EID MUBARAK

Ramadan day 30

Eid is finally here. My husband wants to go to at least one Pakistani friend’s house for dinner. I think that we should stay home and just zoom it. We will at least zoom the prayer, but I know that my husband wants to cause enough drama that we go to someone’s house for a dinner celebration. Note to self: find the masks, even though I know that my husband will try to find any moment to remove the mask and show his selfishness. We will see.

Most years, we go to the mosque, pray and eat. The children’s activities are getting more and more elaborate. Muslims seem to be in this catch 22 when they start thinking about others and comparing Eid to Christian, secular or western holidays.

I think that many Muslims try to make Eid as special as possible because they feel like they must compete with Christmas. Sometimes, at the mosque, there are bounce houses, ice cream, pony rides, carnival games and barbecues. I wonder if Muslims will have hay rides when Ramadan is in the fall. Even more interesting is what Eid will be like in the winter.

My first Eid was in 2010 and it was in August, then. It slowly moves backward about eleven days each year due to the fact that it is determined by the lunar calendar and not the Gregorian calendar.

There is really nothing wrong with fun on Eid. The problem becomes when Muslims do this in response or reference to other Christian holidays. Anyway, the other extreme is the desire not to “imitate the Christians,” This leaves the Muslim in a quandary. Not imitating the Christians really means that there is less fun to be had for the children. Apparently, fun is decidedly Christian. Conversely, things that aren’t fun are not Christian.

It seems as if both positions are comparing themselves to Christians and therefore, miss the true intention of Eid. Both positions can be nauseating for different reasons.

At the end of the day, I want to try to make Eid as special for the children as possible. I don’t care if we are imitating the fun of the Christians. Yet, I try to be less materialistic about it than I see many Muslims being – even though they might criticize the Christians for doing that very same thing. I have seen expensive Eid outfits, women being decked out in their most elegant outfits and sparkling jewelry and feasts that could feed hundreds of people set for thirty or forty guests. Children want gifts and money. Yet, I always feel a little guilty and encourage my children to be extra generous. We celebrate Christmas and all of the other calendar holidays, whether secular or religious. We’d celebrate Hanukkah and Diwali, if it didn’t feel like cultural appropriation and if we had some willing people to usher us through the celebrations. Many Muslim children do not get to celebrate so many holidays. Their parents are quite conservative about celebrating anything other than Eid… … or their native country’s holidays, sometimes. That is another hypocritical story. . I have always wanted to make (and get my children to help me make) little bags for others with small toys and candy in them. And, maybe have a carnival type of celebration which could include the playing of Islamic games, Islamic trivia, the making of treasure boxes to get out for next Ramadan. I’d like to create an Eid treasure hunt with Arabic clues and a twist to make it really Eid like. Of course, we can’t forget lots of Eid music.

Actually, I have had a few ideas for some really neat Islamic games which could double as cool Eid gifts for families. I do wish that I could construct some of these and just pass them out to the children at Eid.

Maybe I could produce a laminated Islamic coloring book of the fifty most popular mosques. A small picture of a well-known mosque with facts would be on the right hand side of one page. The next two pages would contain an elaborate picture of the mosque and an outline for someone to color in. On the left-hand side of the next page are ten questions to answer. The questions would come from the facts on the previous page. It would be laminated, so dry erase markers could work. This would be especially educational since the controversy and uncertainty of one of the most famous silver domed masjids, al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. Click this link for more information about this mosque. I have also written another post about the mosque. Check it out for more about famous mosques and stunning pictures.

Hundreds of Israeli Settlers Storm Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound

Why not make a trouble like game of seven layers or rows. The board is square. Each role of the dice gets you closer to the Kaaba. There are three spaces on each side. That means that it will take 84 moves to get to the Kaaba. You must go around seven times. The first person to circumambulate seven times and get to the Kaaba presses the button that calls the prayer.

