Circumspecte

It's funny to think that after all this time I NOW get why Muslims are encouraged to learn Allah's 99 names .  We have a guest in our home, and according to Dagomba tradition, her name for the first week of her life here on earth is "Saanpaga", which means "Lady guest". The male equivalent, "Saandoo" also means, take a wild guess, "Man Guest". Total ingenuity, I know. Anyway, today Saanpaga will finally get her own name according to Islamic tradition. And during the last 10- and what is deemed the holiest- days of Ramadan too! MashAllah. In addition, as per family tradition, she will get a Dagbani middle name. Yes, her Islamic name will most likely have "tu" affixed to the end as most Islamic female names do.  No, it's not a fad, but rather a grammatical rule, as "tu" serves as a female indicator. Kind of like the French 'e'. My full name for instance, is Jemila(tu) Wunpini Abdulai. Jemila means beauty...

In an authentic Hadith, Prophet Mohammad (PBUH) said:  "Man is influenced by the faith of his friends. Therefore, be careful of whom you associate with." One of the distinct features of Ramadan that I have come to love is the feeling of camaraderie, of being one anther's keeper and of going out of ones way to show love and support. In my opinion, (wo)man's capacity for kindness is never more evident than during this Holy month. Its a time when complete strangers sit together in prayer shoulder to shoulder for hours and contemplate the wonders of God's creative abilities. When families who live in the same house yet have very separate lives pause for a moment and rediscover one another. When people go out of their way to lend a helping hand to the needy and orphaned in society. And perhaps, what's most beautiful, when the indescribable bond between humanity - Muslims and non-Muslims - is renewed. Over the years and during my time away from home I have experi...

Ramadan Kareem! The Holy month is here again, and started on August 1 for most of the world. This year's Ramadan is significant for me in a number of ways. Numero uno, it's my first Ramadan in 6 years with my entire family in Ghana! And by family I mean nuclear family. Previous Ramadans were spent with various 'family members' in the US, France, Senegal, and virtually. So now we're back to home base, Alhamdulilahi, and that also means there are some key differences, the least not being the fact that I actually eat properly during suhoor (dawn meal) and iftar (evening meal) thanks to mummy :) I've probably mentioned on here how every year right before Ramadan something usually pops ups to mess with my equilibrium and then the entire month is essentially spent delving within and trying to regain my internal balance. So far there has been nothing of the sort. Alhamdulilahi I'm swimming in harmony; my family and friends are close, I have an interesting job, e...

Before I start, just a quick 'thank you' to Moi for reminding me that I even intended to share my Ramadan experience/lessons on here. Like you said, God sometimes speaks through people :) Okay, back to the scheduled program. Days two through five of Ramadan have been filled with so many lessons, I'm surprised I even have the energy to write this post. Unlike Day one which was essentially a physical test of my adaptation to the Senegalese sun and long hours, these three days have been a revolving door of churning out my thoughts and feelings. I keep going back and forth on this same issue, but this time it's a bit different. Actually, let me speak plainly. That was lesson number one: Say what you need to say. Speak your truth. Not THE truth, mind you. But YOUR truth. Most situations involve many truths. Hence speak YOUR truth. And allow others to speak their respective truths as well. I don't want to believe that God made life out to be this complicated, it'...

I'm tempted to agree with those who say that silence is the language of the soul, because words are not enough. I'm sitting on my bed, mac on lap, tryna think up the best way to express what I'm feeling right this moment, but I can't find the words. They don't do the feeling any justice. After a little hide and seek with the moon, Ramadan finally came upon those of us in Senegal. Others in France, Saudi Arabia and Ghana started yesterday, but we got another day to "prepare". But tell me, can you ever adequately prepare for Ramadan? Each year, it's the same, but slightly different. For me the consistency has been a calmness of mind, heart and soul that I can only call peace. I can't explain it fully, but over the past couple of years, my entire system kicks into auto-gear with the arrival of Ramadan and I just trust. Yes, there are still hopes, there are still fears, but over that month, it doesn't matter. Maybe its because of the heavenly pre...

 Inspired by a condominium of thoughts, and stylistically influenced by my interpretation of Regina Spektor's "Eet" They call it an outer body experience. And they're right, that's exactly what it is. It's like floating out in the universe, and watching the earth chug along on its axis. Like planning a speech to the very last detail, only to be tongue-tied when the grand moment arrives. Kin to doing the very thing you said you would never, ever, for the life of you do, and being achingly conscious as you're doing it. It's like being a mannequin on Fashion Ave. in NYC, oohed and aahed at, but never quite understood. -- They call it an outer body experience, but they forget the inner-body element. The fact that each is a universe onto themselves, and that's what makes living so  annoyingly complex. Eerily similar to that Grey's episode where a woman awoke during surgery and stared  down at her entrails. Unable to move, unable to scream, unab...

So it's official! Ramadan has begun!! Muslims in Ghana and other African countries started fasting yesterday, Friday August 21st, while those of us on this side of the Atlantic, and in places like S. Korea, started fasting today on Saturday August 22 nd . Whew, that was quite a mouthful. Last week, I was talking to my co-workers and supervisor about what Ramadan entails, and a couple of questions cropped up. How many days do you fast for? Can you drink water? Does EVERY Muslim have to fast? When do you break your fast? Do you still go to school and work? Why do you fast? Is fasting in the US the same as fasting in Ghana? I figured some of you might have the same or similar questions, so this blog is to give you some more insight into the process of fasting in Islam. Like I mentioned in the first edition of this series, there are quite a number of similarities between Islam and Christianity. Muslims aren't the only ones who fast or are encouraged to fast. Jesus Christ ("Is...

"So-so and so sent you a Ramadan-Mubarak/Ramadan Kareem card! Send one back!" Even facebook heralds the Holy month of Ramadan. In the past, I've written about what Ramadan represents to me as an individual and the difference between observing Ramadan here in the U.S. (in college) and back home in Ghana. (You can read a piece here .) I believe that some of the religious conflict and tension that exists stems from our lack of understanding of one another. Sure, you might know that a certain friend of yours is Muslim/Christian, or you might assume that he or she is a believer in either religion because of his/her name, but do you actually know what his or her religious beliefs entail and stand for? When we don't inform ourselves, it's very easy to fall for media propaganda and to be incited towards hating one another. Hence, this post is going to be the first of several (inshallah) that will give insight into what Islam is about, and particularly what Ramadan is abo...