Enough Is Enough!!

Friday's Nasihah

Seven Ways to Peace and Happiness

Al-Mulk [3] He Who created the seven heavens one above another: no want of proportion wilt thou see in the Creation of (Allah) Most Gracious. So turn thy vision again: seest thou any flaw?

Rule 1:

Let's fill our minds with thoughts of peace, courage, health, and hope, for "our life is what our thoughts make it."

Rule 2: Let's never try to get even with our enemies, because if we do we will hurt ourselves far more than we hurt them. Let's never waste a minute thinking about people we don't like.

Rule 3:

A. Instead of worrying about ingratitude, let's expect it.

B. Let's remember that the only way to find happiness is not to expect gratitude - but to give for the joy of giving.

C. Let's remember that gratitude is a "cultivated" trait; so if we want our children to be grateful, we must train them to be grateful.

Rule 4: Count your blessings - not your troubles!

Rule 5: Let's not imitate others. Let's find ourselves and be ourselves, for "envy is ignorance" and "imitation is suicide."

Rule 6:

When fate hands us a lemon, let's try to make a lemonade.

Rule 7: Let's forget our own unhappiness - by trying to create a little happiness for others. "When you are good to others, you are best to yourself."

Community Service In The Life Of Abu Bakr As-Siddiq

Abu Bakr As-Siddiq remains one of our heroes and superstars till the end of time. This is a fact, Oh Muslims, not a fallacy.

May Allaah be pleased with him, put himself at the forefront of community service to the people before his reign as the khalifah. The recipients of his benevolent services were single mothers whose husbands had died or were martyred while defending Islam. He ran some house errands for them such as preparing dough and milking their goats.

However, when he was elected to be the Muslims’ leader after the death of the Prophet, sallallahu alayhe was salam, the single mothers had apprehension and anxiety. Their concern was that this new position would become a stumbling block, thus preventing him from continuing his services for them. One time, he overheard one widow say: “Now, no one will milk our goats for us,” to which he responded, “No, by Allah I will continue milking your goats.”

And so, off he went to the woman’s residence. At the entrance of the door was the woman’s young daughter who exclaimed with joy, “Mum, the goats’ milker is here!!” Abu Bakr becomes the renowned goat milker. For whom? The widows, the weak, and the orphans. Subhanallah!

Truly, this is community service 101. This is a description of a selfless community service for the less privileged and underserved. In our present days and times, when the weak, the poor, the destitute, are looked down upon, and their basic rights are unfulfilled by those in authority; when wealth and riches have become the order of the day for our Muslim leaders, and pride and arrogance have beclouded their judgments to acknowledge the rights of those under them. From this story, we can all learn from the life of Abu Bakr As-siddiq. Despite his reign as the khalifah and his ultimate success as one of the top ten chosen Muslim men promised paradise by Allaah subhana wa Ta’ala, he didn’t get carried away with these positions. In reality, he got carried away by being at full service to his community members, fulfilling their basic needs, one widow and one orphan at a time.

Now children,

what community service have we to offer our community, our school and our Ummah?

Story is by Maryam Funmilayo

Recycle, Precycle, Which Cycle Is Best for You?

We all know by now what the term "recycle" means. Everywhere you go you seem to hear the term and see the symbol. But, better than "recycling" is PRECYCLING!

Precycling is a good way to reduce the amount of recycling you have to do. It's a simple concept that came out of the seventies, when the whole earth movement started. The idea is this: If you take a little action before you buy items, you won't have as much waste!

Today, packages are getting smaller and smaller to keep costs at the same level. That means a lot more recycling has to be done. Not to mention, the exorbitant number of water bottles and convenient "single packs" available for people to use daily. It all adds up to more recycling. But you can end that cycle of trash by practicing a few precycle tips. Precycling is not just good for earth but can also be healthier for living things!

Here is a simple list from planetpals.com with some precycle basics to help you be more earthly wise:

1. Bring reusable bags to the store with you. Cloth or paper will do!

2. Buy Large Quantities. If you buy products in bulk or in large sizes and quantities, you can put them in smaller containers as you need them and this uses less containers.

3. Buy products with the least amount of packaging or none at all. Items packed in multiple containers may look nice, but they are a waste!

4. Buy products packed in recycled packaging. If you have to use a container, it might as well be green. Additionally, you help support green corporations. (Important: make sure you look for the recycled symbol)

5. Don't buy disposable items (plates cups, diapers, batteries, etc.) They only fill the landfill more. It's a little more work, but worth the effort.