I have been looking in many Islamic book stores and toy stores. I have not found magnetic Arabic letters. The letters that I do find have all been reviewed as not very durable. Has anyone ever made magnetic Arabic letters? I am certain that a durable magnetic letter set with the accents could be made. If someone really wants to get technical, they could make an electronic part to the magnetic letters, similar to the leap frog system. I thought about them being magnetic, but like the wicka sticks so we could change the shape to fit the word that it would go in. sometimes the letter slightly changes shape depending on the accent put on the letter or what comes before or after it.

Card games that help a child match the correct Prophet to the story could be laminated and made for a great Eid gift and/or activity for the mosque.

During Eid celebration, kids could also play a Guess the Trash game. First tell the story of the Prophet and the bag of Trash. Then, there is a cloth bag with a glove to stick your hand in. The glove has no fingers. There is a zipper at the other end to take out or insert more objects. Fill the bag with objects and see how many a person can guess by touch in one/two/three minutes. Timer is by the wrist of glove. Included objects: replica of Masjid, moon shape, camel, sheep, grapes, prayer rug, minaret, cup, dog, sandal, Replica of Kaaba, small book, star shape, lantern, scarf, bird, prayer beads, date, sword, ark, cradle and staff. Another game is to find one object in the bag and either think of a verse that includes this object or tell a story about this object.

The Little ones could play a version of Hungry Hungry hippo where the marbles are dates or pieces of fruit. The concept could be expanded upon by making the food different shapes. Dates, samosas, water melon wedges, flat bread, chicken leg, water bottle, French fries, puff puff bread and pizza could all be food items.

It would be fun to have a maze like game for the children. The children could go through the maze and it could be labeled with different places that the Prophet went. One maze could be like a cave. But, each person would have to figure out how to move the dogs from the cave. We could talk about that story.

If I could sew, I would make a collection of three or four books in one binder. There would be felt objects and animals. On one page would be the story and the other would be a piece of material for any child to set the scene.

Why not engage the children in an Islamic Bingo game of sorts. This would mean that they would have to know their Arabic alphabet and some Arabic words.

There are so many possibilities with stone mosques, the Kaaba and statues. An idol could be built and two teams could take turns throwing stones at it. Two teams could build a large fort like mosque and the team to put the minaret on top is the winner.

I have not heard Eid celebratory songs being played at the Mosque, but I am sure that some people play them in their houses. I have not heard people do so because, whenever I have been invited for Eid celebrations, the crowd has been quite conservative. Gender mixing is not even a thing, much less music. Usually when my family is invited for Eid, though, it is by an Auntie who is a friend of my mother-in-law. This means that most often the invitation comes from conservative Pakistanis.

Eid and/or Eid celebrations are usually not complete without at least four of the following experiences occurring.

shoved into a crowded mosque for prayer,
My little child pulling off at least one head scarf (Okay, less likely to happen since my children are older but certainly was an occurrence at least twice a year for the last eight years),
not being able to find my shoes for at least twenty minutes after the prayer and before eating even with sighted assistance,
Having at least six different rice dishes on the menu
Being in the middle of a stampede to eat,
My children wanting to play and have ice cream and do everything that is available to do at the mosque(pizza, hot dogs, ice cream, cotton candy, yard games and a video game truck),
Any party decorations (Birthday, Christmas, etc.) that can be purchased put on tables and my in-laws encouraging my children to collect them all into a bag for them to play with when we get home,
Uncles and Aunties giving my children various denominations of money that my husband use to hold for them but now are grasped tightly by my eight-year-old),
My mother-in-law telling everyone that I am blind so that she can get to the beginning of a food line (last time, I told her how much I disliked this practice and tried to get little girls to go ahead of me, so I got no pizza – the exact thing we were standing in line for),
African, Asian, Middle Eastern and American perfumes, aromas, languages, foods, expressions of joy all praying and experiencing Eid together
Gender segregation, either at the Mosque or at someone’s home afterwards (sometimes, if we eat outside, gender segregation is not practiced),

I know that people have to play Eid music in their homes, though. I have found some celebratory songs. Here are a few songs that they and you might play on Eid.

