Busy BEE

I’m officially labeling this month as one of the busiest of the year. Well, for me at least. I’m not sure if it’s the fact that it’s the end of the semester and we’re being bombarded with work or people are getting frantic because we’re nearing the end of the year; whatever the reason I am busy with the capital B.

University is flooding us with work. I have approximately around 4 to 5 projects to finish of which all are hefty percentages of my final grade and are approximately 2500 words each. Then there are the concept tests, my creative writing diploma and all the other little things in my life that I’m involved in.

I can’t wait for the 15th of December. (Holidays!)

Using mobile phones while driving fatal

Picture taken from: thetelecomblog.com

Last week United Arab Emirates heard the sad news of its 21 year old footballer Diab Awana dying in a car accident in Abu Dhabi. According to the UAE based newspaper Gulf News,  Awana crashed into a lorry while he was using his blackberry device to message his friend Hamdan Al Kamali.

Using your phone while driving to BBM, SMS or talk has become a common phenomenon with the people of UAE. I won’t deny the fact that I too often use my blackberry while I’m driving, especially when there is a lot of traffic or on a signal. With data packages providing social media  such as facebook and twitter at your finger tips, it’s hard not to be distracted.

According to Gulf News, Dubai police states that using mobile phones while driving is one of the main reason for road accidents in the UAE. “Maj Gen Al Zafein said using a mobile phone while driving is one of the main causes of serious traffic accidents, especially if the phone is hand held.” According to various reports and research using a mobile phone while driving increases the chance of an accident by nine-fold. In UAE road accidents are a grim reality and  UAE needs to up its campaign to spread awareness about the fatalistic consequences of using a mobile phone while driving. It needs to adopt stricter policies like issuing fines as some countries like Canada already do in order to prevent the loss of life.

Link to Gulf News story.

Link to The Effect of mobile phone use on driving styles and skills.

The Irvine11

The verdict is out. The Irvine11 have been found guilty of interrupting an Israeli Ambassador to the United States. As silly it may sound, they’ve actually been convicted and charged.

If you don’t know what happened, this video shows how students of University of California disrupted Michael Oren’s speech and staged a walk-out.

Disrupting University lecturers has been happening for years as a form of protest and yet no severe action has ever been taken. For example, the disruption of Condoleezza Rice at Stanford University and yet action has been taken against the Irvine11. No doubt there is bias involved in this verdict because they’re Muslim students and Michael Oren is an Israeli ambassador.

The United States is often applauded for promoting and practicing ‘freedom of speech / expression’ and allowing student activism to flourish but this verdict and that of Troy Dav gives Americas democracy another light.

For updates and more information on the Irvine11 visit: http://www.irvine11.com/

Mini Apple Pies

So the other day I went to visit my friend who is a fellow foodie (blogs at Red Panda bakes) at her house and she was baking Apple pies from scratch. They looked fairly easy to make so I was inspired and asked for the recipe. They turned out really food, were finished in minutes and were actually very easy to make.

Below is the recipe for the Apple Pies and I’ve written in red the changes I made to it.

How to make the dough:

2 and a 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tbsp Salt (I used teaspoon as I thought tbsp would be too much)

2 tbsp Sugar

1 cup unsalted butter cut into pieces (I used 1 cup and this made my dough soft and hard to cut into so I had to add extra flour. i would recommend using a little less then 1 cup)

60-120 ml very cold water

Instructions:

Add all the dry ingredients together. Cut the butter into small slices and also add that. Gently knead the butter into the mixture with your hands until it looks and feels a little like wet sand. Don’t knead too much. Add the water in small parts at the end. You don’t need to use all the quantity mentioned for the water, use it to what you think is accordingly. Knead the mixture until it becomes dough and put it in the fridge for half an hour.

The dough should not be too soft as this will make it hard for you to cut round circles from it.

Apple Pie mixture:

Apples according to how many apple pies you’re making. I made 12 and used about 6-7 small sized apples.

Brown Sugar 1/2 a cup. (I used a litter more than 1/2 a cup)

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 tbsp cinnamon powder

1tbsp salt (I used just a pinch)

1 tbsp + t tsp Corn starch / corn flour

Instructions:

Cut the apples in small pieces and add all the ingredients together. You can increase/decrease cinnamon according to how much you like it. I personally really like cinnamon so I added a bit extra.

- – -

Take the dough out and cut medium sized round pieces from it. I use Prestige cupcake trays so I had to cut accordingly. There is a special dough cutter that comes in different round sizes that I used and I would recommend these to get the perfect shape.

