New Muslim Teens' Podcast! Meet Jenna, Yousef and Jody!

 

New Mulsim Teen Podcast!

New Muslim Teens Podcast

The Importance of Highlighting Talents and Praising Others' Work.

Once, I was volunteering as a field monitor assistant in a school field. I noticed that one of the kindergartener girls was giving everyone a hard time. She wasn’t listening to instructions, she wasn't following directions, she stayed in the field at recess, and she stayed where she wasn't supposed to stay. I was supposed to be monitoring the field, and I watched her closely. She didn’t listen to the recess teacher standing upon her head for more than forty minutes, and I was amazed by the teacher's level of patience. Even a mom would give up and would start to promise consequences.

I came closer to the girl, and I whispered nicely, “Wow! I like your shirt! Your mom has good taste!”

I didn't expect her to respond to my compliment, but to my surprise, she did, even she said something that was an eye-opener for me. She said, “Thank you! My dad got it for me on my birthday. My mom passed away last year.”

I was thankful that God inspired me to say something nice despite my initial impression. It was a life lesson for me not to jump to conclusions and not assume the bad from anyone...Ever!

I also learned that praising someone for something he/ she is good at would again turn back to us in a good way. It could come back to us in the form of good karma, or it could come back in the form of a meaningful relationship and a deeper connection, it could come back with a fruitful discussion, or it could come out in the form of more understanding and less judgment. This could be applied to adults as well as kids. 

After this life lesson, I decided to dedicate every platform I have to highlight others' amazing work, praise them and put others’ talents in the spotlight. Not only to make sure I use the gift of followers for a good cause, but also because praising other's good work instills purity in our hearts. Like Prophet Mohamed said, "No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that he desires for himself." Also, it is true that when the Muslims immigrated for the first time from Mekka to Medina, the people of Madina were generous and hospitable; they shared their homes and money with the newcomers from Mecca; hence, Allah praised their manners and set them as a role model of heart purity. God says about them,

(Those who were already firmly established in their homes [in Madina], and firmly rooted in faith and show love for those who migrated to them for refuge and harbor no resentment in their hearts for what has been given to them. They give them preference over themselves, even if they too are poor: those who are saved from their own souls' greed are truely successful) Quran (59:9)

 Thanks to my loyal followers, and thanks to everyone who made sure to send me poems, articles, artworks, or any contributions and kept my page and blog alive!

And now, I want you to meet Jenna, Yousef, and Jody. They are three Muslim teens who decided to make good use of their time during the lockdown. They launched this podcast channel to educate the public about Islam and share ideas on Islamic practices.

My kids enjoyed listening and learning from their podcasts. I loved how simple, straightforward language they used in their podcast, how it is full of inspiring stories from ancient Muslims' days and the Prophet companions' life experiences.

Please, make sure to visit and follow their spectacular channel here,

https://anchor.fm/jenna-deen/episodes/6-Characteristics-of-Moomins-endlmd?fbclid=IwAR1hOs4KiNtIEYh23Eg0r2Hv1wxId8lBUTVDFChYXBkLHFMVLqTnPApK4uA

Publisher's Note:

 Before you go, make sure to check out Little Farah Magazine issue 2. Also, check out issue 1. This is a free online magazine for Muslim kids. Feel free to contact me for a PDF.

A read-aloud from my latest book Mrs. Z, the Substitute!

check out my book collection on Amazon

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All your contributions are welcome!

Keep sharing! Keep shining!

My blog represents my thoughts. My thoughts are not affiliated with any organization I volunteer for.

Meet Retal Elazhary! An amazing Future Artist!

 

Retal Elazhary is 6 years old. She is in second grade. She is an amazing little artist that loves to spend most of her time creating new things, MashaAllah! This is her unique way to make life sounds prettier. 

Check out her Gallery, and feel free to leave a comment.

And you, too, feel free to send us your amazing artwork! All contributions are welcome!

