It’s time for Muslims to move toward a new beginning By Tahseen Abu Djihad

Times of difficulty are always a good time to reflect about one’s position in life. This is not only true for individuals, but also for nations. The past year has been troublesome for most Arab nations. The dissatisfaction of the people with their living conditions reached a point that they took to the streets to demand better leadership for their countries. Today, they are still in the process of finding a new order for their lives and their societies.

As long as the stream of life runs calm and everything seems to be in order, a lot of problems remain hidden under the surface and people enjoy a superficial sense of relief and satisfaction. Nevertheless, even a seemingly calm running river, with a shiny surface, hides a lot of trash underground! It is in times of disturbances that much of this filth comes to the surface and people start to wonder where all these impurities are coming from. It is a mercy of Allah that once in a while he forces us to face reality to recognize all the trash that has built up in the so-called Muslim countries.

Allah said, “Evil, (sins and disobedience to Allah) has appeared on land and sea because of what the hands of men have earned (by oppression and evil deeds), that He (Allah) may make them taste a part of that which they have done, in order that they may return (by repenting to Allah, and begging His pardon.)” (Qur’an, 30:41) This is precisely the moment when people have to look deeper into the realities of life to find the root of all this mischief that happened, which led their countries into this state of backwardness.

It is about time that Muslims look for a new path and move in the right direction by leaving behind the path of falsehood, which has given nothing but misery.For more read here.

Made in Arabia

BEFORE you dig into that plate of succulent pasta thinking of it as ‘real’ Italian food, you might want to have another look at what history says about the origins of this quintessential Italian staple.

Though the credit is often given to the Venetian merchant Marco Polo for bringing home pasta from his journeys to China in the 13th century, it is in fact, the Arab Muslims - who ruled Sicily 300 years before Marco Polo was even born - that introduced foods that would later on go on to become integral parts of the Italian cuisine.

This astonishing revelation was made by Sergio Grasso, a visiting food anthropologist and food writer from Venice, who brought the facts ‘home’- quite literally. Speaking on a range of topics like ‘The Arabic roots of pasta’, ‘Mediterranean diet, health and sustainability’, and ‘Arabic influence on the Italian cuisine’, Grasso was a guest speaker at “The Mediterranean – A journey through the history of Italian food”, a 5-day festival that ran from June 1-5 at the Il Villagio Restaurants and Lounges in Jeddah.

“About 30 percent of Italian food has Arabic origins. Moreover, it is believed that frying is a Chinese technique, but in reality, the technique was transferred to China by the Arabs when they conquered it,” remarked Grasso.

Elaborating on the Arabian-Italian link, he added: “During their reign, the Arabs brought in many foods, such as, pasta, rice, lemon, spices, sugarcane, artichokes, the Italian names of most of which have Arabic derivatives. For example, the Italian word for artichoke derives from the Arabic Al-Kharshuf. The eggplant, believed to be originally from India, was introduced to Italy via Spain by the Muslims.”

Prophet Muhammad as a husband

PROPHET Muhammad (peace be upon him) was the epitome of human character. He came to guide us and lead us by example. Allah Almighty in His Book praised him and directed us to take him (peace be upon him) as our role model:

“You have indeed in the Messenger of Allah a beautiful example (of conduct) for anyone whose hope is in Allah and the Last Day, and remembers Allah much.” (Qur’an, 33:21)

Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) had a multifaceted personality with different roles to play and various responsibilities to attend to. One such was his role as a husband and his relationship with his wives. He lived and demonstrated how a perfect husband should be. He understood the nature of women. He knew that though women are created beautiful and attractive, they also are volatile and emotional, which husbands will just have to learn to accept in their lives. He knew that patience, wise usage of words, and a control over temper are mandatory qualities a husband must possess while dealing with women. The following narration displays how the Prophet (peace be upon him) beautifully handled his wives’ outbursts:

Narrated Anas Bin Malik: “While the Prophet was in the house of one of his wives, one from among the believers sent a meal in a dish. The wife at whose house the Prophet (peace be upon him) was, struck the hand of the servant, causing the dish to fall and break. The Prophet gathered the broken pieces of the dish and then started collecting on them the food which had been in the dish and said, “Your mother felt jealous.” Then he detained the servant till a (sound) dish was brought from the wife at whose house he was. He gave the good dish to the wife whose dish had been broken, and kept the broken one at the house where it had been broken.” (Al-Bukhari, 7/62, no. 152)

(Notice how the narrator has abstained from mentioning the names of the Mothers of Believers in order to cover their shortcomings.)

Picture this scenario happening in an average house: a woman breaking another’s crockery piece (and we all know how passionately women feel about their crockery), laden with food the latter had freshly cooked. How would you expect an average husband witnessing such an action to react? He may lose his temper and shout angrily, “What have you done? Are you out of your mind?!”

