Life of a muslima

  Quick Reminder for Ramadan: The most blessed month is coming, the month when Allah revealed the Quran, the time Allah forgives the sinners, and rewards a good deed multiple times. It is a month when we can bring ourselves closer to Allah. The time to enrich ourselves with piousness. Our opportunity to elevate our ranks in the next life. Let’s take advantage of this holy month to ask forgiveness for what evil we accumulated this year. Let’s reconnect with Allah and strive to improve ourselves. The scholars said, Allah will only accept a good deed when it’s done under two conditions : 1. The muslim should be sincere and only intend to please Allah alone. Not for show-off, not to gain fame, but to please the Almighty. 2. The good deed should be according to the law of Allah and the Sunnah. It should be free from innovation and falsehood. For instance, when we intend to help the needy to please Allah, doing this, our money should come from halal income. Another example is when we ob

        In the year 2008, a severe financial crisis struck the world. Millions of people lost their jobs, house prices fell, and people drowned in extreme debt. So, what caused this pivot that afflicted the masses? The years before it happened, banks offered low interest, which resulted in many individuals loaning large amounts of money, which they couldn’t repay. As a result, both banks and borrowers went broke. What can I say? Agree or disagree, dollar signs make people foolish, or insensible to step back from temptations.  Today, banks continue to sprinkle us with their generous or practical way to own a house or a car. The phrase rent to own is powerful, entangling us with the burden of interest. A burden not only in this world but in the afterlife, too. Riba, or interest, is a known major sin, so why do we continue to engage in this wrongful act?  The perpetrating of this sin breeds. It asks you to loan again, again, and again. It steals your peace of mind. Gradually

Prophet Muhammad peace be upon him said: “War is Deceit.” [1]   The land of Palestine turned into a war zone, destroyed by the cruelty of the oppressors, by the evil within the envy, and by the bombing of the cowards hiding behind their tanks. Everywhere the blood was spilled, no life was found. And the eyes that saw the oppression were overflowed with tears. The brave sacrificed their lives. The hearts of young innocents had been torn apart—their voices in silence called and cried on Allah. “Oh Allah, when will your help will come?”  The Palestinians are alone fighting, but they were never alone in this trial. Every Muslim is in the spotlight—them, me and you. But our hearts had not realized that there was something bigger beyond this brutality. Like anyone, we neither learn nor wake up to the truth. The reality had no means of adjusting its course without us coming to an understanding that this li

I grew up in a small town where you’ll find mansions that were built at the time of the Spanish Colonial. These ancestral houses are captivating and still standing firm like the Mount Makiling that you’ll get a glimpse of from our balcony. This is my hometown where my grandmother raised me. My grandmother got married at a very young age to an older man who came from a well-off family. She was illiterate and could only write her name for signing legal papers. She sacrificed her early age to look after her younger siblings, which caused her not to attend school. But despite this, she is contemplative, selfless, affectionate, and a loving daughter. Even with her husband's problematic habits and age difference, she remained committed to being a dutiful wife. She neither disrespected her husband nor rebelled against him. Her passion for keeping the house tidy, and cooking delicious dishes are among her skills to please my grandfather, and I admire her for that. "Men are in charge o