One of my favorites is the song Festival, by Khaled Siddiq. There will probably never be another song that mentions Biryani and Fanta in the same verse. BTW. I have never had eid without Biryani and Fanta. This year, there is no fanta because I am not a fan of soda. And, while we did not have biryani, we did have hummus, tabouli, meat and rice and goat feet gravy.

This Eid Song called Eid Mubarak by Sami Yusuf is live and it makes you think that you are at a concert.

Eidun Sed by Zain Bhikha is exactly what we would expect from the South African musician. The joyous selection thanks Allah for Ramadan and the blessings of Eid.

Eid Morning Takbeer by Native Deen is all in Arabic. It is close to what we hear at the mosque before Eid. It is an elaborate Takbeer chant that is said between Fajr and the extra prayer at Eid. Takbeer just means the phrase that God is great. But, during Eid, this takbeeri chant can be heard about ten minutes before the Eid prayer begins. Many imams give a Khutbah (similar to a sermon) after the prayer and before eating.

Here is the percussion version.

Its Eid day by Zaky is a child’s song discussing and celebrating Eid. My children like the video and the music.

Eid Mubarak everybody is a fun rap by Native Deen (I believe), about Eid. I believe that it was performed on the Deen Show. My children like the video, I am not sure why.

Omar Esa has a fun celebration song about Eid and being a Muslim. His pride in being a Muslim and excitement over Eid is apparent. The song is called Celebrate Eid.

We’ve scanned the Sky by Dawud Wharnsby tells about eh progression from the beginning to the end of Ramadan. It reminds us that we look for the moon to indicate the beginning and end of Ramadan.

THE PROPHET

Ramadan Day 19

I can’t believe we have gone almost three weeks into Ramadan and we have not talked about the messenger and Prophet, Muhammad (PBUH). This seems unfathomable, I know. So, let’s delve into it.

Most of my childhood was spent in a residential state run facility. Many blind people during the 1970’s and 1980’s attended state run schools for the blind. There was, most often, a separation of church and state. Certainly, at the school, there were religious services, if one wanted to attend. There was a short prayerful silence before eating, if someone was so inclined to pray. We recited the updated version of the pledge every day and every assembly had an avocation where God was mentioned. However, my parents were barely cultural Christians. Besides going to a Seventh Day Adventist camp for one week in the summer just for blind people and occasionally being dropped off at Sunday school as if it were a free babysitter, I did not have regular contact with religion.

In 1997, I was raising small children as a single parent. I tried conservative religion for about eight to ten years before becoming so disillusioned and frustrated with the hypocrisy, that I social distanced without corona. When I had questions about racism, social justice issues and things that seemed to be contradictory, I was told that God knows more than I do and sometimes we just had to accept those things that we did not understand. When asking questions about the trinity, I was told that God could do anything. I felt guilty continuing to ask questions… guilty and stupid. Surely, those older than me understood more than me. I yielded.

When learning about Islam, I never had qualms about the Prophet, Isa (Jesus) as the Muslims believed him to be. In my mind, Muslims made much more sense. Their depiction of Jesus was much more plausible, to me. Okay, the exception is when he spoke as an infant in the cradle. But, miracles are miracles, after all. If I believed the depiction of Jesus as it appeared in the Quran, I didn’t have to contend with Jesus being white, born in a snowy landscape or rack my brain trying to understand the trinity. Some Muslims that I encountered thought that this alone should qualify me as Muslim. They wrongly assumed that my conversion would be easy. After all, they would not even have to convince me that Jesus wasn’t God or that Worshipping any other than Allah/God was shirk (an unforgiveable sin). How disappointed they were when I would not be a white convert trophy. They had reduced Islam down to the identity of Jesus. My conversion had very little to do with who Jesus was. For various reasons, Muslims and Christians might both gasp and shudder at this statement. It had more to do with who the prophet (pbuh) was. Who Jesus *IS* or *IS NOT* is not the only difference between Christians and Muslims.

