ILHAM FOR THE DAY: A Quiet Protest

bismillaahir rahmaanir raheem.
Assalamu'alaikum wrwbth dear Ilham Friends,
On Tuesday, April 19th, a remarkable event occurred in Nashville, TN. Hundreds of tired and brave Muslims gathered at the halls of the state capital building to protest the House Bill 1353. It targets the Muslim community, even though the term 'Shariah' has been taken out. Since 9/11, Muslims in the US have been unfairly targeted, detained, jailed, and with no end in sight.
I had personally asked many to show up, but the overall response of the community was exemplary! Muslims and non-Muslims, moms and dads, old and young, newborns, grandmas and grandpas, healthy and disabled, all solemnly came to show the ignorant lawmakers that we are a people of honor and dignity. Kids behaved and even the newborns and babies seemed to know the gravity of the issue.
How often I have complained that Muslims are not united! How wrong I was! We all have the same passion and love for our Deen. When the hearing took place, the entire place was quiet with anticipation. We happily clapped when Bina, Tom, Daoud, and Heady spoke with quiet force and disclosed the true nature of the racist bill! How proud I was of Bina! I broke into tears when she finished her speech. It was so precise, and so forceful. Her talking points were great.
Tom, a Christian preacher from Tullahoma tried to appeal to the spiritual side of the committee members. What a superb human being he is! I was indeed so proud of him too. He did not need to come and speak on our behalf. May Allah SWT bless him.
I kept thinking of one verse of the Quran. The verse is in surah Baqarah where Muslims were told by the hypocrites to fear the polytheist army because they were many in number and were better equipped. Then Allah States that instead of fear , it strenghtened their Iman and they said : "Allah is sufficient for us as a Trustee." That great du'a was on my lips and in my heart.
What will happen again next Tuesday is only known to Allah SWT. Once again, we Muslims will pray and quietly protest with dignity, InshaAllah.
Ma'Salamah,
Tasneem

ILHAM FOR THE DAY

Bismillaahir Ramaanir Raheem.
Assalamu'alaikum wrwbth dear Ilham friends,
I am very disturbed about the hatred that is shown towards the Muslims all over the world, especially in my own backyard. The Anti-Sharia bill is going to the Senate and House floor for voting next Tuesday. They have brought all sorts of crazy Muslim haters and liars at the hearings and refused to even give 5 minutes to my friends and relatives to speak for the Muslims. InshaAllah we all hope and pray that they will be allotted some time to speak next Tuesday before the final voting.
I have lived in this state of Tennessee since 1975. I call it home. Now I feel like a very young child whose parents are about to divorce. The usual method is that both parents talk to the kid and let him know how much they both love him, but the child sees his whole world turned upside down. He realizes in his mind that life will never be the same as it was before. I feel like that child. I want to live at the time before 9-11 when I felt secure even in my small town as a practicing Muslimah. I felt safe, and the stares of strangers always meant curiosity rather than hatred. Now, like a child of divorced parents, I feel insecure about my surroundings.
At times like this I try to reflect upon the lives of the Sahabas who converted early in Makkah. They suffered unthinkable trials at the hands of the Makkan Quraish. One cannot stop the tears while reading their true accounts and wonder at their patience regarding their belief in One Allah! Their love for their Lord gave them the strength to be patient amidst all types of horror. I should try to be closer to Allah SWT and seek His Help now and always. InshaAllah He will give us victory over persecuting liars as He did in Makkah 1400 years ago. I also hope that after the victory I will also forgive those criminals just like Prophet Muhammad SAWS forgave his enemies.
Falsehood is bound to perish. The Anti-Sharia bill is based on complete lies and fear and inshaAllah it will also perish.
Ma'Salamah,
Sr. Tasneem

Upcoming journey on a delicate path

Assalamu'alaikum wrwbth to all, Many of my friends have already experienced the joy of being a mother-in-law, and I am about to experience it (inshaAllah) for the first time. I have to admit that I feel I am too young (not true) and totally inexperienced (absolutely true) to venture out on this untrodden (by me) path. I have seen all kinds of mother-in-laws, from the worst to the best and all types in-between. The scary thing is that no one can predict what type of MIL one will become. Women react in a myriad of ways in this MIL role. My would-be Daughter-in-law is really a nice person. I can talk to her for hours without being bored. She is genuine in her ways. I pray to Allah SWT that He blesses our relationship. I am certain that the adult in the new relationship (the MIL) has to provide love and care for the young one (the DIL) at the offset of the new relationship. She has to model what a good, kind, and loving person she is so that the rookie will (hopefully) inshaAllah follow on that good path. I beg Allah SWT that he blesses the new member (a new daughter) of our family. May she become the apple of our eyes and the new love of our lives. We (my husband and I) love to spoil our kids and that we spoil her with love too. May we smother her with so much love that she will also reciprocate, inshaAllah. I hope that I will copy all these tapestries of MIL in my life and apply their wisdom at the right time and in the right place, inshaAllah. "INNAL-LAHA ALA KULLI SHAY-IN QADEER," " Indeed Allah is Able and has the Power to do all things." With His Help I do move. Ma'Salamah, Tasneem