Publisher's Note:

 I dedicated every platform I have to highlight others' amazing work and put other talents in the spotlight. Not only to make sure I use the gift of followers for a good cause, but also praising others' good work instills purity in our hearts. Like Prophet Mohamed said, "No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that he desires for himself." Also, it is true that once the Muslim immigrated for the first time from Mekka to Medina, the people of Madina were generous and hospitable, they shared their homes, money with the newcomers from Mecca; hence, Allah praised their manners and set them as a symbol and a role model of heart purity. God says,

(Those who were already firmly established in their homes [in Madina], and firmly rooted in faith and show love for those who migrated to them for refuge and harbor no resentment in their hearts for what has been given to them. They give them preference over themselves, even if they too are poor: those who are saved from their own souls' greed are truly successful) Quran (59:9)

 Thanks to my loyal followers, and thanks to everyone who made sure to send me poems, articles, artworks, or any contributions and kept my page and blog alive!

Keep sharing! Keep shining!

Before you go, make sure to check out Little Farah Magazine issue 2. Also, check out issue 1. This is a free, online magazine for Muslim kids. Feel free to contact me for a PDF.

A read-aloud from my latest book Mrs. Z, the Substitute!

check out my book collection on Amazon

Contact me 

Eat, Drink and Let your Eyes Lit out of Joy!

 IF you're thinking of ways to remain sane, positively focused, and energetic during these overwhelmingly stressful times, I remembered these few verses that reflected how the ever-blessed Virgin Mary coped with her difficult situation. They inspired me! I’m sharing the story here so you, too, will get inspired. 

 

The ever-blessed Virgin Mary was overwhelmed. She thought and rethought how people would think of her unexpected pregnancy and what ordain was awaiting her beloved son.

She cried and cried.

She turned to God and said, “Oh, I wish I had died before this and was in oblivion, forgotten.”

God knew how tough it was on her, He knew the test was too hard for her to process, and no planning would help.

He let the baby Jesus talk to her. Baby Jesus (Peace be upon him) miraculously called her from below her and said, “Do not grieve, your Lord has provided beneath you a stream. As you shake toward the palm tree, it will drop upon you ripe, fresh dates. So eat and drink and let your eyes lit out of joy. And if you see from humanity anyone, say, “Indeed, I have vowed to the Most Merciful abstention, so I will not speak today to any human.”

Quran(16:23-36.)

This was a challenging situation. This was one of the many ways God taught us how to deal with pain and unplanned atrocities and calamities, especially with things that involve community gossiping or future planning.

He showed us a way...simply eat, drink and enjoy your life and let your eyes lit out of joy. Leave it be, leave them be, don’t react to every event, don’t respond to every talk. Stay happy and leave it to God. He Almighty knows best, he Almighty does best.

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P.s: my opinions represent my thoughts. My thoughts are not affiliated with any organization I volunteer for.

Blackness In Islam? How Prophet Mohammed Dealt with Racism?

 

As a non-black, Arabic-speaking Egyptian,  I was hesitant to write about this topic for so long because I believe that no one can own the story of the black agony better than someone who has been through it and lived it. Surely, our Black brothers and sisters are way more articulate than any other non-Black to address this issue. And surely, our Black brothers and sisters have their own foundation of great folks affirming that a Black person doesn't have to have a seat at the table because they are the table! All I'm trying to say here is that it's my duty to share the little knowledge I have from an Arab Muslim non-Black perspective. It's my duty to reflect and let my audience know about you, lead them to your story, and affirm to you that You Don't Need a Seat at the Table. You are the Table! 

You need to hear that from all and not only your great ancestors!

BTW, my dad is from people of color; my brother, my sister, and half of my in-laws are Black people from Sudan. My youth are people of color. You don't have to be fully Black to feel for Black people or people of color. If you have someone you care about who is Black or from people of color, it is enough.

To be honest, as we are not Black and we haven't been through  the decades of oppression and suffering our Black sisters and brothers have long endured, and after the lawless unjustiefied imprisonments, mass incarcerations, unfair lynching, arrests, and unbearable insurmountable systematic racism, they have been through, I can tell, this is heavy and tough, and it takes time to process, and it takes time to heal, but it also takes time for the immigrant community or people from non-Black backgrounds to understand. 

My suggestion for my non-Black immigrant community is to reach out, ask questions, and get proper knowledge. Be kind. Pick your words and be considerate of people’s sensibilities. Maybe, I started my learning journey earlier, but I don't claim any expertise, but, I can direct you to the right resourceful people and credible resources. If you acknowledge that you have wronged someone, seek forgiveness and try to do better. We all make mistakes and maybe our previous mistakes will eventually lead us through. Stay perserverant. 

