15 things I want to do before I die, Inshallah.

1. Pray five times a day, on time, attaining full rewards
2. Significantly help the poor
3. Finish my scrapbook
4. Take a studio couple picture
5. Go to NY to visit my mass family & hang out
6. Get my bachelors degree without changing majors
7. Figure out a way to lower my gaze & help understand people I'm still listening but just not starring
8. Build a professional religious friendly wardrobe
9. Improve my iman
10. Put my complete trust in Allah
11. Stop complaining
12. Forgive everyone who has ever hurt me
13. Apologize to EVERYONE I have ever hurt; intentionally and unintentionally
14. Give dawah to people I overlook
15. Make a difference in the world, for the sake of Islam and for Allah

Wa akhir dua'na, Alhamdulillah. Ameen.

Unexpected expectations

When he sat on my couch,
I could only think of a million things
That I wish he wouldn't say
I hoped he'd prove himself to me

My mind fumbled for words
My heart raced
I couldn't keep up with
Its fast pace

I waited for the silence to break
How he sat comfortably reclined,
Anticipation and peace
Illuminating his face.

Hello my name is...
he began,
I quietly sat awed in shock
Of merriness.

He asked me for my name
He wasn't like the others,
He didn't know a thing about me
He had that one chance to find out.

I looked down at the floor
My eyes glued to the objects before me
My hands sweating and wondering
Whether this guy was right for me.

As the conversation grew
The level of comfort increased
Smiles were spread across his face
Of course I couldn't see...

But I took a peak,
And let my mom tell me
If he was this guy
I had been hoping for all along

If so, pinch me.
He held me like glue
In his conversation
He was funny too.

At last he took his last stride
Out my front door
And I laughed aloud
As I ran to my room.

Changing into sweatpants
From my white and blue sari,
I started running
For my mommy.

There she was looking shy as ever
As if she was the one in my place
And I couldn't help but smile
At the awkward silence that was in the air.

I told her what I thought
He was nice. Alhamdulillah.
She was happy, at last Mr. Right
Fulfilling her motherhood dreams.

They left me with a ring
Did it mean anything
I was having a hard time understanding
All the culture-religion shocks.

Alhamdulillah, he blew me away
As I'd heard before,
Arraigned marriages
Rarely work this way.

How silly I was thinking
I could find him by myself
Without any help,
Without any guidance.

How simple it was,
Pray to Allah,
Ask for help,
Listen and accept.

The timeline was prescribed
Get married 'as quickly as possible'
Do not let shaitan have his chance
To destroy good plans.

After 3 weeks or so,
I was no longer single.
He became my husband
And I became his wife.

Now let's fast-forward to reality
And let me tell you the truth
I am married, and it was arraigned,
And it's the best thing that's ever happened to me.

---

(Meena Jewelers)

He thought I had Vitamin D deficiency

I met a man who I tried to walk away from
But he stopped me,
Only to tell me I am subject to Vitamin D deficiency
Cause I wear 'that thing' on me

I was on my way to pray
I didn't know what to say
But I tried to walk away
Before he could ask me to stay

As I returned to my desk
He came like a pest
Dropping off the research mess,
What an instant distress.

All the packet had to say,
Was some people who wore a veil
Were vitamin D deficient, as you may...
Guess, I was wrongly portrayed.

I began to protest,
Saying I surely did detest,
I didn't live in a nest,
And my veil was the best.

He claimed it was cause of the sun
The middle east has more, we have none
And it's the veil that keeps us from the fun
How he doesn't know we do it only for One.

Neither am I from the middle east
Nor do I hang out at the beach
But I know the veil on me,
Isn't the reason to vitamin D deficiency.

I almost felt ashamed,
Could I be blamed?
For following, unfamed,
And denying what he claimed?

But I knew it wasn't true
There wasn't a person that I knew
Who became a part of a crew
That had vitamin D deficiency, too.

And the call to Islam,
Is more important than the harm,
The faithful alarm,
Keeps me covering up my arms...

Little did he know
My beauty continues to grow
Inshallah rewards are in store,
If I cover even more.

- - -

http://www.womentowomen.com/nutritionandweightloss/vitamind.aspx

How blessed I am

How blessed I am to see the leaves fall in autumn
To walk along the paths of snow in winter
To truddle in the mud during spring
And swing in the sweet breeze in summer

How blessed I am, I can walk, jog, and run
I can crawl, hop and jump
I know I'm 20-something
But I can always pretend to be one.

My mind is being silly
I keep on giggling
Maybe cause I fail to realize
I have two assignments due

Maybe it's cause I know
That procrastination
Sometimes leads to good things
And an adreline rush of silliness

Finer things of life

The finer things in life
Are the unexpected
The rejected
The protected.

They are the things you never think of
Dream of or notice.

The finer things in life
Have no life at all
They simply sing a tune of freedom
And call people to follow along.

Some call them fantasies,
Some call them hopes
Some call them suprises
Some call them promises.

The finer things in life,
What could they be,
If they weren't a surprise?

The finer things of life.

They mean nothing at all
If they are never understood.

If man and woman cannot share sorrows,
Or destroy anger and chaos...

Neither will there be peace and serenity,
Nor can they share the finer things in life.

Faith and marriage.

Marriage is 50 percent of all Sunnah, and the other half fear Allah.

Prophet Muhammad (sws) said those who do not follow his sunnah are not a part of him.

Benefits of marriage:
1. Keeps you away from sin - lowering gaze, means of halal
3. Ampless blessings - recieve love and mercy from Allah. Both are important in every marraige.
4. A way to get closer to Allah
5. Protection and security

Marriage...is kinda cool.

