New Diary 2012

Siratt in collaboration with Productive Muslim

I love any type of stationary and I cannot get through a day without the use of my diary and notebook mainly due to my gold fish like memory, I need to make notes in my diary all the time especially when I have moments of inspiration about craft products etc. When I am out shopping I always end up stock piling on well-made and beautiful notebooks. At the start of every year I always shop around looking for two diaries one for work and one for home. I have always thought that wouldn’t it be nice if there was a diary geared to the Islamic calendar with inspirational Quran and Hadith quotes so every time I looked at my diary to check my to do list I could get a Iman boost.

Well Alhamdulillah, what can I say it’s like the people at Siratt and the tremendous Productive Muslim team were listening to my thoughts, because they have come up with this fabulous desk top Lifebook, they call it a Lifebook rather than a diary, its available in various colours and its size is just perfect approx 24.5 x 17.5 cm.  I paid £13.95 and though they call it desktop Lifebook it’s not too big to carry around, not for me anyway as I am hooked on rather large handbags !

The Lifebook is covered in a lovely soft to the touch matt material, I decided to buy two a pink one for my sister, which she adored and one for myself, I wanted the purple one but they sold out so I bought black which is the colour I normally always buy so I wasn’t that disappointed that the purple was out of stock.

I came across Siratt through the Productive Muslim website, I have been visiting there site and facebook page since Ramadan and I can honestly say that there articles have really helped me focus more and basically be so much more organised and productive, anyway I digress (save that for another post).

I was just so impressed with the Lifebook I can’t recommend it enough, It incorporates some fabulous short and concise thought provoking chapters to read at the start of the diary, the beginning of every month has a section called ‘My Habit List’ which you can use to make or break a habit, on the actual week to view diary page it has a weekly hadith and a tip to improve your productivity, it includes all the basics for a diary but covers 7 days rather than 5 days like most standard diaries and it  also has a section for your most important tasks for the day at the bottom of the page, and a small section on the left hand side for quick notes and brilliant thoughts etc. Which is rather nice as I don’t need to carry a separate little notebook for my little light bulb moments ! Oh and I almost forgot to mention the beautiful vivid photography of mosques from around the world at the start of every new month. I am as you may have been able to tell very impressed on how much they have managed to pack in to this Lifebook.

If you visit the Siratt website you will find a list of all the chapters in the reading part and more detail of the diary sorry Lifebook, my only criticism and I probably wouldn’t even call it a criticism, it is more of a preference, is that rather than starting the times at 8:00 and finishing the daily time at 18:00hrs  it would have been better to not have the time filled in and maybe little boxes to fill the time you wanted to start your day as I have control freak OCD and don’t like the fact my tasks don’t fit next to correct time – but this is a minor detail the life book is brilliant for people who like me want to incorporate Islam in everything they do. The people at Siratt and Productive Muslim have done a fantastic job,  so far I love using this Lifebook and I have never seen anything remotely similar, so inshallah they now have my custom for the next year as well.

http://www.siratt.com/
http://www.productivemuslim.com/

Dhikr

Allah (SWT) has commanded us to remember him always. He says: "Remember Me, I shall remember you." (Qur'an 2:152) So it is very important for us, as Muslims, to perform dhikr, or remembrance, of Allah (SWT).

I feel the most at peace on the days when I am reading my Salah on time and taking time out to do dhikr, I know you can do dhikr at any point in the day as you are going about your daily activities but i like i need to allocate some time in the day that I feel is my way of being thankful to my creator by remembering him. I am ashamed to say that I have been slacking a little, however at the start of this week, I made sure that I became refocused and Alhamdulillah it has been going well so far I make sure I take time out and really reconnect with Allah (SWT).

The purpose of dhikr is to purify our hearts and souls and uplift our spirits. All words of praise and glory to Allah (SWT), whether spoken out loud, or silently in one's heart, are known as dhikr. So when people do dhikr, their hearts turn to the highest ideals and are free from the temptations of sin. Obviously this is true only if the words come from the heart and not just from the tongue.