To fathom how the non-black communities can educate themselves and help their Black brothers and sisters, let’s look in-depth at the prophetic example. Let's deep dive into how Prophet Mohammed dealt with racism in his brand-new Muslim community.

As we all know, the Prophet Mohammed was born in the Arabian Peninsula.The Arab community was known for showing off pride in their lineage, bragging about their linguistic skills, their social rank, and money. They even show off their outfits.  Arab men and women used to dress in a one-piece outfit, and the longer the dress train and the more it was embellished, the richer the person was.  

Allah sent prophet Mohamed who was the opposite of all of that, he was born as an orphan, he was illiterate, he was born to a highly respected family, however, they were opposing him publicly; the Prophet Mohammed’s uncle Abu Lahab (Abdul-Uzza) and his wife went so creative when it came to humiliating the Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him).

At some point, you might ask, “If God sent him as a Prophet, why did He almighty have to have his favorite Prophet go through all these traumatizing events?” 

I’m assuming because if the prophet himself went through all these atrocities, he would at some point understand where others were coming from, and he would be able to best serve them from a better seat because he had been there.

And when we look at the most famous incident that addressed racism in Islam, our minds would unwillingly think of Bilal Ibn Rabah, the most famous Muslim Black-Figure. 

Bilal was born and lived in poverty because of his slavery despite his well-respected but enslaved lineage.

His mom was known by Hammama. They said she named herself so because she learned that hammama in Arabic means pigeon. So she wanted to refer to herself as a free pigeon.

Bilal was enslaved by Ommaya Ibn Khalaf. Bilal was the smartest among his slaves, and Ommayya would trust Bilal with his money, financial issues, and secret meetings. He rarely left him to watch his flock of sheep and always highlighted that Bilal had too strong mental skills and abilities to be involved in the shepherding work. This was not good news for his fellow, Orwa, the second-best choice for Ommayya. Orwa was always jealous of Bilal and was tired of his master praising Bilal’s mental strength and charming voice. Bilal also used to sing during Ommaya’s parties.

Orwa was the one who told on Bilal when the latter converted to Islam. Orwa was appointed by Ommaya to torture Bilal in all sorts of ways. Orwa hit Bilal, he kicked him, he lashed him, and he dragged Bilal all over the sandy streets in Mecca's extremely hot weather while calling on everyone passing by to watch the disobedient slave getting tortured for disobeying their master Ommaya.

As a typical arrogant Arab, Ommaya was enraged with Bilal's perseverance. He kept on torturing Bilal. Ommayya tied Bilal's hands and limps, but nothing turned Bilal’s heart. Ommaya’s last option was to place a heavy rock on his poor slave’s body to retaliate. Bilal was weakened from the long weeks of torture without eating. All he could do was to recite “Ahad… Ahad”. 

"Ahad" is an Arabic word that means God is one, which is the opposite of what Ommaya believed in. Ommaya believed in polytheism, and like most Meccan people, he worshipped idols.

Later on, Abu Bakr, the Prophet Mohammed’s best friend bought Bilal and sat him free. Bilal was so in awe and disbelief!

It was too hard for the new Muslims to stay in Mecca after what they all had been through, so they moved to another city. The city of Medina.

 

After migrating to Medina, the Prophet Mohammed was in wonder, how to gather people all at once for prayer, and how people would know prayer times until one of the companions came and told him that he had dreamed of someone calling people for prayer. Then, he recited the Athan recitation, Athan is an Arabic word that means the call for prayer.

The prophet listened and asked him to teach the Athan words to Bilal. Then the Prophet -peace be upon him- appointed Bilal as the caller for prayer. He said Bilal had a soft and dew-like voice. He didn’t say a good voice or a charming voice; he said, a dew-like voice to reflect on how lively and cheerful Bilal’s voice was. :)

When Prophet Mohamed won his first battle against the Meccans, he asked Bilal to go to the highest peak of the holiest building figure for all Muslims, “The Kaaba,” the cuboid structure where Muslim piligrims perform pilgrimage. Then, the Prophet asked Bilal to call people to prayer. He put Bilal in the spotlight. The Prophet was honoring Bilal as he and placed Bilal at the center of attention in such a victorious moment to give him credit, to raise his status, to uplift him and shift the narrative. The Prophet made sure people would see Bilal in a victoriuos moment like they saw him in a vulnerable humiliating moment once before.