One thing I like about being married at a young age is, you're kind of in the middle. Sometimes people will take you seriously and your opinion counts. Other times you are not knowledgeable to understand so you're not held on a tight leash.

That doesn't mean don't try to fit it, just means that your view of the world is kind of different from the last generation.

For example I can go hang out with the women when there's something valuable to learn and stay away when the conversation doesn't apply to me. Or just smile and give guests tea - the stuff I'm bound to know.

When I have homework, I can avoid the conversations about peoples kids doing cute things. I wouldn't have much to contribute to that conversation. But if you have teens and need some tips on how to handle them, I can offer some tips.

I've always been in the middle, when it came to friends and acquaintances. A lot of my friends are younger, many are older. Perfect experience for married women.

Besides the things I have to do...I've learned valuable lessons of patience, respect and perserverance.

Megan, I am, I am?

Many people think my name is Meagan. Especially on the phone. It has happened four times. I counted.

And my name, NARGIS, sounds nothing like MEGAN.

I don't mind being a Megan, they're pretty cool people. It's a common American name and has been since the 1990s, according to the U.S. Census bureau.

In Greek, it's a shorthand version of Margaret.

Nar-gis (hard g) is also a universal name, that originated in Persia. It is a flower in the daffodil family, also known as narcissus. Some can argue the name of the flower originated from the Greek mythology of Narcissus.

I don't believe it.

Personality-wise, it means that I'm independent and strong-willed, according to www.kabalarian.com, of Kabalarian Philosophy.

Philosophers around the world compared the pronunciation of names, to determine characteristics associated with it. Your name makes you who you are.

When choosing baby names, weigh-in different accounts of a name before settling on personality traits alone. Everyone will have good and bad traits.

For example, Meagans get into a lot of activities and leave them unfinished. They do not get a lot of rest (relaxation). My friend Meagan does a lot at once and barely sleeps. Not sure if she leaves things "unfinished" though.

So true? Or horoscopey?

Good names make good people, usually.

Personally I've noticed people with the same name have something in common. It may be physical features or their strong personality, such as my friends named Sumaiya.

I know four - but two well - who are very outgoing, set a trend, and are motivated. In history, Sumaiya bint Al-Khayat was the first martyr in Islam, after being beaten by a non-believing leader/king.

In the movie The Message, by Director Moustapha Akkad, Sumaiya was tortured and killed in front of her husband and son.

She was a strong-willed hard-core believer, and she earned herself a place in Jannah.

One of the five basic rights of a parent to child is giving them a good name.

The most popular name in the world is Muhammad, after the last Prophet in Islam. And we all know, he played a significant part in world history.

Converts in Islam...and more.

If you haven't heard of The Muslim Funnymentalists, their name suggests a pun; not to mistake them for Islamic fundamentalists.

The three comedians/public speakers come from different backgrounds - one journalist, a comedian, and a science-guy, are aimed at changing Muslim misconceptions.

Among the group is Baba Ali, who became famous through his YouTube videos, who tackled sticky topics in Islam. With more than 100,000 hits per video, he has reached out to Muslims and non-Muslims alike.

Later Ummah Films, a Muslim film company spreading halal entertainment, hired Ali.

Ummahfilms.com has a disclaimer, condemning terrorism.

"We are not affiliated with any particular movement, sect, group, etc. We absolutely condemn in the strongest terms terrorism and any extremism done in the name of Islam and we refuse to associate ourselves with those who practice and condone such behavior and thoughts."

Ali has been featured by New York and Los Angelos Times because of his online presence.

He converted to Islam before 9/11, he said in his video titled "Why Islam" featured by Ummah Films and YouTube.

"I'm glad I met Islam before Muslims," Ali said. There's "a lot of confused people with a lot of confusion."

Think about it, he said.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=p2Clk5lNUdQ

Narrated by Ali:

"[Muslim's believe in] One God, Prophets, they Worship our Creator, pray at a minimum of five times a day, fast 30 days in Ramadan, give 2.5% zakat, and if required, perform hajj," Ali said.

Islam requires us to obey our parents - unless they order us to do something impermissible, honor and respect women, treat neighbors kindly, help poor, widows and orphans.

"Not even Muslims have a ticket to paradise. They will be judged on their actions," Ali said.

The video closed with this ayah from the Quran,[4:136] O ye who believe! Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the scripture which He hath sent to His Messenger and the scripture which He sent to those before (him). Any who denieth Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messenger., and the Day of Judgment, hath gone far, far astray.

Besides this newly-launched comedian, there are other familiar faces in Islam. Some are rappers Busta Rhymes, Ice Cube, Akon, and Napolean; singers Dawud Wharnsby and Yusuf Islam; and Imams Hamza Yusuf and Zaid Shakir.

Who would've knew, some are featured in the video below.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=YB5QBzquBrU&feature=related

I love the Articles of Faith nasheed played in the background of the clip. Nasheeds are Islamic songs.

If you have the chance, I'd recommend doing research on Yusuf Islam, Imam Hamza Yusuf, and Muslim scientist Harun Yahya.

They have a story to tell - about Islam.

Girls, research Ruqaiyyah Waris Maqsood, a United Kingdom, an author of over 30 Islamic books. Or, shoot an email to Dr. Jamillah Karim, Assistant Professor at Spellman College to learn about her journey as an African American woman growing up in Islam.

Dr. Karim - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSlt39-uvzk

Jazakallah khairan.