I embarked on a journey to read what I could about Prophet Muhammed (PBUH). There are Muslims that seem to worship the Prophet (Peace be upon him) like Christians do Jesus… and have the nerve to say that they aren’t associating partners. There are Christians that portray Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) as a seventh century blood thirsty misogynist. I had to try to find the truth.

I was looking for objective sources. Of course, I did not want to find books by conservative Christians, but I did not want to find books by Muslims who might want to gloss over events or sayings that they found troubling.

Many of the most interesting books have been written by Karen Armstrong. She is quite the religious historian. Many of her books talk about Islam and a couple talk about the Prophet specifically. She wrote a biography of the Prophet.

And this one called Muhammad: a prophet for our time.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8489.Muhammad

The next book that I read was by Martin Lings. It is called Muhammad: his life based on the earliest sources.

Both books are on Book Share (for any print impaired individual) and both authors wrote interesting and seemingly objective accounts of the Prophet (PBUH). You can find reviews on both Amazon and Good reads. Both books have been written quite some time ago and both are revered for their objectivity, research and astute observations by those regardless of religion. You can find both on Amazon and at almost any book store. Armstrong’s can even be found on Audible.

There are a few stories that I really enjoy that have been recounted about the Prophet (PBUH). Of course, those that I like best embody the characteristics that I try to emulate. I like the stories that canvas his humanity and wisdom.

https://player.fm/podcasts/Prophet-Muhammad

I do like Seeker’s hub. But, if we are specifically talking about the prophet, I found the Re-sight Islam podcast quite entertaining and the hosts make it relatable. Okay, they are gamers and reference pop culture a bit too much. I am not that knowledgeable about pop culture and gaming. Yet, I found the podcast thoroughly engaging despite my lack of knowledge. And, bonus points, they have translated the words of Tala Al Badru Alayna into roman Arabic letters so that I can write them down and try to sing the song.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/re-sight-islam/id1416941037.

I do want to say that we actively celebrate both Jesus’ and Muhammad’s birthdays (peace be upon them both). Many poems have been written about the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and sung at gatherings to honor him (Mawlids).

Mawlid and Burda Gatherings; All Your Concerns Answered!

Here are more poems set to music that celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday, just in case you want even more music about the prophet.

https://ummahwide.com/a-global-mawlid-mixtape-26-songs-of-praise-in-honor-of-the-prophet-muhammads-birth-1c5629641e7a

When looking for songs that either talked about or praised Prophet Muhammad, I found tons. But, I found less that were in English. I have already previewed some of them on this blog. All of the Tala Al Badru Alayna songs, for example, were about the Prophet entering Mecca. I have also profiled at least two songs that talk about wishing peace and blessings on the Prophet. Here are some more songs about the Prophet (PBUH). By the Way, if you are yearning for more English selections about the Prophet (pbuh), it would be worth your time to check out Islamic cartoons. Almost every Islamic cartoon talks about the prophet Muhammad (pbuh) and has at least one song to illustrate their point.

Don’t talk to me about Muhammad is a song about one of the Prophet’s (PBUH) encounters. He sees a woman on the road who needs help carrying a heavy load. He helps her and her only request is that during their long journey, he not talk to her about Muhammad. She blames Muhammad for her hardships and does not like him at all. After she arrives at her destination, she finds out that the very same man who she thought was causing strife among people was the man who carried her load, even when she said horrible things about him. This is by the story teller, himself, Dawud Wharnsby.

Another selection by Dawud Wharnsby is simply called the Prophet’s Nasheed. This song talks about the Prophet’s (pbuh) anxiety over the fate of future Muslims.

Harris J talks about all of the characteristics that make up Muhammad (PBUH) and why he tries to emulate the prophet in the song My Hero.

Harris J also has a pop style, upbeat song called Rasool’Allah, which means messenger of Allah.

Maher Zain sings about Prophet Muhammad’s (PBUH) destiny as The Chosen One. Of course, I chose the vocal version to profile on my blog.