There is one more incident that had happened when Abu-Zarr accidentally pumbed into Bilal, and he insulted Bilal, and said, “You son of a black woman!” 

The Prophet Mohamed immediately called that person out and told him, “You still have ignorance in your heart!” The Prophet referred to Abu-Zarr as someone practicing non-Islamic practices from the pre-Islamic era.

 

That was how the Prophet Mohamed handled it. In my humble opinion, this is the best way to handle racism in our community. To give people who have suffered from systematic racism a platform, we need to make sure to put them in the spotlight and hand them the responsibility to represent us, speak on our behalf, and let them lead the efforts for a better future.

The long years of suffering, oppression, and the unfairness of broken racist societies are their best resume builders. 

Prophet Mohamed made sure to unify people and gather them around one God. He planned to end social discrimination and end the habits of categorizing people based on their social rank, skin color, tribes.

 In the Quran,  God never said a white prophet or a black prophet. When God explicitely spoke about race in the Quran, he said, “O mankind, indeed We have created you from male and female and made you peoples and tribes that you may know one another. Indeed, the noblest of you in the sight of Allah is the most righteous of you. Indeed, Allah is the All-Knowing and Aware.”

Prophet Mohammed said, “There is no superiority of an Arab over a non-Arab, or of a non-Arab over an Arab, and no superiority of a white person over a Black person or of a Black person over a white person, except on the basis of personal piety and righteousness.”

Update: This blog was published on February 6th, and I unpublished this blog post for a while to do edits and rephrase things that were misspoken in the original blog. Thanks for all who took the time to reflect and give me their honest feedback.

Also, thanks to my amazing Black sisters and brothers who reached out to me regarding my book I'm Different...I'm Special. Just to let you know, I edited the wording, and if you get the first copy, I would love to take it back and give you the second edition at no additional cost. 

If you didn't get a copy yet, make sure to check the second edition here

There are always many ways to help, like supporting a Black business. 

Listen to Mr. B, a local talented artist. Here is his Youtube channel.

Modest Family Solutions is a Black Muslim-owned business that offers gardening classes for kids and has a homeschooling facility. Check out their Facebook and their Website.

Mixed is also a Black-Latina local business. Show your love and support. Here is their Facebook page.

Also, if you have a good grasp of the Arabic language, you can still look up great Arab writers who wrote about Bilal in-depth and in Arabic, like the Iraqi Novelist Dr. Ahmed Khairy El- Omari, who wrote Bilal’s Code Arabic Novel. He did a brilliant job mapping and mixing both Bilal’s experience with racism during the Islamic era and the American Cultural systematic racism. Dr. Omari’s novel was transformed into Bilal’s American movie. Watch the trailer here,

Make sure to check out his novel here,

Note: My opinions are opinions, they are representing only me, and they are subject to discussions and modifications.

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The Secret of the Mountains​. A Story by Mariam Almaasrawy

                                                       The Secret of the Mountains​

Written by: Mariam AL-Maasrawy

Edited and Published by Shama Farag

 

     Chapter 1… The Beginnings

 “Are you sure we should be climbing these mountains?” yelled a girl over the roaring winds.

“Of course we should, Kat! Because anyway, some people say there is a secret in these mountains and we’ll be famous!” her sister said calmly after the wind had stopped. 

“I don’t agree, Chloe,” Kat replied and went down the mountain. 

Chloe stared at her sister until she heard a piercing scream and rushed over to where it came from. It was Kat in an ice crack trap!

 “Help!” she screamed. 

“Okay, I’m coming,” Chloe yelled down at her and leaped in. 

“How are we going to get out then?” Kat said, very mad. 

“Right then-” Chloe cut off when she saw the rope she set up had slipped from the piece of ice she tied it to. Just then, a shadowy figure came toward them, and before they could ask who it was, they got trapped in ice.

