is why I can't remember any of your suggestions. Send them over!

until then..keep it halal!