Zain Bhikha and Native Deen come together to sing Zamilooni which talks about his first revelation. His wife Khadijah comforted him and believed him. This song is as much about his vision, as much as about her belief in her husband.

The Prophet (PBUH) was also known as the trustworthy one. Pagans, Christians, Jews and Muslims knew that they could entrust him with their things. He was honest and truthful with them. His reputation was one that could be trusted with people’s business and livelihood. Even as a child, he was called Al Amin, which is the name of this next tribute by Irfan Maki.

The song Al Mu-Allim also refers to the Prophet (PBUH). Sami Yusuf talks about him being a great teacher.

There are many songs simply called Muhammed. This one is sung by Saif Adam. This is a rockabilly tune with a flute at the beginning.

Apparently, the Ghazali College Choir is accompanying Hussein Kalla on this piece. Al Ghazali was a Muslim mystic and philosopher born in 1050 in Iran.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/al-Ghazali

He was a proponent of music and was quoted saying

“Whoever says that all music is prohibited, let him also claim that the songs of birds are prohibited.”

Here is the song by Hussein Kalla and the college choir.

Khalid Belrhouzi has a song in Arabiccalled Allah’s Messenger. I like Khalid’s voice, so was getting a bit excited. I hoped that it would be in English since the title was in English. I was wrong. Yet, it is a melodic piece. So, I added it here.

Since I did not know about Belrhhouzi’s version of Tala Al Badru Alayna, thus, did not include it in my post about the moon, I am adding it here. It is slow and melodic. Maybe if I write the words in a kind of Roman Arabic script, I can sing along. It is sung in both English and Arabic.

HEARING THE CALL

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As we know, Muslims pray at least five times a day. The call to prayer is called the “Azan” or “Adan” or “Athan.” The difference between these words depends on a slight difference in pronunciation of the first consonant in the word. Our child’s name is “Azaan,” which sounds the same, just spelled differently. The meaning is the same. We tried the double A in the middle in the hopes that people will pronounce it as we intended it to be pronounced. We pronounce it like “Amazon,” without the middle syllable.

The person who calls the prayer is called the Muesin. The Muesin is usually male. Apparently Muesins in Istanbol get paid and take their job seriously.

There are many converts who report that when they heard the call to prayer, they instantly felt peace and were mesmerized. I was not one of them. The call to prayer left me confused by the lyrics and disoriented by the melody. I offended my husband when I compared it to a “song.” Even though no Muslim will categorize it as a song, I found that people call the prayer differently. Some draw out notes longer than others. Some start the call in a higher key. Some muesins say certain words quickly and some do not. Even the tune or melody can be modified. I am not sure if this variation is due to geographical location, specific school of fiq, suni verses Shia, etc. It would be interesting to find out. And, while I did not find the answer to this specific question, my research did prove to take me to places that I had never known existed. I found out much more than I thought that I would about the call to prayer and the different arrangements. I do confess, I don’t have any research subscriptions and most of my research has been done with Google.

Here is a reenactment from “The message,” about how the first call to prayer might have gone. I actually like this a bit more than some of the ones that are on the Azan apps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IwoM64-a4rg have

For me, I wanted to find a call to prayer that I could understand with my western ear and recite with my western tongue. [side note: I still can’t recite the call to prayer, but I wish that I could.] Reciting the call is probably as close that I could get to preparing myself for worship by invoking a tuneful vocal pattern with words. I admit that I was on the lookout for a call to prayer that I could connect with.

There aren’t too many women who call the prayer. When I ask most men, they say that women are not allowed. I am always super excited when I find people transgressing traditional gender norms. And, since I am female, I wanted a voice that I could closely immolate.

Check out this snippet of the call to prayer by a woman who has been brave enough to do just that.

Honestly, I am usually skeptical when celebrities convert to Islam. First, they are celebrities and getting attention is the name of the game. Second, just like conservative Christians, sometimes there is a desire for a muslim trophy convert. But, I like the fact that Sinaed O’Connor did not give up her love for music when she converted. Here she is, performing part of the call to prayer.

