Freedom Diaries (Tunisia)

Dear Freedom,

Now that I lie here in my simple grave outside Sidi Bouzid-surrounded by olive trees and blossoming almond trees, I want you to know how much I longed for you. Slapped in the face and forced to the ground, just to keep my family sound. Fined without reason, as if I were committing acts of treason. Everyday i'd walk to my cart, five kilometers to the local mart, in hopes of living my dream-even though my clothes were ripping from their seams. Everyday I dreamt of change, but all I knew of change, was of the small amount I kept in my pocket caged.It was all so strange. What an unfair exchange, and so I set myself in flames. To burn away my rage and humiliation, to feel your powers in my nation. 
Oh freedom, call me Mohamed Bouazizi and remember me.


From the Soils of Tunisia

Freedom Diaries (Egypt)-Feb.11 Commemoration

Dear Freedom, 

I feel so ashamed. Everyone saw me and yet they don't know me. To the whole world I was exposed, my rallying and modesty now juxtaposed. My "abaya" ripped open and my heart as well, trampled on like the very ground to which I fell. As women and as humans we asked for equality and freedom of speech, to that they dragged us down in hopes of making them farther to reach. You can call me the "girl with the blue bra" but remember, there is more to my story that put you in awe. Oh freedom, you were my shield when I was exposed. You gave me strength to battle rules that were imposed. Maybe someday we can reunite, with hope as our light and to the mountain peaks our flight. 

Love, 

A Woman's Voice in Egypt 

Faith and Hope

The Syrian regime has killed babies. It has starved families. It has blown up mosques. What it doesn't realize however is that God is not confined to the mosques, He is in the heart of every believer. Nothing can take away the Faith of the people. And that is the strongest weapon. Marching at one of the rallies downtown side by side with my brothers and sisters, it didn't matter that I couldn't feel my hands or feet because I COULD feel something that was truly beautiful: the love in each heart that chanted for a free and peaceful Syria. And that love and determination is what will create change, InshAllah ♥

Dear Freedom (Libya)

Dear Freedom,

I still have nightmares. Sometimes I close my eyes and see darkness. Not darkness due to lack of light, but of days where there was no hope in sight. Of days I spent in Abu Salim Prison dreaming only to see an inch of sunlight. Slash marks etched on to the rigid walls, symbolizing all my days behind these bars. Gun shots as my morning alarm--sitting here, unarmed, tell me how I stay calm, when wanting freedom leads to my harm? Just a victim, just a number. Oh freedom, how I dream of you in my slumber: your gracious wings and beautiful smells, your radiance shielding me from all the bomb shells. It was on that day that I was freed, that day after I saw my country bleed, that I finally planted my hopeful seed. Qaddafi had fled, he and all his greed. Oh freedom, you were right...God IS all I need.

Love,
A Grateful Libyan

Holding On

Today I took my little sister to the store to pick out any toy she wanted. We went through endless isles of dolls, talking Doras, dress up games, singing microphones. Even I found myself distracted and curious. I tried suggesting ones for her to take but she had this interesting look of determination in her eyes. It was until she found a Repunzel doll that she yelled, "that one!" After the doll was in her hands, it seemed like nothing around her mattered anymore. Here we were in this colorful maze of toys yet it was like she became blinded to anything that wasn't what she had in her hands: the thing that made her happy. She focused on what she was looking for from the start, and then she told me, "let's go home". To me that taught me a valuable lesson. Sometimes life is filled with things that we want, things that tempt us but we must keep our eyes on the true prize- the thing that will make us truly happy in the end. We have to grab it and never let go. We have to take it home. And that thing is Faith.

Dear Freedom (Syria)

Dear Freedom,

I went to school today and my friend beside me was gone. I tried assuring myself that to a better place he had moved on, but the tears without my control left streams on my face forever drawn. At night I sleep to the pleas of my mother, the crying pains of my brother, and the gun shots fired one after another. Silence now as my loudest scream, I close my eyes in hopes to dream, of something besides this horrid scene. There was just one incident that gave me hope. That one day that we chanted out in the streets, caring less who might hear our freedom beats. That day where I held hands with someone I never knew, because we both shared that same dream of you. Oh freedom, when the echoes of "AMEEN" struck my heart, I knew we could never be apart. Standing in that crowd I saw hope, as me and my fellow brothers held on to that rope. I saw a knot we could untie, a voice that could reach the sky, and a joy manifested in tears...flowing from my eyes.

