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...

Nor say of anything, "I shall be sure to do so and so tomorrow," without adding, so please Allah!" And call thy Lord to mind when thou forgetest, and say, "I hope that my Lord will guide me ever closer (even) than this to the right road." - Surah 18: 23, Al-Khaf (The Cave) This is undoubtedly one of my favorite chapters in the Holy Qu'ran . It tells the story of some young Muslims and their dog who came upon a cave when fleeing their enemies. Allah caused them to fall into a deep slumber, sealed the cave and saved them from their pursuers. When they awoke they wondered how long they had been asleep, and God commanded them to go into town to find out. They literally woke up in another time/era, the exact of which remains unknown to all but Allah. Why I like it? I can't pinpoint one thing. Maybe it's the comfort of knowing that God protects his own, or that He lovingly guides us to the best path/situation. Perhaps I find it amusing that what seems ...

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...

Salam (Peace Be Unto You)! This post was supposed to be a quickly copied article or embedded video on Eid-ul-Adha (The Festival of Sacrifice), but after some thought I decided to just write an entire post on Islam's second most important festival. Besides, it's been a minute since I wrote a good letter, and given how far we've come since my last Islam-related post during Ramadan, I believe I owe God one. However, before I get into all the juicy details about the different shapes, sizes and aromas of the succulent lamb chops that grace Eid, I'd like to talk a bit about another equally important event in Islam - and probably the singular largest gathering of people in the world - that is sometimes overlooked in the haste for the Eid holiday: the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca. The Fifth Pillar of Islam: Hajj Islam has five pillars or foundations that each Muslim is required (or should I say tries their best) to follow: Khalimat Shahaddah (bearing witness to the Oneness of ...

All too soon, we have come to the end of another opportunity to partake in the Holy Month of Ramadan. Pending the moon sighting, there are speculations that Eid-ul-Fitr (the festival celebrating the end of Ramadan) will take place on Friday, September 10 or Saturday, September 11. Either way, Alhamdulilahi, we've made it through another Ramadan and for that we should give thanks. But that's not the purpose of this post. I'll do a recap on my Ramadan experience later. For this post I'd like to talk about the Pastor in Florida who in all his wisdom has decided to organize a "Burn a Qu'ran" Day: Rev. Terry Jones. A Meeting of Significance: September 11, 2010 Yes, Mr. Jones is a pastor in a relatively small town in Florida, and yes, he only has a congregation of 50, but his actions, or rather his proclamations, bear a lot of weight. Why? Because he has chosen two 'things' that are important to not just tens or hundreds, but millions of people: t...

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...