21st رمضان‎ 1431

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 عني

O Allah! You are the Forgiver and You like forgiving so forgive me

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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 with the beauty of goodness. 

Oh Allah make me of those who hearts feel and assist the orphans, the homeless and the needy.

Oh Allah let me be a simple and modest person, let me not be of those that are proud. 

Oh Allah always stay with me for without you my life makes no sense.

Ameen

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Appeal from a blogger Rani:

 Money needed for Pakistan flood victims. Banking details for those wanting to donate:

 A/C #0001160332,SAMINA ZAFAR.UNITED BANK LTD.ISLAMABAD 

Rani please provide your e-mail address in case anyone would like to contact you.

#

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 a great week ahead!

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 Video

18th رمضان‎ 1431

Here is some humor for today:) 

Hope you having/had a great weekend

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. 

16th رمضان‎ 1431

BluePearl (c) My Gergean sweets

Its 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 the "No crossed arms answer" when I asked him to come sit next to me. At only 2 years, he is a remarkably intuitive little bugger and I think he is going to give mummy and daddy a run for there money. Thanks Zareena that was a well spent Futoor. I loved it.





Afterwards, I went go visit 4 gorgeous little angels (a visit which was long overdue as I last saw them the previous Ramadan) - they are soon to play big sisters to a little brother as mommy delivers a little baby boy sometime in the next few hours, Inshallah. While I was there I got my share of Gergeran (Garangao)...hey even I can indulge in some sweeties too!!! *chuckles*





I am all set for a lazy weekend - other than being invited at the 4 little angels' house for futoor on Saturday, I dont have much planned. I hope you all are having inspirationally wonderful futoors with loads of happy and faith-filled moments.





In keeping with Ramadan, take a look at this YouTube video which serves as a good refresher on what dua to make after Salaat, and so nicely recited too:)

Have a great weekend

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 am sure you will agree with me that there is something so beautiful about the Adhan - it leaves you feeling proud to be a muslim as the ru7(soul) delights in the call to prayer.

I really love a beautifully recited Adhan - the Makkah Adhan has to be one of the most beautiful ones I have ever heard.  Watch this video of Adhan in Makkah recited at mag7rib during the break of fast.

          

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 evening.

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 said, "That is one of the signs of judgement day drawing closer". Right she is, indeed!





Pakistan is still very much in need of our help - there are numerous initiatives on the go to help these people, so please do commit a small amount in assisting them. I was pleased to note an e-mail circular from our HR department today on a company wide collection for the Pakistan victims.  I think more companies need to do the same. Meanwhile it seems that China is also in abit of a stitch with their floods - roughly 250 000 people have been evacuated, that however, is a small number compared to Pakistan's 20 million.





Moving on, I found a really nice article today,   "From Miami to Mecca..."  covered by Christian Science monitor.com. It talks about Ramadan in different countries and there are some really nice pictures on there. It makes for a good read. On the same site, there is an interesting snippet and picture of someone reading the Quran over IPAD. Its so welcoming to see that Islamic applications are available with leading technologies. 





So let me leave you with a little bit of humour today. This is a nandos commercial filmed in Durban, South Africa. South Africa is the home of Nandos and me, ofcourse!

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 Article

Have a delicious and fulfilling Futoor!

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 tomorrow.

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 buffets served at the hotels during Suhoor and Ifthar.





Have a great ifthar!

9th رمضان‎ 1431

The ru7's message to the heart

Have a great weekend

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 mirror

I 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 today cause everything was just so delicious.

Later on, I went over to city center to fetch my abaya for the wedding, coming up. There is so much excitement at city center from trying to find a parking to the live entertainment in the centre.  You can hear the artists banging their drums even before entering the centre. Its an amazing Ramadan vibe, with the loud music reaching the corners of the centre and shops closing at midnight, the center was rocking. As I walked pass,  I took a photo or two to share with you. The quality is not that great as I admit I am one of those shy photographers - I got into one of the side shops and asked permission to photograph from there so you'll notice the angle in the photo.