For more go here.

Get the most out of Kuala Lumpur in three days

ONLY got a short while to explore Kuala Lumpur? Reuters correspondents with local knowledge help visitors get the most from a short visit to the Malaysian capital.

Day one: When the sun sets, Kuala Lumpur’s Chinatown comes to life. Under Petaling Street’s red glow, take in the steamy smells of Malaysian Chinese delicacies while looking for the perfect fake designer accessory in the bustling night market. Save your tastebuds for “Ikan Pari,” stingray cooked in spicy chilies or a bubbling pot of claypot noodles: just look for the signs bearing the dishes’ names at the end of the street.

For more go here.

What Chain-Food Favorites Cost In Exercise!

My "two scoops won't hurt and neither will these french fries" approach to eating doesn't lend itself well to swimsuit season. Although the beach treks may have begun, there is time to make change. So, let me have it. What's that ice cream going to cost me in workout minutes? To tell us is Charles Stuart Platkin, also known as the Diet Detective. He is the author of five books and and host of WE TV's I Want To Save Your Life. Here is his report on what some of our chain-food favorites should cost us in time spent doing common exercises...


Note: Calorie content of foods are based on official website information at the time of publication. Minutes of exercise are averages based on a 155-pound person. The greater the weight of the person the more calories burned per minute.

For more go here.

Ways To Fill Your Heart With Life - Sheikh Ibrahim Bin Abdullah Al-Hazimi

The keys to the life of the heart lie in reflecting upon the Qur’an, being humble before Allah in secret, and leaving sins. – Ibn Al-Qayyim (Hadi Al-Arwah Ila Bilad Al-Afrah, pg.45)

Allah said: “A Book which We have sent down to you, full of blessings that they may ponder over its verses, and that men of understanding may take heed.” (Qur’an, 38:29)

SO Allah informed us that He sent down this Great Qur’an, blessed in its wording, meaning, commands, prohibitions and regulations. Among its blessings is that whoever recites even one word of it has a reward, and this reward is increased tenfold, as mentioned in the Hadith reported by Al-Tirmidhi. Also, the one who reads it and acts upon it will not be misguided in this world, nor will fall into distress or misery in the Hereafter, as Ibn Abbas said so in the commentary to the following verse:“Whoever follows My guidance shall neither go astray nor fall into distress and misery.” (Qur’an, 20:123)

For more go here.

How to Spend like a Frugal Millionaire

Saving thousands while still spending.

Millionaires make up just 2 percent of the population. They get a bad rap during recessions for being wasteful with their money and are frequently used as examples of excess. It's the millionaires that you don't see that you can learn from in times like these. I call them the frugal millionaires and interviewed 70 of them to uncover ways we can all be smarter with money.

Nearly 70 percent of the economy is based on consumer spending. To keep the economy going we need to keep spending but not waste money in the process. This is where the frugal millionaires come in. They've been smart with their money all along and haven't lost it all and had to remake it. These are the kind of people you want to learn from when it comes to spending your money.

Spending philosophy.

Frugal millionaires are unique thinkers when it comes to spending money: 1) they can easily delay their need for gratification when purchasing; 2) they are resourceful in getting what they want by carefully timing their consumer purchases; 3) they make living below their means painless; 4) they don't like wasting anything (especially money); 5) their sense of "self-entitlement" is highly minimized: and 6) spending is OK with them...depending on what they are buying (think: appreciating vs. depreciating assets).

[For more, see, "10 Secrets of Millionaires' Money Management."]

For more go here.

10 Habits Of Highly Successful Women

These 10 habits of highly successful women are practical, easy, and effective — and they’re what “See Jane Soar” is all about! These tips for success range from maintaining your hormonal balance to letting go of the past - and they affect your mind, body, and soul.

First, a quotation from writer Anais Nin:

“Dreams pass into the reality of action. From the action stems the dream again; and this interdependence produces the highest form of living.”

Taking action is one of the most important habits of successful women…and so is dreaming. For inspiration and practical advice for succeeding in life after failure or knock-out punches, click on This is Not the Life I Ordered: 50 Ways to Keep Your Head Above Water When Life Keeps Dragging You Down by Deborah Collins Stephens et al.

10 Habits of Highly Successful Women

1. Maintain your hormonal balance. Are you moody, exhausted, irritable, or sad? Check your hormones. If they’re out of whack, then you’ll struggle to be successful! Make sure you’re getting enough protein and vitamins, and decrease your refined sugars and carbohydrates.