Here is an article about a woman Imam in Kerala India receiving threats after performing the call to prayer. I want to note that **unfortunately, the video has no audio description, so I am only relying on the title and headline. If anyone reading this can elaborate on the video, it would be super helpful.

Lest we think that these Women are only western,

Here is another female muesin (person who calls the prayer), apparently, her name is Mai Kamal and when she called the prayer, she was training at an opera house. It is the most clear and entirely precise call from a woman. My eight-year-old said that it was scary and sounds like a Mummy, but I think that it is because He has never heard a woman call the prayer. I wish that I could put this one in my Muslim pro or Alexa app so that I could hear it when it is time for the prayer. I admit, I would get a distinct pleasure out of hearing it at the mosque amidst the cacophony of other male muesins on smart phones. And, I confess I’m a bit envious that she does this so well.

Here are some examples of children muesins.

The first was put on video in 2015.

The next Azan is done by a child with great vocal skills. The place echoes, but the recording is clear.

Here is a man calling the prayer in a church. The first thing that my boys noticed was that he has his eyes closed while calling and my four-year-old thought that he might be blind (smile). I said that it was certainly a possibility. It is obvious, however, that he has trained for this because he seems to have great control over his voice and breath.

As long as we are talking about people who may or may not have disabilities, here is a with Down Syndrome who is still calling the prayer amidst covid-19. I am not sure whether I should be proud that muslims recognize this man’s ability or be angry that they are not worried about him contracting the virus.

for any music enthusiasts, here is Cat Stevens calling the Azan.

I have not found a choral performance of the call to prayer, but it would most likely be entirely beautiful. I have found an Azan with orchestral accompaniment. Although, the orchestra is concentrated on one note, for the most part. I enjoyed the vocal performance, but my mind continued to wonder about those stringed instruments and if they found it difficult to sustain that single note for the entire performance. (smile)

Here is another instrumental accompaniment that is a small exerpt, but sounds a bit more full.

For any Muslims reading the blog, put your favorite Azan in the comments.

EXPLANATIONS AND REFLECTIONS OF FAITH

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I have wondered how much to share of my experience as a Christian wife of a Muslim man. Initially, I did not want to be that vulnerable. Yet, I feel that there is no way around it. If anyone will ever read my blog, it will probably be even more beneficial to the reader if I don’t leave out some of the most personal details of my life and how they intersect with music.

I am a liberal Christian. … … Kind of. I am more of a “Bell and Borg,” type of Christian. I am speaking of Marcus Borg and Rob Bell. I don’t take the Bible literally —- *ANYMORE! I don’t believe in the atonement theory. I don’t believe that God would have or need to crucify his son to forgive any sins. I believe that Jesus was a great man, not God incarnate or even God’s son. This does not make me love Jesus any less.

Although disabled people have been ostracized in every religion, I find Christians a bit more inclusive than people of other religions. I do acknowledge, though, that this has less to do with the religion and more to do with an individual’s comfort with disabilities, in general. I also enjoy the corporate singing and the small group Bible studies. These are quite beneficial. .

Muslims do have small group Quran study classes. And, there are some Muslims who are accepting of those with disabilities. There are Muslims who encourage questions, etc. They are just far less concentrated into one area. I am involved in a few facebook Islamic groups that seem to assist in my spiritual growth. However, I do admit that online groups have their limits, especially when there is not a regular conferencing element within the group participating model.

Honestly speaking, I probably listen to more podcasts about Islam than Christianity. Theologically, I feel more Muslim than any other Abrahamic faith. I do believe that there is only one God and that Mohamed was a prophet and messenger (Peace be upon him). I feel more comfortable with the Muslim definition of “witnessing,” than the Christian definition. Until recently, Muslims seemed to be less pushy and conversion focused. Yet, there are familial, cultural and a couple of small theological reasons that I don’t squarely fit into the Muslim box.