     Chapter 2… Hideout 

 

A few years later... “Hey, come back here, you!” a guard yelled at the intruder.

 “I’m Kai and I just need some food,” Kai replied, running away.

 “Sigh! Forget it,” another guard said out of breath. And Kai kept on running and stopped at an old treehouse.

 “I have some bread, sister!” he exclaimed. 

“You know I like being called Maya. It is my name, after all,” his little sister complained.

 “Well, dig in!” Kai said, ignoring her.

 While eating, Maya asked, “When are we gonna get a new hideout?”. 

Kai stared at her for a while and then replied quietly, “Soon. Now just let's eat.”

 Meanwhile, one of the guards was wandering in the forest for Kai and found Kai’s voice from inside the treehouse.

     Chapter 3…Trouble

 

 Immediately the guard rushed to tell the others,

 “Guys, I found where the intruder is!” he exclaimed proudly to the others.

 “Really, where is he?” asked the chief, pushing her way through the other guards.

 “Chief Jane, ma ‘ am, he’s in an old treehouse in the forest!” the guard replied.

 “Show me,” the chief demanded suspiciously. And the guard led her into the forest and pointed to the treehouse.

 “Hmm, I see, well for tomorrow, I have a plan.” Chief Jane said with a smirk on her face.

 “That kid's gonna have a horrible look on his face when he sees it. He's gonna be in big trouble!” Chief Jane said to herself when she arrived at the police station to set up the plan. 

    Chapter 4... Fire! 

 

The day after, the chief proudly marched with the rest of the guards to the hideout, and they sneaked to the treehouse to put some fire on matches and threw it next to the treehouse. After that, they ran straight to a safe distance from the fire. Then, the fire spread quickly, and the kids could feel the heat from inside and from the window.

 “What’s going on?” Maya asked. 

And Kai’s reply was nothing. He held her hand tightly and pulled her down the part burned stairs before the fire would spread anymore. 

    Chapter 5… Lost

 

 “Where are we going?” Maya asked as loud as she could over the roaring flames.

 Kai tried to remain calm but kept on tugging her hardly out of the part burnt hideout. They managed to escape and went deeper into the forest. Meanwhile, the guards had complained that the plan didn’t work.

 “Guys, quiet, and the plan did work. We are not going to kill them. We just simply burned their hideout, and now they will not steal any more food,” Chief Jane had told them, and they immediately stopped talking.

 “Now, let’s put out this fire before it spreads to the village,” Chief Jane added. But she was still wondering what Kai and Maya were up to…

 “Where are we going?” Maya repeated, 

and this time Kai answered, “We are… are lost!” 

    Chapter 6… The Mountains

 

 “Lost!” Maya exclaimed worriedly.

 “But how?! Well, we ran from the fire an- Kai cut off and saw a mountain.

 Maya saw it too, “Maybe there is a cave or something we can go to!” 

Maya got brightness in her eyes again.

 "Well, sure, let’s start climbing now!" Kai also exclaimed joyfully.

 A few minutes later… “*groan* We’ve been climbing forever and no cave,” Maya complained.

 “I think you’ve spoken too early, “ Kai said, pointing to an unusual-looking cave.

 “Um, I think that’s an ice glacier,” Maya replied, still looking frustrated.

 “Well, the only way to find out!” Kai said, running toward it.

 Maya followed. “But that cave is across an ice crack!” Maya said.

 “Well let’s jump over it!” Kai exclaimed.

 “Wait,” Maya said, tying a rope they found in the forest to a rock in the snow.

 “There, just in case.” Kai rolled his eyes and jumped, but it didn’t work, he fell in! Maya went in to rescue him, Kai thanked her, and they were walking to the rope, but on their way there, they found two girls! 

    Chapter 7… The Lost Girls

 

 “Who are they?” Maya asked.

 Kai shrugged and added, “I guess they are frozen or something.”

 “Well, let’s help them!” Maya excitedly said she liked helping people. 

“I guess,” Kai said, looking around for something to start a fire.

 Maya noticed and went for a stick and rocks. She made fire with the rocks on the stick and tried to melt the ice. It worked! 

“Huh?” one of the girls said.

 “Who are you?” the other said. 

