Why do you wear that scarf on your head?- PART 2

In Islam, we believe that this life is a test. God is testing us to see how willing we are to obey Him. God limits us with certain things like wearing the scarf, or not drinking alcohol and He wants to see how willing are we to obey the One who created us. How willing are we to sacrifice our desires (of this world) for the sake of God, the one who created us, gave us life, and gives us life every single morning? And on the Day of Judgement, God will determine where we will go, (heaven or hell) based on the good deeds we do now. Islam answers the question, What's my purpose in life? As Muslims, we believe that our purpose in this life, is only to worship and please the One and Only God, Allah. Pleasing Allah involves sacrificing the worldly desires we have in this world (on Earth). For example, sacrificing the desire to have a boyfriend/girlfrind, or sacrificing the desire to gamble, or lie, or cheat, or steal, or even sacrificing the desire to simply yell at your parents. All of these are sacrifices we make to please Allah (God) Thus, when God tells us as women, to cover our hair, we hear and we obey immediately. We know that this life is temporary and it is a test and we want to succeed in this test by obeying Allah's orders. Also, the fact that it is coming from God, the One who gives you life every morning, doesn't it make you think that He has the right to be obeyed no matter what? We can never repay our Creator for giving us life. The hijab is also a reminder. Every time I put on my scarf and cover my body in loose clothing, I am reminded of why I am here. I am reminded that my purpose is not to attract men with my beauty, or to make other women jealous, or any other reason, but rather it is to worship God. This scarf on my head is a beautiful reminder to both the women and Muslim men to forget about the materialistic desires of this world and to instead focus on the main goal- pleasing God. There is an analogy that talks about clothing. When you want to wash a piece of clothing you look at the tag to see how the creator tells you to wash it. You don't say "Oh the whoever made this garment doesn't know anything, I'm gonna wash it whichever way I want!" While you can say this, chances are your clothing is not going to be washed properly. In the end, it is the creator of the garment who knows what is best for it. In the same way, our Creator, God knows what is the best for us and when He tells us, to avoid gambling, and forbids us to drink alcohol, and tells us to cover our bodies, God only has our best interests in mind. He created us, don't you think He would know what is best for us?

Why do you wear that scarf on your head?-PART 1

Why do you wear that rag on your head? Do you wear it in the shower? Do you wear it at home? I understand that its because of your religion but what does that mean? I have been asked this probably a dozen times, and surprisingly I'd like to thank all of you for asking. For anyone reading this, I'd like to tell you that if you're ever wondering about something please ASK!I would prefer that much better than people getting their information from the media. Unfortunately the media portrays Muslims in a very negative, and completely inaccurate light. Anyway, back to the question, Why? Why do I wear my head scarf? The simple answer is "because God told me too" but that's not the full answer. In truth there are three parts to this "rag" or "hijab" as we call it in Arabic. There is the numerous benefits that we get from wearing the hijab, there is the ultimate reason why we wear it, and finally there are the rules concerning the hijab and how Muslim women must wear it. For starters, as I stated before, there are many benefits to wearing the scarf. The best I believe is the status it gives women. It raises us women to a more repective scale. When a woman wears the hijab and covers her body, it forces the man to look at her as an intelligent human being as opposed to some pretty object. Naturally, when a man looks at a woman, the first thing you see is their beauty, whether they're good looking or not. This is natural. However, as a result the man looks at the woman as an object  which he may want or desire, or he may think she is not beautiful and completely dismiss her. The hijab sets all women equal to each other based on their appearance. Thus, when a women goes in for an interview, she is judged based on her intelligence and hard work ethic, as opposed to her beauty. You'd be surprised how many executive officers hire women into their work area based on their attractiveness! Also, when a woman covers her body, a man gives her alot more respect because he knows that she wants to be taken seriously. When my mom was in medical school, everyone told her about this horrible teacher/doctor who swore right and left. Everyone hated that about him and my mom dreaded the day that she would also have to study under him. When that day came she was surprised at his politeness. The whole day he didn't swear once because he realized he was in front of a woman who was serious, honest, but most importabtly respected herself. Thus he respected her for that. The hijab gives a woman confidence that success is not based upon beauty, and outside appearance. I'm not saying that every person who doesn't wear the hijab is shallow, I have many friends (both Muslim, and not) who don't wear the scarf, but unfortunately there are some people who base their entire success on the shallowness of outer beauty; i'm specifically referring to models and prostitutes. They have really stooped so low, to the place wear their success depends on how attractive they look. They are only their for men to look at, which in truth is not what we women were created for! In Islam, we hold marriage as a beautiful, and honorable action. And one of the beauties of Islam is that as a woman we complete our husband's deen (faith), we are the gift to our fathers, when we become mothers, heaven lies beneath our feet (this just means that if you serve your mom you get great reward). So you see? Women have a very high status in Islam, and we are so much more important than what you see on the outside.