BluePearl (c) Ramadan Entertainment at City Centre

BluePearl (c) Ramadan Entertainment at City Centre

Hope you all had a great futoor

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. Verily, Allah does not like such as are proud and boastful.

Surah-an-Nisa

I am going to try and make basbousa today...Wish me luck:)

NB: If you in Qatar, have a look at this website Ramadan Mubarak for a list of events, tents and more. Have a look at http://blog.iloveqatar.net/ for more information on this new website.

6th رمضان‎ 1431

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 Ramadan.

5th رمضان‎ 1431

BluePearl Post its

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 & dates

Ramadan 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 day and open just before ifthar until late, hotels and some restaurants offer well spread buffets for Suhoor and Futoor which is a big hit, other shops will also change their time to operate minimally during the day and more in the evening.  

The Famous Souq Waqif offers evening enterntainment, shopping & many seesha and eating places

The  Souqs are a popular choice in the evenings for meeting friends & family to do shopping or just sit around chatting over some Arabic coffee and seesha. Many of the locals also will host their friends or family  members in their Majlis (which is a sitting place that is a seperate room in the house. You can have mixed or separated gender majlis'es - it all depends on the family or the event).

An example of a Majlis

Ifthar at home (if you with family) is a big celebration and sometimes even friends are invited to share in. A huge circular layout on the floor with traditional arabic cuisine is spent in lively conversation and sharing. And there is no skipping dessert - arabic desserts are just yummy.

There are also special arabic shows broadcast on TV ranging from comedy to animation.

Performing Mag7rib Salaat at one of the Ramadan Tents

Masjids offer an 8 rakaat or 20 rakaat Taraweeh that can be heard over speaker (like all other salaat). The 8 rakaat Taraweeh seems to be more popular and most masjids are filled up for the nightly taraweeh.

A Qtel (Qatar Telecoms) convoy of 20 specially-converted Land Cruisers will travel across Qatar during the holy month of Ramadan, bringing help to needy families

Some of the companies and charity organisations in conjunction on their own, will set up Ramadan tents to provide ifthar hampers to the poor and needy communities. Qatar Charity has announced it will be spending QR10 million on Ramadan programmes which include ifthar tents for bachelors and poor expatriate communities as well as the distribution of water and dates in traffic at ifthar time. The latter to make sure that everyone breaks their fast on time. Some Ramadan tents are offered by  hotels to the public as a pay service to dine for futoor and Suhoor (as featured in the picture "Performing Mag7rib Salaat at one of the Ramadan Tents")

All in all, Ramadan is celebrated in true festive fashion here in Qatar, leaving you feeling like you have really experienced Ramadan. There is no stone left unturned either, with everyone joining hands to help the less fortunate - it leaves you feeling like you accomplished something and hoping the momentum would last longer. To end Ramadan, the country will announce a 3-5 day public holiday for the celebration of Eid. This is practiced in most of the gulf countries, if not all. 

                                                                      Note: All images have been sourced from Google

3rd رمضان‎ 1431

BluePearl Post Its

2nd رمضان‎ 1431

BluePearl Post its

1st رمضان‎ 1431

BluePearl Post its

This week's Arabic phrases

1.  لا حول ولاقوة إلا بالله

Transliteration: La hawla wa la quwwata illa billah

Translation: There is no power nor strength save (expect) by Allah'

Tagged for: When struck by a calamity, or taken over by a situation beyond one's control - it is the placing of trust in the hands of Allah.

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2.  انّا للہ و انّا الیه راجعون

Transliteration: Inna lillahi wa inna ilayhi raji uun

Translation: To Allah we belong and to Him we must return

Tagged for:  At the time of death of a person or when struck by misfortune, taken from the Quran (Surah Baqarah Verse 156)

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