The odds nights of the last ten days are power nights. Take advantage of these nights in asking Allah for forgiveness. Here is a simple popular dua for these nights.اللهم إنك عفو تحب العفو فاعفو عنيO Allah! You are the Forgiver and You like forgiving so forgive me--------Oh Lord of Alamain, there is none more merciful, nor forgiving than You.Oh Allah accept my fasts, my good dua & forgive me for my sins. Oh Allah bring me closer to you, may I be of those who are amongst the best of your slaves. Oh Allah cleanse me of evil and make my soul glow, illuminating my face...
20th رمضان 1431
In ten days time, I'll be home. Back in my bed and the luxuries of being pampered by my family. I went shopping yesterday and managed to get Ben10's birthday present. He is a dinosaur fan and requested a Diplodocus for his birthday. While shopping at Toys R' Us I found everything but a diplodocus...so in choosing between Walking Rex from Toy Story and a Triceratops, I settled for the triceratops! He is quiet a cute fella - can not do much except look at you. *chuckles*I noticed the weather is getting alot more tolerable. My fasts are going alhumdulillah.(Part 2 & 3 to follow soon)Have...
19th رمضان 1431
I hope you all had a good weekend. I went to city centre this evening to fetch my abaya and dress for the wedding. It was a nice evening. So we down to the last 10 days of Ramadan and consequently the most important ones. I wish you all the best over the last 10 days. May all your good dua & fast be accepted by Allah, Inshallah. Ameen.Have a look at this video - it taken from a show called "City Wrap" aired on Dubai One with theme being Ramadan.Futoor Video Suhoor Vi...
17th رمضان 1431
Its the 3rd Jumm'ah of Ramadan, we are already 17 days into the fasts, as if it only started yesterday. To leave you feeling inspired on this beautiful Friday morning, I have selected Mae's favourite Surah, Surah Al Fajr, beautifully recited by Sheikh AbdulRahman Sudais, who is the Imam of Masjid-Al-Haraam in Makkah. The second video is a soul dipping Nasheed recited by Mishari Al-Arada. Hope you like it.Have a spiritually fulfilling day.&nb...
16th رمضان 1431
BluePearl (c) My Gergean sweetsIts 1:05AM Doha time, I am just enjoying some self made banana, apple and orange juice while I write this post. Today I was invited to have Futoor with Zareena and her family. It was a lovely buffet meal but what was even more rewarding for me was sitting with Zareena and her family. They are all so welcoming, modest and fun to be around. I loved the kids, especially Zareena's kids. Her elder one, only 8 was able to tell me what 2 x 2 is, and he professes Maths to be his favourite subject. He just became one of my very good friends. Her little son gave me...
15th رمضان 1431
I bought a book recently on "Raw Juices can save your life" - it has some really good fruit/veg combinations and as you sip the juices, they don't only leave you feeling healthy but also taste good. Its a great book and I have really taken the vision of the book to heart in that Raw juices can save your life. I hope to see some results in the next few weeks. Last night I made myself a grapefruit, kiwi, apple and cucumber drink. That was my 3 fruit & 1 veg for the day. Today for ifthar, I am going make biryani and for dessert, some creme caramel. Sounds good, Ya! Lets hope:) I...
14th رمضان 1431
Today marks the middle of Ramadan as well as a very interesting Gulf Tradition, called "Garangao".It is a children's festival that is celebrated on the evening of the 14th of Ramadan. In its similarity to Halloween, kids dress up in Arabic cultural dress and go around door to door, singing the Garangao song while receiving sweets and nuts. There is a lot of thought that goes into these treats with many different packagings on offer.Have a look at the Gulf news coverage on this event, "Garangao"This YouTube video from Qtel really sums up the tradition well. Take a look:)Have a beautiful e...
