Whatever is in the heavens and whatever is in the earth is Allah’s; and whether you manifest what is in your minds or hide it, Allah will call you to account according to it; then He will forgive whom He pleases and chastise whom He pleases, and Allah has power over all things. (Holy Quran 2:284)

We all have sins for which we seek Allah’s forgiveness.  But we sometimes have secret sins that we’re afraid to mention even to our Creator, even though we know we have no secrets from Allah.  Some of us manage our secret sinss-sour, darkest hidden guilt–by turning away from Islam, claiming to be “secular Muslims” who bury sins and guilt under drugs, alcohol, sex, food, or the pursuit of money, power or fame.  Some of us claim to be practicing Muslims and do those  same things–only not so openly. Some of us drive ourselves into various states of anxiety, depression and other psychological ills.

Regardless of how it manifests in our lives, the problem is the same: we are running away from Allah. Running away often seems easier than facing the shame of  having anyone know what we’ve done wrong–whatever it is–and keeps us from taking any steps toward Allah.  We forget that the shame we fear from people we know is less than the shame we will face of the Last Day. 

Sometimes we think we can do great good in other areas of our lives and hope that Allah will forgive us everything without pur ever having to acknowledge that deepest, secret guilt.  But the hope that Allah will gloss over without ever any accounting of our worst misdeeds–our secret misdeeds–still leaves us agitated within our souls, and we are unable to feel any peace.  Without peace, we continue to pursue our addictions or diversions, compounding sin upon sin, guilt upon guilt.

The only way to stop the cycle is to turn back to Allah to ask forgiveness, to take whatever steps we must to end or undo the wrongs we’ve done.  The process is a painful one when it involves making restitution in some way to others, or going to others for help.  Sometimes the pain is in knowing that some things cannot be undone–an injured party is dead, for example. Sometimes we see the repercussions of our misdeeds affect other lives in ways it is impossible for any one person to fix.  Sometimes a choices we made years ago have lead to unforeseen disasters in our life or in the lives of others.  What then?

The answer still the same:  turn to Allah.  Stop running.  Perhaps, truth be told, it feels easier to continue running.  To stop running, to turn to Allah seems immeasurably more difficult. Continuing with a life filled with  hidden terror, addictions and emotional imbalance seems somehow to be the more familiar and safer choice, but there is this:  that choice is the choice without peace or rest or hope or light.

It is Ramadan–a month of  forgiveness and mercy. Stop running.

And whoever does evil or acts unjustly to his soul, then asks forgiveness of Allah, he shall find Allah Forgiving, Merciful. (Holy Quran 4:110) 

As we move into the summer Ramadans in North America with 15 to 16 hour days and 90-plus degree temperatures, some of us will discover that  fasting is about more than just abstaining from food and drink during the day, it is also about what we do when we break our fasts. In order to stay hydrated, we need roughly 5 cups of water at night and 3 at suhoor to account for the 7-8 cups of water our bodies need on a daily basis.  In order to drink that much means cutting down on food intake—there’s only so much the stomach can hold at one time.

Staying up late in order to eat more is not an option for many of us.  Staying up late only makes increases the possiblity of sleeping through suhoor in the morning.  Increasing the length of the fast by missing suhoor is something most of us want to avoid.

Many of us are also finding that what we eat affects our fast and our health.  We are less able to fast, especially as we get older or if we have any health issues already, to tolerate a diet that contains junk food or foods with a lot of salt or sugar–both of which dehydrate to body.  One sister found that even though she was drinking a lot of water, the popcorn, potato chips and french fries she ate at iftars during the first week of Ramadan left her in a dehydrated condition, with a urinary tract infection .  Getting  treatment caused her to miss a couple of days of fasting.

Many of us are learning  that  summer Ramadan means being conscientious about taking care of ourselves, of what we eat and drink at night in order to maintain our ability to fast during the day.