2. Forgive yourself for your mistakes. Highly successful women don’t obsess or feel guilty about past choices or failures. They make mistakes, move on, and apply what they’ve learned to new situations.

For more please go here.

Foods You Should be eating, But Aren't

Improving your health can be as simple as eating these items.

Eaten many coconuts lately? How about cherries or blueberries or grass-fed beef?

You should, because these are all foods with powerful health properties. However, few people pack their grocery carts full of these items.

Take kiwifruit. It's chock full of vitamin C--a whopping 115% of what you need to eat in a day. It's also low in calories--just 45 per fruit, sans skin.

"In America, most people don't eat three servings of fruit and vegetables a day," says nutritionist Jonny Bowden, author of seven books including, most recently, The 150 Most Effective Ways to Boost Your Energy. According to him, there are 10 very healthy foods we don't eat enough of. For more read here.

8 Toxic Personalities To Avoid

Although we like to think that the people in our lives are well-adjusted, happy, healthy minded individuals, we sometimes realize that it just isn't so. Personally, I've had moments where I'll be skipping through my day, happy as can be, thinking life is grand and BAM, I'll be blindsided by someone who manages to knock the happy wind out of my sails. Sometimes it is easy to write it off and other times, not so much.

Maybe you are a positive person, but when you are around a certain individual, you feel negative. Or, maybe you have an idealistic view of the world and when you are with certain people, you are made to feel silly, unrealistic or delusional. Or, maybe you pride yourself in being completely independent and in control of your life, but when you are around a certain family member, you regress into a state of childhood.

Some of these situations, and yes, these people, can have a tremendously negative impact on our lives. And, although we are all human and have our 'issues,' some 'issues' are quite frankly, toxic. They are toxic to our happiness. They are toxic to our mental outlook. They are toxic to our self-esteem. And they are toxic to our lives. They can suck the life out of us and even shorten our lifespan.

Here are the worst of the toxic personalities out there and how to spot them:

1. Manipulative Mary: These individuals are experts at manipulation tactics. Is a matter of fact, you may not even realize you have been manipulated until it is too late. These individuals figure out what your 'buttons' are, and push them to get what they want.

• Why they are toxic: These people have a way of eating away at your belief system and self-esteem. They find ways to make you do things that you don't necessarily want to do and before you know it, you lose your sense of identity, your personal priorities and your ability to see the reality of the situation. The world all of a sudden becomes centered around their needs and their priorities.
  

For more please go here.

57 ways of winning your husband’s love

IN the last issue (May 1), we listed out 81 ways to win your wife’s love. This list, mostly contributed by Muslim women at the MuslimMatters.org blog, is all about winning your husband’s love.

1. Behave like a female, i.e. with all the tenderness of a female.

2. Dress pleasantly and attractively. If you are a home-maker, don’t stay in your sleeping suit all day.

3. Smell good.

4. Don’t lay out all your problems on your husband as soon as he walks in. Give him a little mental break.

5. Don’t keep asking him ‘what are you thinking?’ because unlike women, men’s thoughts are as random as the results of a google search. Women on the other hand have thoughts as organized as a labeled file-cabinet!

6. Stop nagging non-stop before Allah gives you something really to complain about.

7. Absolutely no talking about your spousal problems to anyone you meet under the pretense of seeking help, even if you are the victim. If you think you want to solve legitimate marital
issues then go seek counseling with the right person.

8. Be kind to your mother-in-law the same way you would like your husband to be kind to your own mother.

9. Learn all the rights and obligations of each other in Islam.

10. Race to the door when he comes home, as if you were waiting for him. Smile and hug.

For more please go here.

81 ways to win your wife’s love

IN today’s life of hustle and bustle, the family unit is becoming fragile by the day. Divorces are on the rise, and Muslims can no longer claim, as justifiably as before, that divorce is rare among Muslims or even much less than incidents of divorce among non-Muslims. The article, originally contributed by several bloggers and readers on MuslimMatters.org, is divided in two parts and will list out ways to keep up your spouse’s love. Feel free to write to us your own list with experiences. Having said that, let’s take on the men first, here’s how you can keep up your wife’s love:

1. Make her feel secure, don’t threaten her with divorce.

2. Give sincere Salaams.

3. Treat her gently, like a fragile vessel.

4. Advise in private, at the best time, in the best way and atmosphere.

5. Be generous with her.

6. Warm the seat for her, you will warm her heart.

7. Avoid anger, be in Wudhu at all times.

8. Look good and smell great for your wife.

9. Don’t be rigid or harsh-hearted or you will be broken.

10. Be a good listener.

11. Yes for flattery. No for arguing.

12. Call your wife with the best names, cute nicknames, and names she loves to hear.

13. A pleasant surprise.....

For the full article please go here .