13th رمضان 1431
I am a bit miserable today, its cold at the office and I have a headache. No fuss though I'll be better when I get home and put my head to the pillow for a snooze before futoor. I am pleased to see that many of you are still blogging over Ramadan - it been informative and interesting for me to note how my darling bloggers are spending their Ramadan around the world. As I write this, I am looking at the date. "13 Ramadan 1431 |23 August 2010" - Can you believe tomorrow is already two weeks into Ramadan? My gosh, how time just passes on by. I was chatting to my mother about this and she...
12th رمضان 1431
As promised, here is part 2 of Al Freej (see video below). My weekend was somewhat busy - got some cleaning done, sorted out some things for the wedding, did some cooking and had futoor with Mae on Friday. All in all, it was a good weekend. Did you have a nice weekend?Garrango (Children's festival) is coming up on the 14th of Ramadan - it is a gulf tradition. I'll tell you more about it on the 14th. Hopefully I'll be able to get some photos for you. NB: Take a look at this article on one of the Charity Ifthar Tents.Gulf News ArticleHave a delicious and fulfilling Futo...
11th رمضان 1431
Some Saturday humour - Enjoy(Freej - Part 1 and Shabiat Al Cartoon)Al Freej (Emirati Cartoon) - Part 1 Ramadan. Stay tuned for Part 2...Shabiat-Al-Cartoon Hope you all are having a great weekend. Its back to work for me tomorr...
10th رمضان 1431
Here are some videos of Ramadan in Qatar - enjoy Suhoor advert - Qatar Telecoms. The car in the video is owned by a very passionate Qatari (in the video) who loves ridings around in his car on weekends. It really looks like this and people will stop just to watch him drive by slowly. It was pleasing to see this patriotic on tv this season.In almost all muslim countries or middle easter countries, a cannon is fired to signal the break of fast (ifthar). This is Qatar's cannon.Ramadan lights at the City Centre in Doha, Qatar seen here during the break of fast (Ifthar)Various delicious...
8th رمضان 1431
So I made the basbousa yesterday and I thought it was a great first effort. I took some to my team (at work) today who chuckled away over how they could never imagine me to be domesticated considering this was my first home made offering in 2 years...I just smiled at my crazy team members who are all muslim by the way. Anyways, the weather was not too hot today centering around 41 degrees.BluePearl (c) Sunset moment in my side mirrorI had futoor with Mae today - we had some Shrimp rolls, Beef Al Saloona and a Morrocan Chicken dish. For dessert with had some creme caramel. Very Nice - I over indulged...
7th رمضان 1431
۞ وَاعْبُدُوا اللَّهَ وَلَا تُشْرِكُوا بِهِ شَيْئًا ۖ وَبِالْوَالِدَيْنِ إِحْسَانًا وَبِذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْيَتَامَىٰ وَالْمَسَاكِينِ وَالْجَارِ ذِي الْقُرْبَىٰ وَالْجَارِ الْجُنُبِ وَالصَّاحِبِ بِالْجَنبِ وَابْنِ السَّبِيلِ وَمَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَانُكُمْ ۗ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ مَن كَانَ مُخْتَالًا فَخُورًا (36) Worship Allah and join none with Him (in worship); and do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, Al-Masakin (the poor), the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer (you meet), and those (slaves) whom your right hands possess....
6th رمضان 1431
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It was a quiet and relaxed day today - since its Ramadan, I finished work at 2:30. Had enough of time to read salaat, some Quran and snooze:) I had futoor with Mae this evening. We had a choice of many nice things like Samboosa, Beef Straggenhof with asparagus, Al Saloona & Loqaimat while watching the hilarious Emirati Shabiat Al Cartoon. This is Mae's favorite cartoon during Ramad...
4th رمضان 1431
So I canned the post its to answer some questions I got from an anonymous blogger. I'll keep the answers related to Ramadan in keeping with the theme of the month.Arabic tea & datesRamadan is a special season in Qatar and I am sure no less different in any other middle eastern country. Henna, dates, arabic coffee, late evenings, shopping and futoor get togethers seem to be key words of the season as the city becomes awake by night and asleep during the day. The supermarkets operate longer hours, corporate hours are cut to 6 hours a day (average), restaurants/take aways are closed during the...
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