Hadith: "Be in this World as if you were a Stranger or Traveler"

At-Takathur
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Rivalry in worldly increase distracteth you (1) Until ye come to the graves. (2) Nay, but ye will come to know! (3) Nay, but ye will come to know! (4) Nay, would that ye knew (now) with a sure knowledge! (5) For ye will behold hell-fire. (6) Aye, ye will behold it with sure vision. (7) Then, on that day, ye will be asked concerning pleasure. (8)

Allah Yarhamak Ya Gidu

Today I visited my grandfather's grave for the first time since his death one year ago. Coming to Sudan this summer and not seeing him in his room listening to the radio as usual has had more of an affect on me than I thought. I'm not the type to cry, at least not in front of people and I know that it's not good to cry for the dead so I've been good in the sense that i'm not angering God through my actions in that way. I accept the fact that Allah has a plan for all of us and that my grandfather's time to return to Allah had come. Seeing his grave right in front of me and the thousands of other graves surrounding me got me thinking about how fragile life really is. My grandfather always seemed invincible to me, I thought nothing could shatter him. Even during his battle with cancer he always would say, "i'm not going to let this disease conquer me, i'm going to conquer it!" Although it may seem as though this disease conquered him, that's not the way I look at it. I'm a firm believer in the idea that no disease kills, only Allah can take your life away, He determines when, where, and what is going to cause you to leave this world. As I looked at his grave all these questions crossed my mind; I wondered whether he knew that we were there, if he was in pain, if he was proud and happy that we were there reading Sourat Al Fatiha for his soul. All these questions that occurred to me will probably never be answered, at least not until I'm in the same position as him. Visiting the graves is meant to be a cleansing process for the soul, in my opinion. Visiting the graves of the dead is a visual reminder of our impending death. I was telling my younger sister as we got home from the cemetery that life is like dust, in a moment it can be blown away; Allah SWT created us from dust, we are buried in dust, and we eventually become dust. If life really is that fragile, than why don't we act as though it is. The Prophet PBUH even said "The worldly comforts are not for me. I am like a traveler, who takes a rest under a tree in the shade and then goes on his way." " Be in this world as if you were a stranger or traveler." This world is merely a test and on judgement day we will see whether we have passed or failed. 


What to Say Upon Entering the Cemetery


Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has taught the Sahabah these words as salutation to the people of the graves and pray for their forgiveness:

Transliteration: 'Assalamu Alaikum Ya Ahlad Diyar Minal Mu'mineena Wal Muslimeen Wa Inna Insha allahu Bikum Laahiqun, Nas'alullaha Lana Wa Lakumul 'Afiyah'

Recite Sura Ikhlaas 11 times. 


It has been reported in a Hadith that whoever visits the Qabrastaan and recites Surahs:
Surah Fatihah, Surah Ikhlaas and Surah Takathur.
and then prays for the dead, the people of the grave will also ask Allah for such a person's forgiveness. 


Recite Surah Yaseen. In a Hadith it is reported that if a person recites Surah Yaseen in the Qabrastaan, the punishment of the dead will be eased and the reciter will be rewarded just as much as the dead. 

Nelly Furtado: "In God's Hands"

I looked at your face I saw that all the love had died
I saw that we had forgotten to take the time
I, I saw that you couldn't care less about what you do
Couldn't care less about the lies
You couldn't find the time to cry

We forgot about love
We forgot about faith
We forgot about trust
We forgot about us

Now our love's floating out the window
Our love's floating out the back door
Our love's floating up in the sky in heaven
Where it began back in God's hands

You said that you had said all that you had to say
You said baby it's the end of the day
And we gave a lot but it wasn't enough
We got so tired that we just gave up

We didn't respect it
We went and neglected it
We didn't deserve it
But I never expected this

Absolutely Pink Summer

Pink by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Betsey Johnson jewelry

Untitled by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Chinese Laundry shoes

Amazing SubhanAllah

!!!! This is just another reminder that Allah is the Greatest. Our right hand is a constant reminded that Allah exists. Why can't people just see that?! I showed this to a boy in my Arabic class one time (he wasn't muslim) and even he was shocked. Allah SWT has made many things as signs for us, the Earth, Noah's Arch, The night, all these things are signs of his existence. SubhanAllah though, it really is amazing how our right hand spells out Allah

Dressed to Impress (MYSELF): My First Fashion Collages

Dressed to Impress by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Forever21

My First outfit collection!!! im actually really proud of myself for being able to figure out how to do this cuz for the longest time i've been seeing fashion collages all over people's blogs but I never knew exactly how to do it myself. Here's my first, InshAllah more to come in the future. Expect to see lots and lots of modest clothing made for the modern day young hijabi. As a new hijabi myself I like most girls had a hard time at first finding cute outfits that still stuck to the Islamic rules. I'm trying to avoid using skinny jeans in my collections because in my opinion they are not very modest and i'm trying to cut down on wearing them myself. I'm gonna be using ALOT of color and creating classy combinations of clothes that will hopefully help you get a sense of what to looks for next time you go shopping.