Love, 

A Hopeful Syrian Voice 

اللهم لك الحمد بالايمان ولك الحمد بالقرآن ولك الحمد بالاسلام ولك الحمد على نعمة الحمد ولك الحمد حتى ترضى ولك الحمد اذا رضيت . اللهم انك ترى ما حل بنا فلا تعاملنا بما كسبت ايدينا ولا تعاملنا بما نحن اهله ولكن عاملنا بما انت اهله فانك انت اهل الرحمة والمغفرة . الله انا نشكو اليك ضعف قوتنا وقلة حيلتنا وهواننا على الناس ياأرحم الراحمين . أنت رب المستضعفين وانت ربنا, الى من تكلنا, الى قريب يتجهمنا ام ا...لى عدو ملكته امرنا . من لاعراضنا غيرك يالله ومن لاطفالنا ياالله ومن لشيوخنا غيرك ياالله ومن امهاتنا واخواتنا غيرك ياالله, ومن لحمص غيرك ياالله ومن لسورية غيرك ياالله , اللهم مالنا رب سواك ولكن عافيتك أوسع لنا ,نعوذ بنور وجهك الذي أشرقت له الظلمات وصلح عليه امر الدنيا والاخرة من ان يحل علينا غضبك او تنزل علينا سخطك ,لك العتبى حتى ترضى ولا حول ولا قوة الا بك .

The Beauty of the 99 Names of Allah (swt)

The 99 names of Allah (swt) or, in Arabic, Asma ul-Husna, are the epithets of Allah’s attributes that are mentioned throughout the Quran and Hadiths. The phrase “Asma ul-Husna” contains the whole of His names in a general meaning. However, each of the names contains its own beautiful manifestation. The power and wisdom of God is what sustains the whole world and what is in it and our only way of understanding His magnificence is through learning the 99 attributes and reflecting on their meaning and articulacy. Allah (swt) says in the Quran, “...and certainly the remembrance of Allah is the greatest, and Allah knows what you do" (29:45).

                Everything we see in this world is a veil that reflects the power of God and therefore every moment in everything that we do is a perfect time for servitude. But before we are able to reflect on His power we must be close to Him. Having knowledge of God is different than having wisdom for knowledge is that which is known and wisdom is the application of knowledge. This wisdom comes through putting things in perspective and rarely thinking of the benefits of this world. For example simply knowing the 99 names would not be as beneficial as learning the wisdom behind them. This type of wisdom is the accumulation of knowledge through the most sublime nodes, for God is most sublime. Once wisdom is attained, spiritual excellence becomes a more realistic goal.

                So how does this relate to the 99 names of Allah (swt)? Well, once we begin to feel Allah in our hearts through the light of his attributes, we can achieve wisdom. This wisdom that becomes engraved in the heart can then spread outward and affect the body, the tongue, and every aspect of our lives. Allah is the only one that can provide this wisdom that can reach the heart for, "Those who believe, and whose hearts find satisfaction in the remembrance of Allah: for without doubt in the remembrance of Allah do hearts find satisfaction." (13:28)

                Thus, memorizing the Excellent names of Allah (swt) will result in remembering Him, remembering Him will result in illumination and goodness in the heart, and goodness in the heart will result in good deeds and Inshallah good deeds will result in Paradise. When remembrance of God is abundant, there is no room for bad thoughts to enter, and it is easier to avoid sins.

                So this winter break, let’s make it a goal to learn the 99 names of Allah (swt). Not simply learn them though, but implement them in our lives. Each name has its own beautiful attributes and it will take time before we can say we have them all understood. For example, if you say "Ya Baseer" 100 times after the Jumma prayer constantly, Allah will grant strength to your eye-sight and Noor (light) to your heart. And that is only one of the names. To attain the benefit of learning these names, all our acts of worship must be planted in the soils of a humble heart. Make the intention to learn one a day or one a week and implement it throughout your day. Slowly, Inshallah, you will find more blessings in your days.

**Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: "There are 99 names of Allah; he who commits them to memory (in the narration of Ibn `Umar this part of sentence is: "he who enumerates them") would get into Paradise. InshAllah.