Even though I already said Yes....

Before I say "yes"

by Na'ima B. Robert

~

Here we stand, apart, not touching, not looking.

Tomorrow is our nikah.

But today, it is as if we are standing at the edge of the sea, the tide coming in to meet us.

We are almost ready to plunge into the rolling surf and swim out to the world of tomorrow, with its far-off horizon.

Families, words of praise and recommendation, questions and shy glances are behind us now.

You have seen what pleases you.

And I have seen what pleases me.

But I have not seen your heart.

And you have not seen mine.



And so now, before our fates are inextricably entwined, I will bare my heart to you.

Without reservations, I will show you the core of my being.

I am like a sapling, a tender sapling, whose roots reach eagerly to drink life’s goodness.

Take care when you hold the tender sapling between your fingers.



I was created by Allah, a delicate seed, born of my mother and father’s love.

My mother nurtured me in her womb

where an angel blew a soul into my tiny form.

My mother’s body cradled me and I breathed of her air.

She nourished me from herself and spoke love to me in the darkness.



I was born into the love of my parents and I began to grow.

Seed became seedling under their care and attention.

They showered me with praise, and my self-esteem sprouted.

They guided me with kindness and my character blossomed.

They weeded the world around me so that I could grow strong and pure.

And now that my first buds are about to open, they have entrusted me to you.



How will you tend me?



Will you coax my buds to unfurl with words of love and kind attention?

Or will you pluck them before they’re ready, crushing their new petals and delicate stems?



When I bring forth delicate blossoms of talent and inspiration,

Will you smile at their dreaming petals and share in the blush of hope?

Or will you watch as blossoms wither under your disapproving gaze,

Your criticism, your scorn, and your self-righteous censure?



Will you guide my wilder branches, gently, coaxing them to grow straight and true?

Or will you simply break off the ones that displease you, trampling them carelessly underfoot?



And when, insha Allah, I come to bear your children, will you continue to water me?

Or will you pluck those precious fruits, one by one, and turn away from the empty branches?



And when my trunk grows wide and thick with age, will you marvel at my strength?

Or will you recoil from touching my rough, brown bark?



When the years have become mere memories, will you admire how tall we have grown?

Or will your restless, selfish heart long to reach out for another sapling?



When I am as weak as the waving branches of a weeping willow – will you protect me?

When I am as strong as the trunk of the mighty Redwood tree – will you support me?

When I am as wise as the age rings of the old, old oak tree – will you respect me?

When I am as foolish as the fickle blossoms of early Spring – will you be patient with me?

When I am as fragile as the flowers of a jasmine tree – will you keep me safe?

When I am as bold as the roots that break through concrete – will you believe in me?



How will you tend me?



For now I have shown you my heart, its dreams, its hopes and fears.

Look carefully as we stand at the edge of the water.

Are you willing to bare your soul and show your heart to me?

So that I feel safe as the two of us swim on out to sea.



Remember that I am like a sapling, a creation of Allah.

Take care when you hold me between your fingers.

~

© 2005 Na'ima B. Robert

To blog or not to blog....

hmmm....haven't updated in a very long time...it seems that the majority of my friends with blogs have either deleted theirs or they remain as inactive as mine. i'm contemplating if i should resume or not. possibly start a new blog with a new theme. my life is just not very intersting to write/read about. possibly a photo blog. i have tons of pictures that have yet to be published for my friends to see.

anyway i'm just rambling...stuck at work because the car dealer service people had a "hiccup". i'm sleepy and my eyes ache from staring at this computer for too long. i forgot my camera battery charger at my mom's house in arizona so i had to resort to my camera phone...alas what would i do without the ability to capture momemts of my life. my husband prefers his memory over pictures but i beg to differ. my memory is not the best and how could i share those memories to people who weren't there? a picture is worth a thousand words....and i'm not much of a talker anyway.

ever since i moved to michigan i've been trying to find a boba place. haven't had much luck. they are few and far between... as i was searching online today i came across this boba blog. It was quite amusing and listed a few places in detroit. Unfortunately they are not that close, but someday i will venture out. If you are big fan of boba you would enjoy some amusing stories.

until we meet again....

salaam.

