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Wings

"We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down"
                                                                                                           - Kurt Vonegut


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She Plays With Dolls

girl hugging baby doll by Sarah Rypma Aisha (ra) was noted to play with dolls. Aisha reported: I used to play with dolls in the presence of the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, and my girlfriends would play with me. When the Messenger of Allah would enter, they would hide themselves but he would call them to join me and play with me. Source: Sahih Bukhari 5779 Aisha (ra) stands out as a model wife and is often noted as being Prophet Mohammed's (pbuh) favourite and therefore worthy of close study of the qualities that made her such. A popular fact about Aisha (ra) is that she played with dolls. The purpose of hadiths are to transmit the sunnah for the benefit of mankind down through the ages. “Whosoever followed the Messenger, has indeed followed Allah.” (Surah an-Nisa, 80) What can we learn from a hadith describing a young girl at play? Doll play is more than a fun pass-time for little girls. It has multiple developmental and psychological benefits. Pretending...

When Death Comes Knocking

It's a scary thing to thinking about for most of us. We live our lives, we hope, we pray and try and enjoy our natural surroundings especially in our fantastic but all too short summer. Then something unexpected happens. Something we never imagined. Something we keep far from our minds. Death touches a friend or family member. When someone has been sick for a long time, with cancer or some other disease, we are prepared. When we face the sudden death of a youth we are not. Today I visited my son. Before I could walk into the office, the director pulled me aside. “Can I speak to you privately for a minute?”. I walked away from my car a little apprehensive about what I was going to hear. Maybe my son got into a fight, maybe he needed stitches... “ One of our volunteers had a fatal car crash last night...he's on life support...they're pulling the plug this morning”. So many thoughts and questions flooded my mind as I made sincere condolences to him. He continued t...

Lessons in Leadership - Direct and Indirect Reciprocity in Surah Abassa

Hallmarks of an effective leader include gaining the ear of those that have power influence and control, engaging in acts of diplomacy, realizing your audience's perception as well as adjusting your speech and behaviour to result in the best outcome. The revelation of Surah Abasa serves to guide Rasul Allah (pbuh) and gently reminds him to guard his reputation and high status. This surah is often misunderstood as a critique of our Prophet. Our Messenger's (pbuh) heart is cleansed and does not disobey Allah (swt). He is the golden standard of a human being and the best of manners should be exercised when discussing the Seerah.  An examination of this verse can benefit us in how we pursue any position as role model or as leader in our lives within our station as Muslims.  He frowned and turned away Because there came to him the blind man, [interrupting]. But what would make you perceive, [O Muhammad], that perhaps he might be purified Or be reminded and the reme...