The relentless sound echoes through the darkness; deafening, reverberating and incomprehensible. My eyes awaken, breaking the chains of sleep, it is only my phone alarm. 2:00 am, with muddy eyes and heavy arms I reach for the phone and silence it for a few more minutes. Falling back into sweet slumber, I'm shocked into awareness a second time and this time there's no slipping into oblivion. My God is calling me. Calling on me to ask of Him anything that I desire; for me to rest my head in prostration in the depths of the night and to seek His forgiveness and favour, to show my gratitude. These are the last ten days of Ramadan. God descends to the lowest heavens to hear the prayers of the faithful. He says ask and it shall be granted. The angels are on Earth and they mingle amongst the gatherings that glorify His name. They note the faithful in prayer, in prostration, or with their hands held up to the heavens, repenting, grateful and humble. The last few days have been heavy on the heart and the soul. I have put my head on the ground and wept. I am thankful for all that I have because so many struggle everyday without the basics. I am thankful for the roof over ... continue reading...
Cherry Cardamom Ice Cream
We're over half way through Ramadan now and the tiredness and a bit of weakness is setting in. The hot days make for a tough fast, and it's been hot almost everywhere. In Pakistan, there were experiencing a heat wave a right as Ramadan started and over 700 people died because of the heat. Many also tried to fast during the heat wave and were taken ill. If placed in life threatening situations, then we are allowed to break our fast or not fast at all. I'm not sure why then, especially during a heat wave, people thought it was a good idea to fast. The weeks have gone by pretty quickly and I can't believe we're almost at the end of the month. The very sacred last 10 days of Ramadan will start tonight. These last 10 days are the most important as far as increasing our worship goes. We try and pray into the night and increase our good deeds and charity. It's a true test of faith because the last 10 days are quite hard. Definitely by this time we are tired of the early mornings and late nights. The fasting and the lack of water also drains the energy a bit and to amp up our worship when we feel totally drained is the true test. The month does seem to have gone in a blur. ... continue reading...
Kale and Meatball Soup
Well, we're in the second week of Ramadan and the fasts are going well. They are long and it's been really hot here in Denver but we're managing. The air conditioning has been turned on, I held on as long as I could because I do enjoy the electric bills when the AC and the heat are off. Alas, when the temperature reached 85F/29C on the thermostat, I decided it was time to turn on the cold air! The fasting is not terribly difficult, really. I can manage without the food but it's the no water and heat that does one in. We manage though, the rewards of the month make it all tolerable. Ramadan isn't all starvation, crabbiness and hardship, we do enjoy some great evenings where we open our fasts with our friends. Last two weekends we've been invited to iftar (breaking of the fast) by our close friends and both evenings were incredibly pleasant with good friends, good conversation and good food. I'll be having them all over this Friday. I happen to be off this weekend for July 4th so it was a good weekend for me, Though once again, when I have a weekend off from cooking, I'm spending the day cooking for even more people! It's all good. I'm still working on my menu but it will ... continue reading...
Jalebi | Indian Sweet Fritters
It has been a hectic week! I don't know how I'm still standing but I know it's with much difficulty! I haven't been able to visit my favourite blogs but I will catch up today! I'm also posting on a totally different day because my whole posting schedule has gone awry. I worked 3 events back to back and one was a big grilling event for 75 people. I did that one while fasting on the most humid day Denver has seen so far! I am quite beat and I still had to cook and work yesterday (still fasting) I am questioning my choice of a job at the moment. First and foremost, it is that time of the year again where the days seem endless and the nights fly by, also known as the holy Islamic month of Ramadan. The ninth month of the Isalmic calendar, the month of fasting, charity, good deeds, prayer and intense worship. This is the month when the Holy Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) and it's the month where we try to finish reading the Quran as many times as we can. The Islamic Centres have evening prayers where a portion of the Quran is recited every night for all the 30 nights, that way finishing the Quran in congregation. The Quran is ... continue reading...
Vegetarian Tikka Masala
I have been trying to write this post for the better part of three days. Some time freed up unexpectedly and I wanted to seize the opportunity to write an informed and insightful post. Who am I kidding? Let's just say I wasted that day lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling wondering where my ability to construct a sentence had gone or how the desire to fan the flames of a flickering spark of an idea had been extinguished, or basically, why the heck couldn't I think of anything to write?! It's not that my mind is vacant, though lately the expression on my face might disclose otherwise, it just feels bogged down and foggy. There's a flurry of activity at home and work and maybe that's it, but I've handled more trying occasions and at the very least, talking and writing are never a problem I can't rectify! I don't know, maybe it'll fix itself. I hope so, because this brain fog; this inability to concentrate or to think and rant, I don't like it. Lately, I feel like I'm in a time lapse video, there's me standing still, pretty much unchanging for the most part, but all around me are blurred lines of life whizzing by in technicolour streams of light.The sun rises and ... continue reading...
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