However, you can use a large round glass for the shape. When you’re cutting out the pieces or simply making them round with your hands it should look something like this: (Disclaimer: This is not my picture)

After you cut the round pieces place them in the cupcake trays (Make sure your tray is coated with a bit of butter or margarine so the dough doesn’t stick). I had to expand the cut out dough pieces a bit according to the tray because they were a bit small. Also remember, for every Apple pie you make you need to cut out TWO round pieces. One for the base and one as a cap which will cover the body from the top.

Put the apple mixture. Cover each Apple Pie with a cap of cut out dough.

Use one egg beat properly to sprinkle slightly with a brush on each Apple Pie. Put in the over to bake for about 30/40 minutes and you’re good to go!

Thank You for giving Joy

In one of my previous posts I’d mentioned collecting money for orphans and poor children who we’d sponsor for a day for Eid celebrations. A lot of people responded through e-mail and I’m happy to announce that the event for very successful. It was a beautiful day, we took them to the bowling alley in Al Quoz, there was face painting, food and fun activities.

Pictures are up on the flea4charity Facebook page. (Link to Album 1 Album 2) – Although I do think you have to like the page in order to view the pictures.

God Bless and thank-you for donating a little to give so much Joy.

Post-Ramadan

Post-Ramadan is always difficult for me. All of a sudden I’m struggling greatly with my nafs as compared to Ramadan when the devils are chained and your soul is fed instead of your nafs. Doing ibaadah during Ramadan is definitely much more easier and you can feel it.

This Ramadan I did a lot of dua’a for steadfastness in my deen after Ramadan because that’s what worries me. During Ramadan, the imaan is high, Qur’an is read everyday and Qiyam El Layl is done every night. However, right after Ramadan finishes, even waking up for Fajr is Jihad An-Nafs. (I personally sometimes use two alarm clocks to wake myself up for Fajr during normal days… in Ramadan it’s a piece of cake)

So I’ve decided to try and at least keep one habit continuing onto post Ramadan days and that is reading Qur’an. I’ve managed to keep the flow going from Ramadan of reading everyday. Be it 5 minutes or a page I’m trying to build it into my daily schedule and the difference it makes is enormous. I’m somehow better able to remember doing my adhkaar and feel more spiritually uplifted throughout the day even though I might not be in a state of worship.

And considering I’m back to University today, going to an Australian University (although it might be based in the UAE) which somewhat has a secular environment my sould needs the spiritual dose of Qur’an everyday

Hope everyone is benefiting from the month of Ramadan. Remember, be a a year round Muslim, not just a Ramadan Muslim.

PS. Another tip for trying to still feel the Ramadan spirit is by fasting the 6 days of Shawwal as the ajr for them are great.

Abu Ayyoob (may Allaah be pleased with him) reported that the Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Whoever fasts Ramadaan and follows it with six days of Shawwaal, it will be as if he fasted for a lifetime.” (Narrated by Muslim, Abu Dawood, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nisaa’i and Ibn Maajah)

Eid Mubarak & Ramadan reflections

Belated Eid Mubarak!

I hope everyone had/has a fabulous Eid and may Allah accept all our good deeds done during Ramadan. Ameen.

I spent the first day of Eid praying with the family at the Masjed in the morning, doing lunch with a few sisters at Markaz Al Huda and having my Mothers awesomely cooked food. We decided to leave Dubai for Eid because everyone else comes in to Dubai from the other Emirates usually, leaving the roads blocked. So to avoid the traffic we ended up driving to Al Ain. It’s a beautiful city, mashaAllah. Calm and beautiful, so different from Dubai.

On the way back from Al Ain we randomly picked a restaurant called, ‘Al Noor restaurant and grill’ and were plesantly surprised by their food. It was excellent. If you’re ever in Al Ain, this restaurant makes the best fish and Sulaimani chai.

The second day the family wanted to go for another long ride so we ended up going to Fujairah/Khorfakkan. These are mountainous areas of UAE. On our way there we stopped at the famous Friday market and bought… plants. Yes, you heard that right. With a mother and sister who adore plants we stored quite a lot of indoor and outdoor plants at the back of our jeep. All in all, it was an Eid well spent with the family.

On our way to Fujairah/Khorfakkan. So different from Dubai.

The Plant nursery at Friday Market. They had hundreds and hundred of plants.

I bought one pot from this. This is apparently wild grass but I love the white flower it gives out. Reminds me of fields and sunlight.

Some of our indoor plants that we bought.