The Quran says;

"And establish regular prayer, for prayer restrains from shameful and unjust deeds, and remembrance of Allah is the greatest thing in life, without doubt." (Surah al-Ankabut 29:45)
In other words, dhikr has an even greater impact in protecting us from shameful and unjust deeds than regular prayers do. This is because when a person opens his heart to Allah (SWT) and utters words in His praise, Allah (SWT) fills him with strength and inner peace, comforting his mind and his heart. The Prophet (PBUH) once said, "When any group of men remember Allah, angels surround them and mercy covers them, tranquillity descends upon them, and Allah mentions them to those who are with Him." (Reported by Abu Hurairiah)

This quote from the book “Fiqh us-Sunnah” by as-Sayyud Sabiq. The saying if lbn Abbas;

Ali b. Abi Talha relates that Ibn Abbas said, "All obligations imposed upon man by Allah are clearly marked and one is exempted from them in the presence of a genuine cause. The only exception is the obligation of dhikr. Allah has set no specific limits for it, and under no circumstances is one allowed to be negligent of it. We are commanded to `remember Allah standing, sitting, and reclining on your sides,' [Qur'an 3:191] in the morning, during the day, at sea or on land, on journey or at home, in poverty and in prosperity, in sickness or in health, openly and secretly, and, in fact, at all times throughout one's life and in all circumstances."

Dhikr is a very blessed practice, praised in the Qur'an and hadiths.  May Allah help bring us satisfaction in our hearts through remembrance of Him. As i mentioned i like to take some me time out and do dhikr quietly with my little dhikr companion pictured below, as its helps me focus and reflect on my creator, though I am aware that It is better to count the phrases on the fingers than counting beads or electronic calculators, because the fingers will be questioned and will speak on your behalf on the Day of Judgment and I always ensure that after Salah I perform dhikr on my fingers but this little digital counter really does help me so I continue to use it, I hope that Allah gives us ALL the ability to continually remember him at every moment in our life’s.

Bag love

Unlike previous years when I have spent a fair bit in the sales this year I have not liked anything that I wanted to buy - ok that’s not strictly true, I have treated myself to a couple of perfumes and maybe two skirts but thats it, because everything else that I have liked has been full price. Therefore I have only allowed myself a few treats, the two I have bought so far are bags (typical me – do without the other important stuff as long as I have a nice handbag, I am good to go).

I have never been one to pick a small handbag, and only time I have gone a little smaller is for a a cross the body bag or maybe for a evening clutch, I still try to apply the bigger the better rule. So when i spotted these gorgeous large tote bags this season it defnitley made my heart happy hehe.

1^st bag is from Warehouse £38

2^nd is from Zara £79.99

The Noor Collection

The Noor Collection has been around just over a year, it initially started as a hobby which quickly changed to a little business thanks to the encouragement of friends and families. I love any type of craft and Alhamdulillah I have quite a creative mind, whether that be regards to  clothes, accessories or home décor. So when there were times when I had a need for a particular thing, and I couldn’t locate it, rather than giving up I tried my upmost to come up with an alternative and that usually lead to, making it myself. This is how I started to make Hijab Pins after sourcing beautiful stones to complement my outfits.

I had a lot of interest from friends and family so I started making these hijab pins for them, they encouraged me to sell them and I did, this got my creative juices following and I then added other items aswell  like rings and bangles to my accessorises range. I also have a passion for stationary and homeware so this Inevitably followed. I have listed some of the items that are available, I wish I had photographs of all of what ive sold but as I have been selling by word of mouth I’ve not needed them but bear with me i am in the process of updating Facebook with everything.

Accessories

·         Hijab pins

·         Brooches

·         Rings

·         Bangles

Stationary

·         Cards

·         Notebooks

·         Pens

Homeware

·         Cushions

·         Wooden letters i.e Eid, Allah, Mubarak, Baby, Milad 

·         Islamic Canvas

·         Children’s framed Alphabet decor in English/Arabic

Faith

·         Fabric Ramadan Calendar- Reusable every year

·         Bunting

·         Baby cards

·         Eid cards

The website is in the process of been launched, until then I’d like to say that photography isn’t my strongest point so you will have to excuse the quality of the photographs I upload. In a nut shell this is how the The Noor Collection was born.

I have uploaded some pictures on Facebook so please go and browse and like my page,The-Noor-Collection.

Christmas and the muslim dilemma

Living in a non-muslim country it’s hard to avoid certain holidays, one of which that is very much in your face is Christmas, how do you avoid the secret Santa’s, Christmas parties and all the other things that go with Christmas. How many of us are asked on a daily basis at work, have you done your Christmas shopping yet? Do you be honest and say that no I don’t  celebrate Christmas to which a response is complete silence or a few who are a bit more brazen take a sneaky look at your hijab and say oh you’re not allowed to do that are you because it’s against Islam. Or do you just to keep the peace and avoid the uncomfortable silence and say that yes I’m done didn’t have many to buy for this year.  

Is it me or is it the sheer ignorance of people who believe that just because it’s a national holiday that everyone must partake in it.

I don’t know about others but for the last couple of years I have not been scared or embarrassed incase i didnt fit in. I just be honest and say that we have just had two big celebrations, one was Eid at the end of Ramadan and the other Eid at the end of Hajj and we have given and received many presents, so I wont be celebrating Christmas. I usually continue with, however I am looking forward to the time off work and I hope to grab a few bargains in the sales and without any hesitation they just happily move on to the sale shopping issue.

If I’m perfectly honest no one gets in to a big conversation about the why not’s because most of my colleagues have no religious interest in the festival they openly admit it has no religious significance to them or to their families, they claim it’s a multi million pound industry and it has become so commercial that they cant escape it even if they wanted too. Its also what has been drummed in to them from a young age so the tradition has continued. Basically it’s something to do and many of them hate the presents they get, but also admit that it’s the only time they have real family get togethers. Oh and I do have the odd few who claim that all it means to them is they can drink as much as they want and not have to go to work the following day.

I don’t want any of my non-Muslim readers to get annoyed with my comments about christmas, I am not at all generalising I’m just talking from my personal experiences.

CHANEL

I just love Chanel the clothes and the eye watering priced handbags, so I thought I’d share with you there most recent show, what you may think I don’t know but I really  like the inspiration behind Chanel’s Paris Bombay 2011 show, everything came together so beautifully for the designer, the sheer extravaganza just blends right in with the Indian culture and Bollywood drama. I know a lot of designers like to take inspiration from India and Karl Lagerfeld did exactly this with the glorious collection for his latest pre-autumn/winter 2012-13 collection. The Tables where laden for high tea and there was a no expense spared décor, it was simply breath-taking and my favourite part apart from the clothes which I must say looked so elegant and many a pieces that could be hijabi friendly- was the Chanel decorated steam train running along the tables. If you haven’t seen them already I shall leave you with some photographs- 

Chocolate Lovers Winter Treat

I am not really what you would call a chocoholic, I like to have the odd chocolate treat every now and then and I’m partial to a slice of chocolate fudge cake once in a while, as a general rule if I had a choice I would always pick a savoury treat over chocolate except when winter sets in and its freezing cold I like to treat myself to a warm mug of indulgent HOT CHOCOLATE.

It all started last year when I discovered these chocolate sticks from Marks and Spencer’s; basically it’s a ball of chocolate at end of a lollipop stick which you stir in milk turning your milk in to gorgeous cup of hot chocolate. I loved the idea so much I wanted to try and find a recipe to have a go at making them and I must say they turned out really well.  I found this recipe on the internet on www.candy.about.com if you put “hot chocolate on a stick” in your search engine you will find many recipe’s on making them and and ideas how to present them as little gifts. The image in the bottom is from a food blog and looks really beautiful I would love to receive such a gorgeous looking gift. Infact I  would cheat and buy some halal marshmallows, as the girl has done there and give them as little Eid gifts I don’t think I’m brave enough to attempt homemade marshmallows though.

Cooking time  10 minutes

Total time 10 minutes

Makes 25 pieces

Ingredients

·         1/2 cup heavy cream

·         14-oz can sweetened condensed milk

·         18 oz (about 3 cups) chopped semi-sweet chocolate or chips

·         4 oz (about 3/4 cup) chopped unsweetened chocolate

·         25 lollipop sticks or more if you want to make the smaller in size

Preparation:

1. Prepare an 8x8 pan by lining it with aluminum foil and spraying the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Place the chopped semi-sweet and unsweetened chocolates in a large heat-safe bowl.

2. Pour the heavy cream and condensed milk into a medium saucepan and whisk until combined. Put the saucepan over medium heat.

3. Bring the liquid to a simmer, whisking frequently so that the condensed milk does not scorch on the bottom of the pan.

4. Once the liquid is simmering, pour the hot cream over the chopped chocolate and let it sit for a minute to soften. Begin whisking the cream and chocolate together, until the chocolate is melted and you have a shiny, smooth mixture. It will be fairly thick.

5. Pour the chocolate into the prepared pan and smooth it into an even layer. Allow it to sit and firm up overnight, or for 3-4 hours in the refrigerator.

6. Once the fudge block is firm, use a large, sharp knife to cut it into twenty-five pieces (five rows and five columns). For the smoothest cuts, rinse the knife in hot water and dry it between each cut. Skewer each block with a lollipop stick.

7. To make hot chocolate, heat a mug of milk (water does not work well in this instance) and add a chocolate block. Allow it to sit and soften for a minute, then vigorously stir until it is dissolved.

8. Store Hot Chocolate On A Stick in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature, two weeks in the refrigerator, or up to a month in the freezer.