America's Got Talent (Chicago) - Kashif

LOL go kasheeeeef! rock on yaar!

Girl's feet sliced off

Girl's feet sliced off on ride at Six Flags
(http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/440201,CST-NWS-rides23.article)

June 23, 2007

BY BRETT BARROUQUERE
LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- Six Flags and Cedar Fair shut down eight more thrill rides around North America on Friday after a teenage girl's feet were sliced off during a ride in Kentucky.

Officials visited the Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom to examine the Superman Tower of Power, where the accident happened Thursday. The ride lifts passengers 177 feet straight up, then drops them at speeds reaching 54 mph.

A cable broke loose on the ride, striking the 13-year-old girl in the legs, said Bill Clary, a spokesman for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, which inspects amusement park rides.

The girl was taken to a hospital, where her condition was not immediately available Friday.

A similar ride at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee was among those shut down as a safety precaution, spokeswoman Wendy Goldberg said.

AP Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Hadith of the Week: ARRIVING at a REST STOP??

[Quran]
"The life of this world is just the enjoyment of delusion"
- Surah Al 'Imran, 185

[Lessons from this verse]
See the materialism of this world for what it is. It's just a
rest stop, just some shade, on the highway to the hereafter.
Treat it as such.

With best wishes to see you succeed at the highest level!
- Muhammad Alshareef

Grad Time Round 2

Its that time a year again....again....Graduation fever is over is Arizona, but its just beginning in Cali! I'm almost on my way to the airport to spend the weekend with two wonderful graduates Sumi and Samboosa!!

Mabrook to them both. May Allah bless them and help them to acheive all that they dream of.

Hadith of the Week: SUCCESS is calling YOU

[Hadith]
"Come to Success" - The Adhan, called 5 times a day from the
homes of Allah.

A blind man came to the Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam,
and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have no guide to lead me to
the mosque, so grant me a leave from attending the congregational
prayer in the mosque."
The Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, gave him permission.
But after he turned away, he called him back, and said, "Do
you hear the call to prayer?"
He said, "Yes."
He said, "Then respond to it."
(Muslim)

[Lessons from this Hadith]
Nothing in this world will give you success like turning with
your body, mind, and soul to Allah ta'ala. Find your comfort in
the Masjid, find your success in Salah!

With best wishes to see you succeed at the highest level!
- Muhammad Alshareef

Indian Baby Vs Indian Cobra Only happens in India

my husband sent me this video...
CRAAAAAAAAAAAAZY!!!!!!!!

Away for the Weekend

Salaam!

AF, HS, and I are off to the exciting land of San Francisco, CA for the weekend. I've never been there. Pretty excited. We are going for the MAS Youth Central Annual Meeting. If you visited Pedro's blog a year ago, this was the same meeting we went to in Boston. I will miss all my friends that I usually get to see at Jummah and Friday nights.

Countdown: 8 days until my nikkah!

Locked Out

I got in the car to drive downtown for class but I needed to get gas first. I went to the Arco right by my house but it wouldn't take my debit card and I had no cash. So I drove down to the next station anticipating the fact that I could run out of gas at any moment and I'm already late for class. Alhumdulilah I get to the next station fine and get out to fill up. Oh joy it won't take my credit card and I have to go inside to pay. I locked the car and went inside to find a semi long line with one cashier. Waiting waiting waiting.... losing patience...already going to be late for class. Finally I pay and get outside to pump the gas. Finish and going to get in my car but its locked! Where are they keys?? Oh shoot. INSIDE! SubhanAllah.

My sister has the other key. Call her...no answer. Call again....same thing. Call my mom, asked her where LN is...in class gets out in 30 min. Texted her emergency...kept calling maybe she would pick up. No luck. Waiting waiting decided to leave the car there and take the city bus to class. Told the Indian dude inside that I was leaving the car there, he said its fine. Just as I was going outside LN called! She was on her way Alhumdulilah :)

Made it to class only 40 min late. Not bad considering its 3.5 hours long.

Alhumdulilah ala kulli hal.

A FOB?

Apple IRack

For BK

Woohoo!