A Muslim shopkeeper practically hugged me because, after she totalled up my purchases, I paid the bill. Merchants don’t usually get that emotional at the cash register.  But this woman was genuinely relieved that I had paid without complaint. She told me that so many Muslims ask for discounts on their purchases that she can barely cover her own expenses.  She told me how much she paid for rent, and the cost of doing business in her location was rather high.  But she was just a couple of doors down from a masjid and right next to a halal restaurant.  She was in a prime spot for foot traffic from Muslim shoppers.  Her proximity to a mosque also was a convenience for Muslims. Yet her Muslim customers were about to run her out of business with their refusal to pay the asking price for her goods. 

I know that many immigrant Muslims come from countries where haggling over prices is part of the culture.  But once in America, these same Muslims find the American business model is very different: pay the price as marked.  Unless there is damage to the merchandise, the merchandise is a sample or floor model, or it is a big-ticket item for which a discount for paying cash is likely, we follow that business model.  We pay the price as marked.  We don’t bargain with the salespeople in Sears or with the cashier at Kroger.  We don’t try to get discounts on stamps at the post office.  Certainly all of us born or raised in America know this.  So there is no reason for any of us to pretend that the Muslim stores are different.  They are not.

We ask for discounts not because of any flaw in the merchandise; but because we, the customers, are Muslim. We have to question our own intentions when we use Islam as a weapon, shaming the shopkeepers into giving us what we want for less. We are supposed to want for our Muslim brothers and sisters what we want for ourselves.  What we want for ourselves, apparently, is a discount while we nickel-and-dime our Muslim brothers and sisters that much closer to bankruptcy. 

Most of the Muslim businesses in America are small, mom-and-pop operations.  They don’t have the financing of big corporations or franchises behind them.  They are generally operating on a small profit margin.  When we all insist on discounts–in the name of Islam, no less–we take that small profit away from them. Sometimes we even force them to close–and then complain there are no Muslim stores in our area.  Paying the amount we’re asked for in a Muslim’s shop should not be a cause for celebration.

Guide horse boarding plane. Photo from Wikipedia

 The Guide Horse Foundation offers trained miniature horses for the blind.  The Foundation was started in 1999 and places its animals with persons who fit its adoption criteria.  The miniature service horse is an alternative for Muslims who need animal assistance but prefer not to have a guide dog.  The horses are more expensive to maintain and owners are required to provide outdoor space for the animal when it is not working.  The horses live, on average, more than twice as long as guide dogs. 

Muslims who could use these animals, or who would like to get involved in helping to provide guide horses to the blind should get involved now, as there may be legislation in some areas prohibiting the use of any animals except dogs as guide animals.  For more information, go to The Guide Horse Foundation and watch this video: Guide Pony for Blind Muslim.

Dr. Marwa Sherbini wore hijab, a Muslim headscarf. Her hijab made her the target of harrassment by Alex W. and ultimately his victim as he killed her in a German courtroom. The death of Dr. Marwa Sherbini brought a deafening silence from the Western feminist community. Why is that?

Muslim women say they cover because of their faith–not because of their husbands, fathers or brothers–but that holds no meaning to Western feminists. The view of Muslim feminists, those who seek to protect women’s rights within the Islamic framework such as the also-slain Dr. Lois Lamya al-Farouqi, are ignored. The freedom of choice that Western feminists say Muslim women are in need of does not include the freedom to cover according to religious beliefs. Is it not ironic that those who say Muslim women are voiceless steadfastly refuse to listen to them?

Are we supposed to leave the supposed oppression of Islam to choose instead the ideological oppression of Westerm feminists? That seems to be the choice we are being offered, because even murder isn’t enough to get feminists to rally to memory of a Muslim woman who wore hijab.

One day I got into a cab and found that the taxi driver was Muslim.  It was early in the summer, but warm enough for everyone around to have already shed most of their clothing.  I was wearing hijab and unquestionably conspicuous, yet I still was asked the question that is always irritating, “Are you Muslim?”

I have never known how a Muslimah could not be recognized by another Muslim simply on the basis of ethnicity, yet the question comes from immigrant Muslims time and time again. This time, the injury was further compounded with the cabbie’s statement,” If I saw someone dressed like you at home, I would think that they were a religious Muslim, a good Muslim”. Really? Sometimes we give little thought to how hurtful our words can be, but it is not uncommon in the interactions between African-American Muslims and Muslims of other ethnic origins.

