The Power of Music

This subject has been on my mind a lot lately. Inshallah this will be very brief and just a few of my thoughts. I'm not going to get into whether or not music is haraam. There are plenty of different viewpoints on that: it's haraam, its halal if its only drums, is it cool if it's Islamic i.e. nasheed or groups like Native Deen.

A little background on my history with music. Okay so music has always been a big part of me and my life. My parents were big jazz fans and my name(real name) was inspired by Billie Holiday. Music has always had a deep emotional connection with me whether it's joy, sadness, anger etc. I have listened to ALL genres of music: classical, metal, pop, hip hop and jazz to name a few. I moved to Atlanta and was exposed to a whole new type of music that at first I was like this music is crazy and then later grew on me. Recently I have relocated to the sticks and music is just not that big a part of my life anymore. I don't watch the shows like TRL and 106th and park anymore, maybe because I'm older now and just can't get into or maybe because my mind state has just changed. I hardly listen to music anymore and if I do it's only in the car. I find that when I hear songs now I have no idea who the artist is and when I hear songs I used to listen to the connection is no longer there.

So I say all this to say that I've noticed that since I'm not listening to music as much I find myself listening to more quran and lectures online. Instead of looking up different artist on YouTube I'm looking up subjects like hijab, marriage, salah, surahs, etc. When I think about the number of lyrics that have been committed to my memory over the years its crazy to me! If I knew as many lyrics as surahs and ayas I could probably be hafiz by now. I view MOST music as a distraction from the siratal mustaqeem be it subtle or in your face. Look at the song titles that our out: I kissed a girl, My girl got a girlfriend, Juicebox, I'm in love with a stripper, Ms. independent and many more. Then to go along with the songs we have music videos which have a strong effect on how young women view themselves particularly in hop hop and pop. Many studies have been done on the negative effects of music videos and how they shape young girls self images.

So I'm not judging or saying stop listening to it now! I'm just saying if you listen to music(myself included) think about the effects mainstream music has and how much space it takes up in our minds that could be filled with Quran, ahadith, knowledge, etc.

Asalaamu alaikum
Nadira
Muslimah2Muslimah

Hijabi Recessionista FIND OF THE WEEK: FREE Abaya!

A wonderful group of sisters from the Middle East have decided to give every Muslimah they possibly can A NEW ABAYA FOR FREE. May Allah grant them Jennatul Firdous, Ameen! Your financial position doesn't matter. Rich or poor, you can still benefit from this opportunity, especially our new convert/revert sisters and sisters who live in places where Abayat are hard to find.



All abayat are brand new, black, and simple/plain (no designs at ALL). Don't let your size discourage you from ordering. They have up to XXXL sizes and if you're petite, we can send you the smallest size
available & you can go to a seamstress to sew it to your size.



The sisters have collected money to help cover the shipping/handling costs in order to ship the abayat to sisters. However, these funds are quite limited. Therefore, we humbly request that anyone who can afford to cover the cost of shipping kindly do so. This will enable other sisters, who can't financially afford it, to receive a free abaya as well. Shipping costs will be $12.



If you're interested in receiving a free abaya, please reply back to either the YouTube account: mujahida7861, and she can forward the messages to the moderator of the group; or if you have a yahoo account, you can join the following group, and send a message to the moderator at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MEEEM/ :

-Name

-Address

-Desired Abaya Size (S, M, L, XL, XXL, XXXL or measure your bust/hip/height) -- the best thing would be to send your measurements

-Also, indicate if you'll pay for the shipping costs

-OPTIONAL: Tell them about yourself! How you heard about them(Muslimah2Muslimah)? Languages you know? Wear hijab?
Niqab? Khimar? Marital situation? Mommy? New to Islam? This will enable us to send you extra items if they're available (books about Islam, marriage in Islam, hijabs, niqabs, etc.) This info is optional! You do NOT have to include it to get a free abaya.



All they ask is two things. First, that you make dua for them. Second, if you benefit from this please email us so we can keep going. Your words & encouragement let them know to continue this project. If they don't get any replies or benefits, then they will try to find something else to do for the sake of Allah that will help muslimahs.



The Fine Print:

*They ask that you do NOT order these abaya for a profit! Fear Allah! If you are going to sell these abayas, please do NOT order because they do NOT approve this. Of course they can't track who does this but Allah is Al-Baseer (The One who sees everything) & His punishment is worse than anything we can do so please fear Allah and do NOT abuse these sister's kindness!

*If you decide to pay shipping, this will be done by reimbursing us with a cashier's check, money order, or cash for the amount of $12 (twelve dollars) AFTER you have received the abaya.

* Right now they are only able to ship to North America but if you are anywhere else in
the world, reply back & they will see what they can do.

*They accept no returns! If the abaya doesn't fit you, pass it along to a sister whom it does.



Let's help our fellow sisters in Islam dress appropriately! Spread this message!

Happy ordering!
Nadira & Najwa
Muslimah2Muslimah

Help a Muslim Sister empower other girls its SO easy!

Salaams Muslimahs!

Jenna Evans is competing in a video essay competition called whoinspiresu.ca. The grand prize is $10,000 and she plans to use the money to put on an empowerment convention for young women in Canada.

She NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT and YOUR VOTES. I am requesting all of you to PLEASE join her facebook group:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=50938102275

and to PLEASE vote for her video (video #5) at:
http://www.whoinspiresu.ca/whoinspiresu/whoinspiresu.html

Spread the word and vote daily until March 31. Let's help empower other girls and show off the Muslimah spirit! If we don't help and support each other, who will?

We have to plug ourselves to so join our facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/group.php?gid=50938102275 and suscribe to our youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/Muslimah2Muslimah

Asalaamu alaikum
Muslimah2Muslimah