Even if I dawned the label of “Muslima,” I’d be an inclusive feminist Muslima. I definitely would be progressive and moderate in my thinking. This means that I would be LGBTQI affirming, believe that hijab is a woman’s choice and not obligatory, not ascribe to outdated Arabic customs, view the Quran through a contextual and humanitarian lense instead of taking every word literally, etc. This would put me out of mainstream Islam, already. I know that there are many Muslims who are already there. I am just not ready to go there.
While I do believe that Muhammed (PBUH) was a prophet and a messenger, I have some serious reservations about whether he was indeed the *LAST messenger, his portrayal as “perfect,” or praying to him to intercede on anyone’s behalf. It also feels a bit too “Catholic,” for me to believe in praying for the dead.
I learned my lesson with the entire conservative Christianity experience. I took the Bible literally. When I say “Literally,” I mean that I adopted the flawed KJV translation from Aramaic to English as the literal Gospel. [Side note: when I grumble about my not so sharp mind and memory, I remember that I use to be a conservative Christian. Yet, I have sharpened my analytical skills in that regard. This makes me feel less in decline]. I can’t read Arabic, and even if I could, I couldn’t understand its intricacies enough to fully commit myself to believing that the Quran was the Holy “word of God.” I know, I could find a great teacher. But, all men have flaws and I am just not ready or willing to put my faith in a person for this task. I would need a one-on-one guide and I would start with a bit of Arabic. I have not found anyone willing to teach me Arabic, much less the intricacies of the Quran. And, my memory is not as good as it used to be. Besides, I have to filter out those Wahhabis and extremists. That is just such a daunting task.
By declaring myself Muslim, especially to my immediate family, I would be putting myself in a situation ripe for psychological and spiritual abuse. I am not sure if my family of origin, or my adult children would distance themselves any more than they are, already. I have had religious discussions with them all and I am certain that they have probably wondered if I would eventually “convert” to Islam. I am always debunking a myth or talking about what I have learned about Islam. My daughter has converted to the LDS faith and my three older sons are in various stages of agnosticism. I can respect their journeys. Since they have strayed from the conservative Baptist path, I feel a bit more comfortable about mutually sharing our journeys. . More important and detrimental would be, my husband and in-laws who, would seize this opportunity to “instruct” in ways that would be emotionally damaging for me. I have seen it play out all too often with other women. They end up divorcing their husbands and blaming and hating the religion.

Here are some Islamic selections that encourage me in my exploration. I do realize that these are a bit ambiguous in nature and aren’t toating one specific idea as truth. The first three are by Dawud Wharnsby. Please comment with the musical selections that you find most uplifting or reflecting while traversing your spiritual path.

All of Us

People of the boxes

The truth that lies inside

This last selection is one of my favorites from Raef.

Pre-ramadan 2020

Okay, it was right after Christmas when my four-year-old wanted me to roll out the Ramadan music. We had just ended an entire month of Christmas music. That playlist is also pretty ecclectic and maybe I’ll post it sometime. After all, I try not to miss an opportunity to share the Muslim Christmas song(smile). Anyway, he instinctively was ready for Ramadan. In truth, there are some selections by a handful of Muslim artists that have never been too far from any of our play lists. My children will play them randomly and want to include some Zain Bhikha or Dawud Wharnsby in our “children’s” playlist or some Mona Haydar, Maher Zain or Native Deen to our “move it” playlists. But, my 4yo was on a “ramadan kick.” It helped him relax. His brother had gone back to school and he and I were adjusting to the solitude and our own rhythm that we seem to have when our most energetic Tabla is at school. After the third day of him spending hours drawing, cutting and humming to our Ramadan playlist, I knew that I had to find mroe Ramadan music.

At first, I thought that I would just recycle new posts about the same old songs. After all, they are still inspiring, just ask Z. I wondered if it Would make a difference because almost no one reads my blog anyway. The only beneficial thing my blog does is to ping certain Youtube channels and maybe artists.