These misunderstandings are decades old. In the 1970’s a Muslim in Detroit told me that he and some other brothers went to an unfamiliar masjid. The men inside actually broke their salat in order to confront the African-American Muslims as intruders.  The fact that these misunderstandings are still occurring is unfortunate and damaging to the Muslims in America of all races and national origins.

A valuable online resource for muslim parents is American Muslim Mom.  The site is sponsoring its first summer reading program for Muslim children reading Islamic fiction. The program runs from July 1, 2009 to August 15, 2009.  Children register with adult permission and fill out a book review form for each book read.  Participants will recieve prizes.

Three sites for finding Islamic fiction for all ages are the Islamic Writers Alliance Bookstore, the Islamic Bookstore, and the Online Islamic Bookstore

Ramadan starts in August this year.  We can expect long, hot days of fasting.  Some of us have never fasted in the summer, some of us are thirty years older than the last time we had to fast during the summer.  Young and new Muslims may be wondering how to fast in summer.  Older Muslims who fasted during summer Ramadans of the 1970’s may be wondering how their aging bodies are going to hold up (Muslims living in the southern hemisphere are undoubtedly having the same concerns about fasting during the harsh winter seasons they are now facing).

One thing many of us can do to make it easier on ourselves is to schedule some vacation time during Ramadan.  You can take a week or two off at the end, when you can expect to be getting tired. You may prefer taking time off in the middle of Ramadan in order to break the month up.  You may even want to take the time off in the beginning so you can more easily get adjusted to fasting during the summer.

If you can’t take a lot of time off, how about just one day mid-week, so you don’t have to work more than 2 or 3 days at a time without getting a break? It makes it a lot easier mentally to get through Monday and Tuesday for example, if you know that you will be off on Wednesday.  And it’s easier to get through Thursday and Friday knowing you will have the weekend free.   Or you may want to take Friday off each week and go to Friday prayer while enjoying the benefit of a whole month of 3-day weekends.

If you are looking for more information on fasting, you can find tips on how to fast year round.  You can also read an excellent article on the physiology of fasting by Dr. Suriya Osman.

One final note: you may also find that if you try fasting before Ramadan begins, you will be able to figure out what works best for you when fasting during this time of year.  Not having to go through a prolonged trial-and-error period at the beginning of Ramadan will make that fast that much easier.

Many of us over the past couple of months have given money and goods to the fundraising events and the charities that are helping to support Palestine and rebuild Gaza.  It is hard for many of us who want to do more, but have to work within the limits of our own funds.

But there is another, crucial way to lend support. In addition to aid, Palestinians also need jobs.  We can also help by supporting the Palestinian businesses.  Books, clothes, purses,  olive oil, calendars, key chains and many other items are available online in price ranges from $1.50 to more than $200.

Many of the items that we shop for–for ourselves, for others, for our homes or for gifts can be purchased through these sites. Ownership and use of these items take on more significance when we are able to reflect that the money from our purchases did not just disappear into anonymous corporate coffers, but went toward rebuilding the shattered dignity of other Muslims.

Try some of the sites listed below.  Find new ones, pass them on, but most importantly, use them and purchase Palestinian goods. Thanks to the blog Raising Yousuf and Nor-A Mother from Gaza for the following information:

Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children (Gaza Strip); a stunning array of hand-crafted items made by deaf men and women; proceeds go to support the Gaza Strip’s first and only school for deaf children and to continue the vocational training provided for the deaf there. The building was damaged in the recent Israeli bombing but they are up and running nevertheless.

Mountain High Imports

Olive Branch Olive Oil

Holy Land Olive Oil
Palestine Online Store

Sunbula Products (at Fair Trade Online Store)

The Palestine Shop

Palshirts (CafeExpress)

Twinning with Palestine is a UK site that discusses the hows and whys of twinning with Palestine as a sister city.    The site also lists a number of online sites for shopping for Palestinian products such as Camden-Abu Dis Friendship Association (based in the UK),  Zaytoun (olive oil)  and Hadeel.