“I’m Maya, and this is my annoying brother, Kai,” Maya responded.

 “Hey,” Kai complained, “Just because I call you, sister!”

 One of the girls giggled, “I’m Kat, and this is Chloe.”

 “Let’s just get to the rope,” Kai said. So they did.

 “Wait, the rope!” Maya said, surprised.

     Chapter 8,… Trapped!

 

 “The rope must have slipped from the rock I tied it to,” Maya gloomily said.

 “Well, I tried to teach you to tie knots, but you only slept through the lesson,” Kai said with a scoff.

 “Well, here it goes again,” Kat said. 

“We got trapped here by like a shadowy figure, but our rope also slipped,” Chloe explained. “Well, let’s try to put it back up,” Kai said. 

“How?” Maya asked. 

“Well, we can try to throw it back up,” Kai responded.

 “But that's sooooo high up, how will we even reach it? Chloe complained.

 “Well, I am a good thrower if I do say so myself,” Kai proudly answered.

 But Maya was too busy trying to throw the rope back up. “We are doomed,” Chloe groaned. “Again,” Kat added gloomily.

 “Guys, don’t give up!” Maya said positively, still trying to throw the rope back up.

     Chapter 9… Out & Loose 

 

“Almost there!” Maya exclaimed, getting a little more brightness in her eyes.

 Chloe gasped as Kat covered her own eyes, and Kai just kept on looking at Maya as his eyes grew wider and wider with excitement each time Maya threw the rope higher and higher and HIGHER.

 “Yes!” Maya exclaimed after the rope had gone up. 

“Don’t say that just yet. Someone has to go up for the dangerous mission on the rope that is unsecured and tie it on something for the rest of us to go back up,” Kat pointed out. 

“I’ll do it,” Chloe volunteered. 

“Go ahead,” Maya offered back.

 As Chloe climbed, the others set up a pile of snow if she fell, she did fall multiple times, and they had to set the rope again, but it was worth the wait! Chloe tied the rope then assured the rest of them that she tied the rope up there. They climbed up, and one of them finally cheerily exclaimed, “Out and Loose!” 

    Chapter 10… Secret Revealed

 

 “Yes, but we never told you the reason we were there,” Chloe pointed out, then giving Kat a signal to tell them.

 “Well, Chloe made us climb this mountain because some people say there is a secret in it, but I disagreed and went back down the mountain, but I didn’t notice the ice crack, and then well, you know the rest” Kat explained. 

“Okay,” Maya said, “let’s find this secret!” “Yeah!” the others chorused. 

Then they climbed up the mountain carefully. They had found another ice crack! 

“I wonder if the secret is there,” Maya said, mostly to herself. 

“Well first, of course, someone needs to tie it carefully,” Kai pointed out, tying the rope to an un-slippery rock.

 “Let’s go in!” Maya said, climbing down the rope.

 Kai stayed up there until he heard Maya yell from inside,

 “Kai, do you still have that photo of mom? Dad gave you?”

 “Yes,” Kai answered, then went down.

 “Give it to me,” Maya said, leading Kai and the others to another person trapped in a crystal. 

     Chapter 10 (continued)… Secret Revealed (pt. 2)

 

  “Who is that in there?” Kat asked. 

“Probably the secret,” Chloe teased. 

“Guys, stop fighting. I think Maya has something to show us” Kai broke in the fight.

 Maya nodded and told them to come to look over to the crystal again.

 “I think that this person is the secret and our mom,” Maya said, showing them the photo and bringing it back down to see the person.

 “We need to melt down the ice,” Kai replied and excitedly started grabbing some sticks and making a fire on a huge stick to make a torch.

 Maya swiped the torch from him when the torch was ready. She started melting the ice trap. It had worked! Once they shook the water off of the person, the trapped mother asked,

 “Where am I? Who am I?” Just then, Kai and Maya got teary.

 “You are our mom,” Kai answered.

 “Let’s get out of here,” Maya sniffled and climbed the rope. The others got out too.

 “If I really am your mom, then what about a hug?” Mom asked. They all fell into her arms. More secrets await!

Edited and Published by Shama Farag.

I would love to publish your kids' contributions; reach me out at shama_farag@outlook.com

Also, check my Amazon Author page here,