Long awaited spring break is finally here! Alhumdulilah!! After getting only 2 hours of sleep this morning thanks to 2 papers that were due today i'm totally ready for a break from school. No big plans for me. Just gonna work and chill. Anyone else going anywhere?

I'm off to bed! Goodnight!

I Love My Friends :)

Back Pain

Yesterday I went bowling and I really hurt my lower back. I don't know howI did it but it HURTS!! I could barely bend down to the sink to make wudu let alone make ruku. I looked extremely retarded trying to pray. I didn't sleep very well either since I couldn't find a comfortable position and everytime I tried to move pain shot up my side.

This morning I put some of that back pain cream stuff. After about 20 seconds it burned like crazy!! Lasted about 5 minutes and then it got really cold. Alhumdulilah it helped. Today it doesn't hurt as bad.

I'm just about to leave work. I'm so tired and sore. I want to sleep.

On a positive note, I finally had Hawaiian today after sooo long! It was so yummy! :D

I'm Special!

Wednesday night I got out of class downtown at around 6:30. Me and a couple people from my class were waiting for the shuttle to go back to Tempe. Of course it didn't show up when it was supposed to so we ended up waiting an extra 30 min for it to come. While we were waiting there was a incoherent drunk, possibly homeless man chillin' on the curb near us. He was fine for a while, then he decided to come talk to us. He asked us generally where we were from but then he looks at me and freaks out. "WHOA WHOA WHOA" as he backs up twirling his finger around his face, "shes got that MUSLIM thing on".

After this he completely diverts his attention to me. "Where are you from?" Arizona... "Are you sure?" uhh yes... "What are you guys doing here?" We go to school here... "Where?" over there.... "Whats it called?" ASU... "Is that a university?" yes.... "Are you going to stay in it?" yes.... "Your not going to quit? Your coming back tomorrow?" yes.......

He then proceeds to lecture me for 20 min about how good I am for being in school and how good university is. He tells me to stay on the road, pointing down the street, the road of university. Not the 'other' life. Drugs are bad. He continually repeated himself about how good school was. He then starts talking about drinking. You shouldn't drink in the street. Its OK in your home. You can invite some friends over and drink.... (me and smiling and nodding the whole time)

He also says that he can tell that I come from a beautiful family. And he knows when he sees a good thing. (me being in school is a good thing) Then he tells me I'm special. He looks to my classmates confirming to them how special I am.

This whole time my classmates are just standing there. More people started to gather waiting for the shuttle. Some of them were a little disturbed. When the bus FINALLY arrived I started inching my way around him. Then he says.... "I guess I'll let you go now."

On the bus, this girl who must have been on the downtown campus for the first time says to another girl, "do things like this happen a lot here?" hahaha.... Alhumdulilah it doesn't. And Alhumdulilah there were people around, otherwise I would have been very scared. That was one of the most awkward and uncomfortable experiences I've ever had.

Mark your Calendars...

to see me and half the Muslims in Arizona in The Kingdom!

Opens April 20th 2007.

Fire Wha?

At our hotel in Toronto, one morning after Fajr, Atifa and I were awaken by the sound of a fire alarm. Neither of us seemed to alarmed by it. We just laid there annoyed that it wouldn't stop. After a few min we took a peek in the hall way to see if anyone was going anywhere. We didn't see anything. We decided to call the front desk to see if we needed to evacuate or something. When there was no answer some people may have been worried, but were we? Nope. We continued to just be annoyed at the blaring sound ruining our sleep. We called the front desk again in a few min and they said it was just in the kitchen and that everything was fine. The alarm finally stopped shortly after that and we went back to sleep.

This incident just goes to prove my theory that school fire drills do more harm than help. Ever since our periodic fire drills in elementary school and even highschool, I've always been desensitized to fire alarms. God forbid if there was a real fire in school, everyone would have cared less becuase they would think it was just another drill.

I was just talking to my cousin and he thinks I'm retarded. He thinks that fire drills are very useful. Oh well...

I'm off to DC tomorrow. Email me any dua requests for the last leg of my journey.

and finally...

Eid Mubarak!

Quotes

Huda: You should write a book of all my quotes.
Rema: Not everything you say is a good quote.
Huda: What are you talking about?? EVERYTHING that comes out of my mouth is stupid!