6. Buy less paper towels and napkins or none at all. Use cloth ones!

7. Buy long life and concentrated items (batteries, bulks , etc.) This saves on packaging as well as product.

8. Don't purchase anything made of styrofoam or packed in styrofoam. It contains polystyrene, which is the most difficult material to break down in our landfill and is considered a hazardous waste.

9. Buy items in cardboard. aluminum, steel, glass, and plastic containers marked 1 (PET or PETE) and 2 (HDPE). These containers can be recycled more easily.

10. Read labels for ingredients. Stay away from chemicals that harm our plant and animal life and poison our land.

Get lots more ideas at Planetpals.com about recycling, precycling and saving earth. Not just for kids!

A SPECIAL RECIPE

How To Make A Good Muslim Boy or Girl

by Safwan (Year 3 Ibnu Batutah)

Ingrediants:

• 1 book of Al-Qur'an
• 1 large cup of Iman
• 4 bowls of Respect
• 2 spoonful of Good Manners
• a pinch of Obedience
• sprinkles of Love and Affection

Method:

Take one Muslim boy or girl. Teach him or her to read and understand the Book of Al-Qur'an, at least one page a day.

Stir daily 4 bowls of Respect with a large cup of Iman. Add 2 spoonful of Good Manners to the child. Mix well with the pinch of Obedience slowly together.

Serve him or her with sprinkles of Love and Affection (be generous) on top and walla. . . .

finally you will get a Good Muslim Boy or Girl Inshaallah!

serves: a child each in a family

Let us give it a try :)

Ramadhan Around the World 2009

In Muslim nations and regions around the globe, this is the second week of the holy month of Ramadan, a time for followers to abstain from eating, drinking, smoking and intimate activity during the day, breaking their fast each sunset, with traditional meals and sweets. The goal of the fast is to teach humility, patience and sacrifice, and to ask forgiveness, practice self-restraint, and pray for guidance in the future. This year, Ramadan will continue until Saturday, September 19th Inshaallah

And now ISSA would like to take you into the glimpse of Ramadhan around the world, let us say

"Subhanallah. . .

Alhamdulillah. . .

Mashaallah. . ."

The Dome of the Rock, or Masjid Qubbat As-Sakhrah, one of the holiest sites in Islam, is seen on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem through festive lights for Ramadan on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009.

Officers of Malaysia's Islamic authority use a telescope to perform "rukyah", the sighting of the new moon of Ramadan, in Teluk Kemang, south of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 20, 2009. Muslims scan the sky at dusk in the beginning of the lunar calendar's ninth month in search of the new moon to proclaim the start of Ramadan, Islam's holiest month during which observant believers fast from dawn to dusk.

Muslims attend Friday prayers on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Beijing, China on August 21, 2009.

Muslims attend prayers on the eve of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at Al Akbar mosque in Surabaya, East Java, Indoneisia on August 21, 2009.

A cannon fires as part of the ceremony that ends the second day of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, outside Jerusalem's Old City Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009.

Muslim children pray at a mosque during the month of Ramadan in Manila, in the Philippines on August 23, 2009.

A Muslim boy takes a nap during evening prayers called "Tarawih" at Mosque of Gamal Abdel Nasser in Tripoli, Libya on August 22, 2009. The mosque was converted from the Catholic Cathedral of the Sacred Heart of Jesus after a 1969 coup by Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

A man prays at a Sunni mosque in Baghdad, Iraq, Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009.

A Pakistani Muslim arranges food stuff for Iftar, a time to break the fast, on the first day of Ramadan, as a child looks on at a mosque in Karachi, Pakistan on Sunday, Aug. 23, 2009.

A man arrives for the evening prayers of the first day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan at Merkez mosque in Duisburg, Germany on August 21, 2009.

A Palestinian potter engraves the expression in Arabic "Ramadan Karim" as he puts the final touches to a clay lantern at his workshop in Gaza City on August 17, 2009, ahead of the start of the holy month of Ramadan.

A Palestinian boy plays with a sparkler on the eve of the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan in Gaza City on August 21, 2009.

A crescent moon is seen behind the King Hussein Bin Talal Mosque in Amman, Jordan on August 23, 2009, during Ramadan.

A Muslim man sits before breaking his fast on the second day of the holy month of Ramadan at a mosque in Agartala, capital of India's northeastern state of Tripura on August 24, 2009.

A Palestinian woman walks near the Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's old city where traditional festive lights are displayed ahead of the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan on August 20, 2009.

A Kenyan child reads verses from the Quran on the fifth day of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in a Madrassa in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009.

A boy holds candy in his hand as he reads the Quran in a mosque during Ramadan, in Amman, Jordan on August 22, 2009.