Classy Hijabi Professional by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Miu Miu bags

I love this outfit simply because of the classy appeal it gives. This outfit is VERY professional and may seem a little pricey but if you go to any Express or New York and Company, this "expensive" look can be found at a reasonable price.

Untitled by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Miu Miu bags

India Arie: "I Choose"

Because you never know where life is gonna take you
and you can't change where you've been.
But today, I have the opportunity to choose.

Here am I now looking at 30 and I got so much to say. 
I gotta get this off of my chest, I gotta let it go today.
I was always too concerned about what everybody would think.
But I can't live for everybody, I gotta live my life for me.
I pitched a fork in the road of my life and ain't nothing gonna happen unless I decide.

And I choose to be the best that I can be.
I choose to be authentic in everything I do.
My past don't dictate who I am. I choose. 

I done been through some painful things I thought that I would never make it through.
Filled up with shame from the top of my head to the soles of my shoes.
I put myself in so many chaotic circumstances, but by the grace of God I've been given so many second chances.
But today I decided to let it all go. I'm dropping these bags, I'm making room for my joy.

And I choose to be the best that I can be.
I choose to be authentic in everything I do.
My past don't dictate who I am. I choose.

Because you never know where life is gonna take you and you can't change where you've been. 
But today, I have the opportunity to choose. 
I used to have guilt about why things happen they way they did cuz life is gonna do what it do.
And everyday, I have the opportunity to choose.

From this day forward I'm going to be exactly who I am.
I don't need to change the way that I live just to get a man. 
I even had a talk with my mama and I told her the day I'm grown,
"from this day forward, every decision I make will be my own." 

Diary of a Hijabi: 8 Months Later

Dear Allah,

SubhanAllah, time flys! I can't believe its been almost eight months since I shocked myself and everyone around me by deciding to fulfill my duty as a Muslima by wearing the hijab. After re-reading my first letter which I wrote during my first days as a hijabi I feel like i've come light years from where I was before. My imaan today is Alhamduiliah stronger than it has ever been and InshAllah that won't be changing anytime soon. Looking back at my first days wearing the hijab I now know that all those fears I had are gone Alhamdulilah.
My fears back then all surrounded what people would think of me. I feared what my teachers and friends would think of me but some how when it came to making the decision none of that mattered. In the past all my insecurities were because I feared what people thought of me, but my desire to please Allah surpassed all of that. Another one of my fears when it came to deciding whether to wear the hijab or not was the question in my head of whether I could maintain my imaan and whether I could wear the hijab for the rest of my life. I overcame those fears through this one quote my sister in Islam showed me that night--"do what you need to do today and let God take care of tomorrow." I simply put my faith in Allah SWT and hoped that tomorrow my imaan would be strong enough for me to wear the hijab.
Today wearing the hijab is so natural for me that I cannot ever picture myself any other way. The way I used to be is like a dream to me. I can hardly remember the old me. Sometimes I fear that I have such a distinction between myself 8 months ago and myself now that I act as though they're two different people. Like I said in my first letter, I would not be where I am today without my past sins. It took me messing up to realize that I needed to change.

Greatest of All Virtues: Patience

Patience, the ability to remain hopeful, while releasing all your trust and imaan in Allah SWT. Patience, our biggest challenge; one of the attributes we lack the most. Our patience is tested at every moment of our day, causing our minds to begin racing and every minor slip of the tongue. If only we could take a moment while our patience is being tested to remember Allah. Alhamdulilah, SubhanAllah, a little duaa, anything would be better than the despicable speech we use when we're distraught. Have you ever though about the fact that the same mouth we "occasionally" use to glorify our lord in times of strong imaan is used with foul language in times of low imaan and during times where we simply have no patience.
If I could have one wish it would be to have the patience of the prophets. The patience that these messengers of Allah had to endure makes our troubles appear trivial and extremely insignificant. We complain about small minor set backs, whether it's our mother nagging on us to wash the dishes or our boss threatening to fire us because we're late to work. These "troubles" we encounter daily are nothing in comparison to the battles people constantly deal with around the world. Honestly, Would it kill us to have a little patience! I wonder sometimes why we're never stressed out when we miss a salah or when we commit a sin. Shouldn't the fear of Allah's punishment be far more of a stress in our lives than these troubles of this dunia. We forget that this life is only temporary and that the hereafter is forever. At any moment our lives could be over and whatever was making us worry isn't going to matter anymore.
Part of being a good Muslim is to ALWAYS have hope and faith in Allah, despite the difficulties we face. Being hopeful means that no matter what happens to us, in the back of our mind, we should always know that Allah has already predestined what the outcome of our situation is. Having sabr should come naturally to us than, if we really have as much trust in Allah as we "claim" to have.