Pretzels

Today I ate the most delicious pretzels. Mmmmm. It got even better because my best friend loves pretzels and so I sent this to her and she was soo jealous. She was stuck in Chicago visiting family and so she couldn't come over and eat them. But seriously these pretzels are delicious especially with creamy, hot cheese! It's just sinfully delicious! Have any of you ever tried a pretzel dog?

History- His story

Everyone has a story.... When you meet a person, its not just their behavior, or appearance that makes them, they each have a story, a childhood, a lifetime they are living through. I went upstairs to my room and looked out my window to see my neighbor taking in the garbage herbicurbies. I had just finished talking with my dad about his life in highschool. He'd gone to a boarding school in India, and i know what you're thinking, but it was actually nice. i was surprised and his story interested me. I sat their for a long time imagining my father as a little Indian boy playing soccer and being naughty :) His story really made me realize this idea of never really knowing someone. 16 years... 16 years is how long it took for me to realize the many troubles and also good things that happened to my dad. For 16 years i thought i knew him. I mean i lived with him so i guess i just assumed i knew exactly what kind of person my dad was. I never even realized there was a whole other life of him that i never knew about. And as advice to all those reading this blog, i hope you all come to realize that we should NEVER judge a book by its cover! I hope that all of you teenagers out there (or not) soon come to realize what i have and that you pass it on to others. In Islam, God teaches us to love for your brother (or sister) what you want for yourself. In this context so we should learn to get to know people and want good things to happen to them. Because the truth is you may grow up hating a person but in reality you may just not know their whole story. So the next time someone is being rude to you, or you assume they are a nerd, or a girly girl, or a tom boy- imagine they had a bad day, or are having a stressful time and want for them what you would want for yourself. These acts are the most beautiful in the sight of God and it is only His pleasure we truly seek.

Life

Life is so confusing!

Muslim High School Confusion

All my life I have (for the most part) stuck to the middle side and done things in moderation. I've ate healthy and done my exercising but not overdone it. I've seen the balance that I need between music and work, or prayer and my duties in a dunya world. But I'm stuck at one point, where is the middle ground between school and a social life. I know that currently I'm not at a good balance. It's gotten to the point in my schoolwork where I work SOO hard for too long, that I'm getting sick. I'm hurting the amana and trust that Allah (swt) has given me- my body. I must realize that my worship to Allah swt is the only reason why I am here. But where is the balance between total prayer like salah, and making your intentions for Allah swt by doing something like going to school? Or am I wrong, is there even any difference at all? I'm so confused!

Hospital Tour!!

This evening, I visited the hospital where my dad works...
To say it was amazing is an understatement to it's true beauty and awe. He took us on a tour through the entire building. My brother and I were able to see what happens beyond the waiting room. We went into the Sleep Room, which is a sector within the hospital where usually Anesthesiologists care for patients and run different tests. We visited CCU(Critical Care Unit) and my parents explained to us what each machine did in the room. From heart scans to oxygen tubes they explained it all. We met the nurses and went through the Women's Health Center and also
The ER(Emergency Room).
It was a nice place, hospitals are really big and each door is like a double door for rolling beds in and out of hallways. Everything has locks and keypads, and every place smells like a newly washed piece of clothing. In fact, within every room (or hallway) is a wall hand sanitizer dispenser! More than that, when my dad walked into that building I could see the expression on the nurse's faces. Everyone knew my dad and treated him like.... Like.... Well like a hero. I could see that respect in their eyes for him, that this man was not just a knowledgable doctor but a person who saved lives everyday all thanks to Allah(swt) will and permission.
My dad was grinning from ear to ear. I will probably never see him as happy or proud as he did that day. Every door he opened had a new treasure to see and when he looked at our faces full of admiration, his eyes lit up and his smile grew. You could tell that no matter how many late nights it would cost him, or millions of phone calls, this man was so happy with the career path he chose and what he did everyday.
And that's when it hit me. I realized how badly I wanted this. To walk the fresh- smelling hallways in a lab coat and stethoscope. To gain respect from these people, and most importantly to help a person in need. I wanted that thrill of seeing a patient look me in the eyes and ask for help. I would pray to Allah (swt) to help me make this person feel better. It feels good to know that you can do something for the society. I want to focus, it'll be hard and especially with medical school and everything. It takes a long time to become a doctor and kind of disgusting, but I want to try my best and if Allah (swt) doesn't want this for me then maybe I can go into dentistry, or some other career. What do you guys want to be when you grow up? I need some career options.