A note on Ramadan Refelctions:

Another Ramadan has come to an end and I let go of this great month with extreme sadness. Who knows if we will live till next Ramadan, reaping its rewards? I’m not sure how exactly I felt about this Ramadan. I suspect my previous Ramadan was better and probably because I’d come out of just briefly studying the tafseer of the Qur’an. This year, it was after I finished a year of University and I suppose with a tad bit more hardened hardened heart as compared to last year. Alhamdulilah, the nights were as beautiful as ever with the tarawih and Qiyam though. I did some serious masjid hopping this Ramadan, to the point where I think I would’ve done a blog post reviewing Masajid in Dubai.

Over all, it has been a beautiful month. A month of blessing and immense mercy from our creator. I celebrate Eid with a slight sadness, knowing we’ve passed such a beneficial month and knowing that our brothers’ & sisters’ are suffering all around the world.

God Bless.

Making this Eid special for Orphans & poor children

A couple of us alongside with the charity organisation Flea4Charity are taking the initiative to help make this Eid a little more fun for orphans and poor children in Dubai. We’re going to be sponsoring a few orphans and children that cannot afford much from a center in Ajman and bringing them to Dubai, providing them with food, booking a place for them to play in and giving them gifts.

Even if you donate AED 5, it would go a long way.

This is what we’re collecting money for:

20 caps – AED 25 each – Total of AED 500
20 watches – AED 30 each – Total of AED 600
20 sports shoes – AED 100 each – Total of AED 2000

AED 500 Eid clothes

Other expenses required:

- Transportation AED 300

You can send me an e-mail at hamnaahmed00@gmail.com if you would like to help out or contact us on our facebook group.

Let us on these days of happiness and joy that we usually spend with our families and friends, eating and drinking and enjoying ourselves also think about the less fortunate among us in our societies.

(As most of our team members are based in Dubai and Eid is right around the corner, it would be convenient for us if you could be somewhere in Dubai for us to pick the donations.)

قول النبي ، صلى الله عليه وسلم : ( أنا وكافل اليتيم في الجنة كهاتين ، وأشار بالسبابة والوسطى ، وفرق بينهما ) البخاري

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “I and the one who sponsors an orphan will be like this in Paradise,” and he gestured with his index and middle fingers. Narrated by al-Bukhaari, no. 5659.

وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا

Worship Allah and join none with Him in worship, and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbour who is near of kin, the neighbour who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hands possess. Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful. [4:36] Qur’an

The Ultimate pleasure – أعظم نعيــم

A beautiful reminder by Shaykh Saleh Al Maghamsi

اللهم اني اسألك لذة النظر إلى وجهك الكريم والشوق إلى لقائك

An applause for UAE’s community spirit

A blogpost has been long overdue. Ramadan has been busy as ever, between fasting, going for taraweeh, Islamic lectures, trying to finish the Qur’an,  attending iftars and charity events I haven’t had the time to actually sit down and write.

In the past week I attended two events which made me applaud UAE’s community spirit.

AdoptACamp

An initative run by Saher Shaikh, this organisation aims to help the labourers of UAE. During Ramadan they organise a ‘Care Packages for Labourers’ day where the community comes in to help make packages for labourers that will keep them going for a month. I’ve been attending this event for the past two years and it never fails to amaze me how people turn up from all backgrounds, cultures and religions and work side by side to help those in need.

This weeks Care Packages event was held at Dubai World Trade Centre and over a thousand people turned up to help  make 3000 boxes that would be delivered to different labour camps in the UAE. In the end my arms felt like marshmallows from the box lifting but it was all worth it in the end, especially after seeing videos of labourers receiving these care packages.

This is a picture by Nabila Usman of the volunteers that were left at the end:

You can watch a video coverage of the event by MyDubaiMyCity here: Video 

Flea4Charity

Flea4Charity is an initiative started by Luz Salem and Jihad M’Nasria. They help already existing charity organisations by selling usable second hand items that people donate in their flea market. This time around they’re raising funds for famine stricken Africa and I had the opportunity to be involved in helping in their markets. The community spirit was beautiful, people donated all sorts of things and a lot of these things were in very good question, some even being new. What was more beautiful was the team of volunteers who came down to help in selling these things.

I spent six hours on my feet selling mostly books and DVD’s yesterday but I don’t regret a single moment. We managed to raise AED 19,150 and knowing all of that money will go to famine stricken Africa to help starving people is more then worth it.

For more information on Flea4Charity and their upcoming events you can visit their blog: http://www.flea4charity.wordpress.com  or their Facebook page.