An Egyptian man makes a traditional dessert known as "kunava", which is popular during the fasting month of Ramadan, at a shop in Cairo August 25, 2009.

Indonesian Muslim children parade during a ceremony called "Prayer for the Country" to welcome the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jakarta, Indonesia on August 21, 2009.

Muslim men break their fast at a mosque in the Saudi Red Sea port of Jeddah on August 23, 2009.

A boy sells dates in Amman, Jordan on Saturday August 22 2009.

A taxi driver reaches for a glass of apple juice after sunset in Kabul, Afghanistan on Sunday Aug. 23, 2009.

A Muslim woman prays at the Istiqlal mosque on the first day of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jakarta on August 22, 2009 or Ramadan 1, 1430 in the Hijriah lunar calendar.

A Muslim family eats, breaking their fast in a giant tent on the first day of the holy month of Ramadan in Istanbul, Turkey on August 21, 2009.

Pakistani women line up for subsidized sacks of flour provided by the government for the holy month of Ramadan, Saturday, Aug. 22, 2009 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.

How has your Ramadhan been so far?

May Allah give strength and patience to all of us in this blessed Month ameen.

RAMADHAN KAREEM!

We scanned the sky and we sighted the moon, and we welcomed the month of Ramadhan!

الحمد لله الحمد لله

As you fast and pray in this holy month,

and feast with family and loved ones,

may your faith in Allah lead you to happiness, and

may He continue to shower His countless blessings upon you and your family...

I pray that those of us who are not clear in terms of our lives receive some guidance and that those who are fasting for the first time have a beautiful time!

Thank Allah we have lived to see another Ramadhan and pray for the forgiveness of those who have not. Taqaballahu minna wa minkum!

(May Allah accept it from us and you)

With Warm Wishes and Love from ISSA

Things Allah Won't Ask You About. . .

Allah wont ask you what car you drove,
He will ask how many people you gave a ride who didn't have transportation.

Allah won't ask the square footage of your house,
He will ask how many people you welcomed in the house.

Allah won't ask about the number of clothes in your closet,
He will ask how many people you helped clothe.

Allah won't ask what your highest salary was,
He will ask if you compromised your character to obtain it.

Allah won't ask what your job title was,
He will ask if you performed your job to the best of your ability.

Allah won't ask how many friends you had,
He will ask how many people to whom you were a friend.

Allah won't ask in what neighborhood you lived,
He will ask how you treated your neighbors.

Allah won't ask about the color of your skin,
He will ask about the content of your character.

Allah won't ask why it took you so long to seek forgiveness,
He will lovingly take you into your mansion in Paradise, not to the gates of Hell

JUMMAH MUBARAK!

!السلام عليكم

Jummah Mubarak!!

"Oh Allah, grant my friends and family what I wish for myself …

Oh Allah! I ask for mercy from You by which You will

guide my heart,

settle my affairs, remove my worries, protect me from what is unseen to me,

make my face radiant, purify my deeds, inspire me with wisdom,

avert calamities from me, and protect me from every evil in this world and the hereafter...

InshaAllah, Ameen"

Take care & have a blessed beautiful day everyone!

:)

Think Before You Throw!

We produce over 15,000 tons of rubbish everyday. It is only a matter of time before we run out of space to dispose of them. Recycling reduces waste, which in turn reduces the need for landfills and dumpsites.

Recycling reduces pollution and saves energy. Making

products from virgin or raw materials results in pollution

and uses more energy.

Recycling is cheaper in the long run compared to maintaining landfills and other systems. When recycling programmes

become more efficient, there will be less rubbish to dispose of.

Recycling creates up to 5 times more jobs than waste disposal alone. It will create jobs for engineers, machine specialists, environmental personnel, general workers and many more.

Recycling improves cleanliness and quality of life.

Breakdown of solid waste created by Malaysians

27 %	Paper
36.5%	Household waste
3.9%	Steel
3.7%	Glass
16.4%	Plastic
12.5%	Others

Experts believe a landfill can last 10 years longer if Malaysians recycled 50% of their garbage The residents of Johor Bahru generate 1300 tons of waste every day.

It will take only 3 days to fill the entire length of the Johor Causeway with this amount of garbage.

Malaysia is running out of space to dispose of the urban waste generated daily by wasteful consumption. There simply aren't enough landfills. According to Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting, 80% of the country's landfills will be full in two years. In fact, landfills themselves cause many serious environmental problems both for us and for future generations.

If every individual reduces the amount he or she wastes, we will make a major contribution towards sustainable development.

So come on everyone, because every bit helps!