Duaa for Patience

Oh OUR lord, pour patience down on us, and make our foothold firm, and help us against the disbelieving people.

RABANAAA AFRIGH A’LAYNAA S’ABRAW WA THABBIT AQDAMANAA WAN S’URNAA A’LAL QAWMIL KAAFIREEN

(Al BAQARAH: 250)

"This verse teaches us to pray for grant of patience and perseverance in the face of trials and tribulations of this world so that we remain faithful to the true religion of Allah, even if deprived of the comforts of life, as these two aspects of our character makes us fight our enemies and the enemies of Allah."

Diary of a New Hijabi

This is a letter I came across while i was going through my computer files. I wrote this four days after I made a life changing decision to wear the hijab.


November 23, 2009

Dear Allah,

My first Hijabi Photo. There is no feeling on this Earth in
comparison to the happiness and peace of mind you
receive when you subject yourself to Allah SWT and
embrace Islam.

Four nights ago I decided to make one of the ultimate forms of supplication towards you by deciding to wear the hijab. Ever since I was a child I was grasped by Islam, but as I grew older I strayed towards the path of disbelief. I knew you existed all along, but I refused to follow your rules. Something inside of me would not allow me to be the good Muslim I knew I could be all along. My lack of faith in you and in the world was something that I had no control over, but I knew that when the time would come you would lead me in the righteous path. I don’t know how I ended up wearing the hijab right now but I know that it was fate for me. It was your plan all along for me to endure hardships and to experience what it meant to have no faith in you because in the end you wanted me to come back to you as a strong Muslim. Right now my iman is stronger than ever and I am able to wear the hijab proudly and to reflect on my past with no regrets, because without my past sins I would not be in the place that I am today.
Yes there are moments where I still question why im doing this. I wonder whether the real reason I’m wearing the hijab is because of god, or maybe it’s because my friends. Other times I remind myself that yes I was influenced by my group of friends but that is a good thing. Since the first day of college I was influenced by people. In the beginning I was influenced by my friends and I was dragged into their world of partying and “fun”, but alhamdulilah, Allah drifted me in to the hands of good friends. I dropped my bad friends and became close to people that helped me become closer to God. Sometimes it takes other people to help us reach our full potential. I was never happy with the life I was leading; I was in search of something that would fill the empty void in my heart, and all along I knew it was Allah but something inside of me would not let him enter my heart. Very quickly I found myself praying more and all of a sudden I was doing more and more for Allah, to the point where I found myself wearing the hijab. Never in a million years would I have believed it if someone had told me that I would be wearing the hijab right now as an 18 year old college student. I thank Allah everyday that I did not stray forever and that I found my way back to god so quickly, while others are lost for a lifetime without iman. Sometimes al shatan gets in my mind and fills me with doubts as to why I wore the hijab but I need to remember that god had a plan for me all along. He wanted me to go through everything I went through before so I could eventually reach him. The shatan gets in my mind and tries to make me feel envious of those that don’t wear the hijab, but rather than envy, I should feel pride and I should feel sorry for them because they are the ones whom are lost. The hijab is something that makes Allah happy and there’s no better feeling in the world than pleasing allah.
When I think about all the things I’ve done in my life, it makes me grateful to Allah SWT and it makes me feel favored by Allah, that out of all the lost people in this world, he chose to guide me. I did not go through these hardships for nothing. I know what it felt like to be a weak Muslim, and a strong believer. The difference is incredible and it’s very difficult after you experience true happiness to go back to the life of regret.

I'll Meet you Half Way at the Corner of Not Judging and Acceptance

Out of all the lessons Islam teaches, one of the greatest is for one to be non-judgmental. You can read the Quran cover to cover, and believe that you know everything there is to know about Islam, but if you have not learned to not judge another human being, than in my opinion you have learned nothing. Not only Islam, but all of the major religions teach us that only god can judge a person, so the question remains; why have we given ourselves the power to judge others when we clearly don't have the right to do so? Close-mindedness and non-acceptance of others beliefs is the path towards being judgmental. Everyone has their own opinion and their own interpretation of what is right and wrong. There aren't many things in this world that are solely black and white. If all the answers to why people do what they do was clear then there wouldn't be as many wars and disputes as there are now.
Instead of judging each other and ending up in the road of endless disputes, why don't we just meet each other halfway. Could you imagine what our world would be like if we learned to swallow our pride every now and then and just let things be. I'll admit I have also been guilty of being judgmental but im sorry, i'm only human. I'm a human that has a long way to go until I feel content with my character and I like others need to learn that not everyone has the same views as me. What distinguishes between a judgmental individual and a non-judgmental individual is that one chooses to believe what they believe without forcing their opinions on others, while the other tends to force their opinions on others. Becoming less judgmental is a characteristic that we can all work towards as human beings because accepting others will allow us to accept ourselves more and to become more secure and confident in ourselves.