Many people use various English acronyms for Islamic greetings like “asa” for “as-salamu-alaykum” or “iA” for “insha Allah”. We find these commonly used on mobile text messages. Apple’s iPhone has a feature where you can create keyboard “shortcuts”. So I decided to make shortcuts in Arabic for “asa”, “ws”, “alh” and “iA”. Here are screenshots and instructions on how to do this:
Step 1: Settings > General > Keyboard
Step 2: Add International Keyboard (Arabic)
Step 3: Add Keyboard Shortcuts
Step 4: Test it out!
There you have it! Now you can amaze your friends with our awesome Arabic typing skills.
I was recently asked to help out with giving khutbahs (Friday sermons) for the local community jummah where I live. At first I hesitated but I decided to go for it. I had given khutbahs before at my MSA but that was several years ago. This would be a lot different since it’s not just college students but parents, elders, young children and the general masjid crowd.
I believe I did a poor job, so have mercy on me with your comments, haha. There are several areas I can improve upon after watching this. I recorded it for this exact reason so I can critique and improve on my khutbah presentation skills. Here are some things I thought I could improve on:
Memorize the ayah(t) that are referenced in the khutbah. Listen to qaris to get the tajweed correct.
Don’t type out the entire khutbah, because I barely read from the paper.
Use bullet points since I like to talk and rant away instead of reading a paper.
Improve my vocabulary and use a thesaurus for better words.
Talk to myself first before everyone else.
Use “I” less and “we” more.
Do better research in finding relevant ahadith.
Re-read and understand the ahadith before the khutbah so there is no forgetting.
If something comes to mind, try to organize your thoughts in your mind before presenting it.
Stop shaking so much. Exercise and stretch before. Loosen up the muscles.
What are some of your thoughts and comments? InshaAllah I will be giving more in the future, so I have a lot work ahead to improve my presentation skills. JazakAllah khair. Thanks!
Sometimes those who don’t believe in God claim Science has the answers to everything and if they don’t they will eventually find it. Here are some examples where science already has answers, but their answers prove wrong in certain cases.
In Jerusalem, women are voiceless at a decidedly womanly event
The controversial exclusion of women from various settings in Israel because of pressure from ultra-Orthodox Jewish leaders reached a new level this week with a major conference on gynecological advances that is permitting only males to address the audience.
The conference on “Innovations in Gynecology/Obstetrics and Halacha [Jewish law]” is being held by the Puah Institute this Wednesday in Jerusalem. It will include such topics as “ovary implants,” “how to choose a suitable contraceptive pill” and “intimacy during rocket attacks,” in which there are many qualified female professionals, but none will be permitted to speak, at least not from the podium.
Not saying Muslim countries aren’t women-friendly either (some are better than others), but Muslim countries don’t claim to be the “only Democracy in the Middle East”. Then again, Democracy in another country known as the “defender of the of the free world” pre-1900 didn’t allow Women to vote.
My wife saw just a few minutes of this video and she was so overwhelmed that she now vows to never eat meat unless it is “organic” (free range and zabihah). In fact she left the room only seeing the pork segment because she was so distraught from seeing how animals were being treated and prepared for human food consumption. She missed the segments on egg, poultry, milk, and dairy, which are foods we can actually consume as Muslims. This brings up another point. We should not hate pigs. As Muslims, although we are prohibited from consuming pig and pig products (due to the divine wisdom of Allah as He knows what is in man’s best interest), they are the creation of Allah and should be respected and honored as such. Seeing them tortured and brutally killed should make us cringe and cry.
WARNING: This video is extremely violent. It brought my wife and I to tears. I forced myself to watch the entire video to make myself more aware of the reality that is occurring in today’s food production facilities. After watching the video, I became more serious with respect to my intention about eating organic and zabihah meat only, and to do so sparingly.
Now that you are all teary-eyed (if you’re not, that’s ok), I have some good news for you! Mercy Slaughter in Texas provides zabihah slaughtered free-range (“organic”) meat. Here is a video of their beautiful methods:
After watching both videos, what are your thoughts on the following?
- How food is being produced in the West and worldwide
- How animals are treated during mechanisms of food production
- What are your thoughts on supporting local farmers versus large corporations (such as in the case of concentrated animal food operations (CAFOs))?
- How do you feel after seeing the animals submitting unwillingly for slaughter in the Mercy Slaughter video?