Oh, I am reminded to ask my friend G about her favorite Ramadan selections. She is a convert with an interest in African Muslim music. she might have some good selections to offer. Maybe I will contact Muslim musicians in Colorado and get their input. Hmmm, a good way to start an interesting conversation and maybe make a few friends in the process. Honestly, I am a bit limited when it comes to Muslim friends, but, I guess anything is possible!

Okay, so I have decided to challenge myself to be on a quest to find more Ramadan music. Tastes change over time and maybe a song that I previously ignored would become a favorite. Who knows. I still have my favorites from last year. … … Hello… … the entire playlist!(smile) So, I’ll be listening to them again.

But, if someone new has stumbled on my blog,

please go back and read the past year’s selections. You won’t be disappointed. I’m going back to read, myself. Journaling and rereading journal entries can be quite therapeutic.

Okay, it was right after Christmas when my four-year-old wanted me to roll out the Ramadan music. We had just ended an entire month of Christmas music. That playlist is also pretty eclectic and maybe I’ll post it sometime. After all, I try not to miss an opportunity to share the Muslim Christmas song (smile). Anyway, he instinctively was ready for Ramadan. In truth, there are some selections by a handful of artists that have never been too far from any of our play lists. My children will play them randomly and want to include some Zain Bhikha or Dawud Wharnsby in our “children’s” playlist or some Mona Haydar, Maher Zain or Native Deen to our “move it” playlists. But, my 4yo was on a “Ramadan kick.” It helped him relax. His brother had gone back to school and he and I were adjusting to the solitude and our own rhythm that we seem to have when our most energetic Tabla is at school. After the third day of him spending hours drawing, cutting and humming to our Ramadan playlist, I knew that I had to find more Ramadan music.

At first, I thought that I would just recycle new posts about the same old songs. After all, they are still inspiring, just ask Z. I wondered if it would make a difference because almost no one reads my blog anyway. The only beneficial thing my blog does is to ping certain YouTube channels and maybe artists.

Oh, I am reminded to ask my friend G about her favorite Ramadan selections. She is a convert with an interest in African Muslim music. She might have some good selections to offer. Maybe I will contact Muslim musicians in Colorado and get their input. Hmmm, a good way to start an interesting conversation and maybe make a few friends in the process. Honestly, I am a bit limited when it comes to Muslim friends, but, I guess anything is possible!

Okay, so I have decided to challenge myself to embark on a quest to find more Ramadan music. Tastes change over time and maybe a song that I previously ignored would become a favorite. Who knows? I still have my favorites from last year. … … Hello… … the entire playlist! (Smile) So, I’ll be listening to them again.

But, if someone new has stumbled on my blog, please go back and read the past year’s selections. You won’t be disappointed. I’m going back to read, myself. Journaling and rereading journal entries can be quite therapeutic.

I do admit that there are some artists that are mentioned more than once. I mentioned many Sami Yusuf, Native Deen, Raef, Dawud Wharnsby, Zain Bhikha and Maher Zain selections. I have tried to diversify my artists. My objective is to mention thirty artists in thirty days. I also realize that some songs are all in Arabic and this does not really help the American Muslim, if they don’t know Arabic. It, however, does have the added benefit of getting a bit of Arabic language into my children’s lives. By selecting all American or western songs, I did not want to be ethnocentric in my approach. I admit, though, the songs that I select are favorites from a western ear’s prospective and although this prospective might change over time that, by default, makes it a bit western. I am less likely to relate to harmonies that are too far off of the western melodious path. So, suggesting them would be inauthentic to my entire desire to highlight songs that speak to me or my family this Ramadan. Sometimes the melody speaks to me, even if I don’t know the exact words. Sometimes the lyrics speak to me more than the melody or rhythm. Nonetheless, my quest has begun.

The first gem I discovered was this wonderful nasheed about the ninety-nine names of Allah. I really want to learn the words.

The ninety-nine Glorified names of Allah BenAmmi This is a beautiful and meditative piece. It helps children remember the ninety-nine names. NOTE: There is a jewish record label and/or artist Ben Ami. This is not the same artist, but I found it interesting how similar the names were. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIuFbgbgerQ