Welcome to muslim tea room 2.

[defuse]

Peace to you all

Ok, well here it is again...we have moved to room 2 now

Discuss whatever aspect of islam you like my lovely sisters - this is a place for muslims and non-muslims too, to share experiences, raising kids or just having your say!

The kettle is on.... We have loads of herbal teas, coffee and guava juice .... I like guava juice so welcome!

[Elusive]

EID MUBARAK

To each and every lovely sister, to those who posted and those who lurked.

Love the 'ready and distributed' terminology

Just got the Eid lunch ready, baked a cake and having a party tomorrow!!!!!!

Love you all for the sake of Allah.

Hugs and kisses!!!!!!!!!!!

And

[fuzzywuzzy]

Assalamualaikum,

The day of Arafah is tomorrow, those who wish to can also fast tomorrow, doing so expiates last years and the coming years sins Inshallah.

Remember to make loads of Duas tomorrow for the Ummah and for all of us.

Found to be a beautiful reminder.

[Elusive]

Salaam greeneggs and everyone

Eid has come by so quickly and I have loads to do yet. Trying to prepare an Eid menu at the moment. I would be quite happy eating out, but need to create an Eid atmosphere at home for the kids, so therefore I shall stand at the cooker and prepare home made stuff instead.

This thread has come to a standstill, so I have finally decided not to create another thread. If anybody else wishes to, then I shall post whenever I get a chance, but I don't see much point in starting another one at the moment.

So on that note, salaam to everyone from me. Have a lovely Eid sisters. You are all a wonderful bunch.

[greeneggsandjam]

Salam all

Just swinging by to say hello really. I never seem to get a minute to come here these days. Who would have thought Eid would come round so quickly. I have made no plans/bought no present/food/clothes so am doing really well. I have got the Qurbani sorted so I suppose that's the main thing!

[Elusive]

Salaam all,

Hope everyone is well.

Just wanted to say jumma mubarak - Happy Friday!

Jazakallah khair crescent for your lovely post and suggestions. I am going to give more sadqah today inshallah - it's jumma!!!!!!!

I need to get on with Eid clothes shopping. I like how they are doing a chaand raat for big eid sis lol! But I love chaand raat. It really feels like Eid then! Dont know if anything is planned here for chaand raat, but they only tend to do chaand raat after Ramadan. How many times have i said chaand raat!!!

I think i will start another thread when this one ends. By the looks of things, it might take another week for this one to end lol! please don't feel compelled to post on new thread but it will be there just in case anybody wants to say hello.

Just thought.....does anybody else want to start up the next tea room thread?

[Elusive]

Salaam all,

Hope everybody is well.

I am well purely by the grace of Allah sisters! I am still in shock at how things have turned in my favour. I am not exaggerating when I say that i was denied the opportunity of legal representation due to being kept in the dark about the situation, I had no opportunity to lawyer up, nor could I have afforded it in all honesty as I was already looking at legal costs for a case I never knew about! I was even unable to self-represent because I found out so late. The 'big foe' completely blindsided me. The worst thing was, I had no hard evidence against the foe and them making a legal battle out of a non-issue was uncalled for.

All i did was make dua. I read duas about seeking refuge in Allah. I made so many phone calls in the 2 days i had and not a single call got me a satisfactory answer. I decided to set up a twitter account and tweet! All i did was ask the company why nobody has communicated with me. I didnt say anything horrible or about the case.

The next day was the day of the final judgement, ( yes, i didnt even know about the previous hearings!) out of the blue, the company phoned me and dropped the case! Just like that! I came away without having to pay anything! Sisters, I was looking at having to potentially pay thousands, maybe up to £20,000 in legal costs as the company has it's in-house legal team and could have charged me whatever they liked and I would have had no way of challenging it!

I am still in shock. I still don't get it.
Allah made this happen. Allah turned their hearts. I have no other explanation! It most certainly wasn't as a result of anything that I did. I am absolutely awed at the majesty and mercy of Allah. What is even more humbling is that I most certainly am not worthy - I do not possess any of the qualities attributed to those who are 'pious' yet Allah helped me in such a way that i came away from it all unscathed.

Oh, the only money I parted with was £10 as sadaqah when i was dumbfounded about the existence of this case. I gave such a tiny amount in sadaqah and Allah gave me such a massive massive return! Subhanallah.

So sisters, please tell me how I should thank Allah. What is the best way of thanking Allah? I have done sujood for gratitude, but how else can I show gratitude? This was a massive deal for me and I have come away from it unscathed only because Allah protected me. I need to say thank you. I just dont know how else to say it. How can I be a better person to try and show Allah that i am grateful?

I have written all this, not to show off, but to say that Allah is everyone's Lord. He listens to us, even if we don't listen to Him. His mercy truly encompasses everything and everyone. We just have to keep asking and He will give, whether it's now or in the next world, our prayers do not go unanswered.

Hasbunallahu Wa Ni’mal Wakeel.
ni'mal Mawla wa ni'man Naseer
Sufficient for us is Allah, and He is the Best Guardian.
The Excellent Protector and the Excellent Helper!

Wow! My post is long!

[Elusive]

Salaam sisters.

Hope everyone is well. I am having a bit of a difficult time at the moment. I am facing a battle with a very big 'foe' who has used underhanded tactics. I am deliberately being vague but what I have written sounds quite dramatic doesn't it!

Please pray for me sisters that Allah helps me against those in places of power. Alhamdulillah, I have my health, my family, so I really can't complain. Allah says that He will test us with our children, life or wealth. Out of all three, wealth is the easiest one to be tested with Inshallah. I just hope I pass the test. I have been reading lots of duas. What is amazing is that every dua I read, i can relate it to my situation and the dua gives me peace. Its the beauty of these duas isnt it? Still so relevant in the many situations which may be very different from one another.


?????????? ?????? ?????????? ??? ??????????? ????????? ???? ???? ???????????
"O Allah, we make you the turner of the (enemies) chest (heart) and seek refuge in You from their evils".


?????????? ?????????? ??????? ????? ????????? ????? ??????? ???????? ?????? ?????????? ??????? ??????? ??? ?????? ?????? ??????
"O Allah, I hope for Your mercy, do not leave me for even the duration of an eye blink (duration) and correct my total condition. Besides You there is none worthy of worship".

?????? ??????? ???????? ???????? ?????????? ?????????? ????????? ??? ?????????? ????????? ??? ???????? ???????
"Definitely we are from Allah and to Him is our return. O Allah, grant reward in my calamity and grant in its place a good substitute".

I have seen better translations for these duas, but can't look for them right now.

Please make dua for me sisters. Its all a bit daunting but I have prayed Istikhara and salaatul haajah. So inshallah whatever happens now will be for the best. Tawakkal Allah.

Writing all this was also therapeutic!

[peacefuloptimist]

You are absolutely right squishing that the vast majority of people are perfectly normal and friendly. I think I do have a tendency to focus on the negative ones (despite the name ) and I have to just train myself to forget the one person and remember the many more who smiled or were polite. I think it just gets you down when you read a lot of the extreme comments and then you experience some unpleasantness in real life but your right its not healthy. Jazakhallah khairan for the lovely reminder sis.

[squishinglittlefatcheeks]

Peaceful - praying for you. IA Allah SWT will make it all easy for you.

You got me thinking with what you were saying about how there are some very islamophobic opinions being thrown around in the media and on some threads here. I think it's really important to remember that often we only hear from the people who have extreme views - and this goes for both sides. Like we usually only hear on the news about crazy fundamentalists with extreme views - this taints people's perceptions of what a 'Muslim' is; similarly often on here we only hear from people who have extreme views of an anti-muslim nature. The more moderate people are less compelled to share their opinion. Same as the more moderate Muslims aren't making a big noise about how normal they are. I hope this makes sense. I think it is unhelpful to feel the world is against you. Chances are that if you speak to a lot of real people you will find that many of them realise that Muslims are ok. Don't give up on that hope - nasty looks here and there are not nice but are also fewer than the number of people who don't throw a look - its just that it's easier to remember the one person who made you feel uncomfortable.

[peacefuloptimist]

Salams all

Subhanallah now we have 20 posts left till the end of the thread the conversation is moving so slowly. Wonder how long we can stretch it out until. No agreement yet as to whether to start a new thread? I can see both sides really. Yes it is nice to just dip in and out of the thread when times are good but if someone needs advice/help and is left hanging for a few days as no one has replied on the thread it can look kind of mean. Anyway not sure if I would come back to mumsnet without our thread. The atmosphere has become noticeably unfriendly and it can really get you down. Ignorance is bliss in some ways. Then when you see someone staring at you or giving you a nasty look you can imagine that it is because they have mistaken you for the wrong person/woken up on the wrong side of bed rather then they hate your guts and see you as just another one of those mozlems that is ruining the country/world. I know, I know I sound a bit over dramatic but seriously reading some of the threads on here related to Islam and muslims is making me become a bit agoraphobic (sp?).

I went on a trip to the seaside with a friend of mine, her dc and ds and I was absolutely dreading it coming up to the date and almost cancelled because of the thought of how we would be received there. It ended up being a really lovely day out (one nasty look from a woman but in general no glares) with lots of people being really kind and friendly. I dont know why I have this paranoia now about travelling around the UK on my own as I used to travel up and down the country without a care when I was younger. I think in part things have become a bit worse with regards to islamophobia and also having ds makes me more nervous and upset about getting in to hostile situations. I can handle people being nasty to me but the idea of him experiencing that makes me feel sick and teary.

Anyway sorry for putting a bit of a downer on the thread. My pregnancy hormones are making me overemotional. Im almost near the end now. Alhamdulillah. Bit up and down at the moment though health-wise. Doesnt help that Im going to be working nearly up to my due date due to being a bit of a pushover at work and wanting to cause the minimum amount of inconvenience. Im starting to look forward to when dc2 arrives Inshallah. Please make dua for me sisters that these last few months go well for me and baby is born healthy with a complication free labour. Not asking for much am I?

Anyway nice to read your lovely posts and be bathed in your comforting presence and words even though it is virtual. Must get back to rl now whilst ds has a nap and I can watch great british bake off get some work done.

[Tiptops]

Crescent Thank you for your lovely message, it sounds silly but the solidarity and support amongst the Ummah is so reassuring. I know I'm doing the right thing, but sometimes I have doubts purely because of the reactions/ complications of other people. I hope this is normal for a revert, and usually once the immediate upset of a situation has passed, my resolve to stick with what I believe becomes stronger. But it is lovely to have support, so thank you for that.

R.e. your second post I do enjoy looking after and helping other people so fortunately those sort of things you described I do without thinking. There is a definite temptation to withhold these little acts of kindness though, but you're right, I need to put those feelings aside and continue with the Sunnah way.

Hope everyone with little ones is getting back in to the school routine

[Elusive]

Salaam squishing.

Don't have a recipe but I read that as children satay skewers! Did a double take!

Yes, Clarks a day before schools start, fun isnt it?! . cres I have completed the school uniform challenge for now. Just waiting for items to gradually go missing now!

It's bedtime.

Goodnight all!

[squishinglittlefatcheeks]

Salaams all

I also got caught in the pre-back to school shoe madness. My DD is not school age yet but happened to need to new shoes and off I went merrily to Clark's where I was confronted with total mayhem. Note to self: be aware of back to school dates! DD enjoyed it though, she picked every shoe off the shelf to try on and even went after the boys shoes.

On a different note, I am attempting to make chicken satay skewers tomorrow for my friend at dinner. Anyone got a good recipe?

[Elusive]

Salaam all, hope all is well.

crescent How do you do the turban? Show me a pic of what the turban looks like.

As for the school dinners, i am more worried that the younger DCs will eat the spag bol etc at school because it's ok to eat as mummy makes it at home! I have mentioned that they can't and explained why but I did get confused looks from the younger ones!

my sister's school had a full trial run before holidays where parents choose what their kids will have for the week ahead. My school didn't even send a letter! I shall check when they go to school what the system is and I shall send them in with a packed lunch just in case!

Today I went looking for school shoes and it was quite amusing to find everyone dashing around Clarks, Charles Clinkard and John Lewis trying on school shoes. I am not amused with the prices! £35 upwards for a pair of school shoes. My older dd can easily get away with wearing Asda school shoes, but with the younger one i always need to faff about with her shoe fittings. Today, even the Clarks and Start-rite shoes didn't fit properly! So i am at a loss as to what to do now! I am tempted to send her to school in her non-school shoes!

Back to the shops tomorrow....

[Elusive]

Knock knock

Anybody home?

Has everyone survived the school holidays?

As always, I have left everything till the last minute. Need to do a mad dash for uniforms. When DCs first started school, i used to get their uniforms from John Lewis. It took just a few months to see sense and go to Asda instead! The loss of an Asda cardigan doesn't feel so bad as the loss of a John Lewis one! Still am not completely satisfied with plimsolls as they never seem to fit well, so thinking of buying cheap trainers for PE instead.

This year, all children up to y2 will be given free school meals. So.....do i send DCs without a Packed lunch or do I send in a drink and snacks? Do i need to specify to the school that DCs only allowed pescetarian diet or will they already know this and not offer the younger DCs anything non-halal?
DCs kind of know what to eat and what not to eat but i do get worried that they might think it ok to eat meat at school because mum makes it at home! Or am i overthinking it all?