Friday, September 21, 2012

A little less talk.

I meant to post about this last night, but I got wrapped up in the fervent and delightful chaos that is hanging out at Salihah's house. In addition to her 5 boys, her little two-bedroom home was packed with her mom and another friend as we bounced around between making bottles, doing dishes, and serving up this delicious shredded chicken taco meat stuff from the crockpot. I was also half-heartedly trying to take part in an online orientation for a new class (more on that later) while balancing a baby on my lap, but that ended pretty fast. The evening culminated in dill pickle chips, Cheetos Puffs®, and sweet-n-salty candy bars while browsing (and ridiculing) fall-layering knitwear online. It was bliss.

This lady would have been disappointed in us.
And BTW, that new "MyPlate" alternative to the Food Pyramid doesn't make sense in any language.
I tried reading a brochure.

This post was supposed to be about taking action. We'll get there.




EXERCISE
Yeah, that didn't happen yesterday. We were short-staffed at work and I kept waiting for my boss to be off the phone so I could go for a walk but that didn't pan out and after a 90-minute meeting with him, I just didn't have the energy. I'll try to make up for it tonight—we're making pickles after work but there could be room for a double-stroller walk in there somewhere.


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ISLAM
Here's what I was getting at with the post title. While it does come from half the title of a stupid Country music song that's been in my head for about a week, it mainly refers to my pledge to do something about the state of this Ummah by improving myself. In my last post I mentioned working on some character flaws, and yesterday I decided that I also needed to step up my Islamic knowledge game. I've been merely dabbling.

I've wanted to take online classes with Mishkah University for a while now. My weekly halaqa teacher Sh. Hatem is the Dean, and I have friends who work with them as well. Also, the model is great (online, recorded lectures can be viewed later) for people like me who work full-time, already attend two weekly classes, and sometimes work on Saturdays.

I took the plunge and enrolled in Analytical Tafseer 1. It sounds complicated, but it's not. Tafseer is the explanation of the Quran, which really helps non-Arabic speakers to understand what it is we are saying in the prayers. But it is beneficial for all Muslims, similar to Bible study. Yes, we can read it, but there is so much more to be gleaned from the text. Scholars spend lifetimes working on tafseer books, and I am excited to start my baby steps toward learning from them. The class will be focusing on Juz Amma, the last section of the Quran. This is great because it's where the short surahs are which I am trying to memorize. Knowing the true meaning behind these chapters will really help me retain and apply what I learn.

Obviously I'm excited to get going. I have two lectures to watch because the class already started so you'll have plenty to read about as I get ready for Sunday's class.

More updates as events warrant!

1 comment:

  1. That night was rad. You make any night rad. Come make another night rad? Ok, post event. Post NY. NY, ummm hello!! POST? ;) heehee

    ReplyDelete