Hadith: "Be in this World as if you were a Stranger or Traveler"

At-Takathur
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

Rivalry in worldly increase distracteth you (1) Until ye come to the graves. (2) Nay, but ye will come to know! (3) Nay, but ye will come to know! (4) Nay, would that ye knew (now) with a sure knowledge! (5) For ye will behold hell-fire. (6) Aye, ye will behold it with sure vision. (7) Then, on that day, ye will be asked concerning pleasure. (8)

Allah Yarhamak Ya Gidu

Today I visited my grandfather's grave for the first time since his death one year ago. Coming to Sudan this summer and not seeing him in his room listening to the radio as usual has had more of an affect on me than I thought. I'm not the type to cry, at least not in front of people and I know that it's not good to cry for the dead so I've been good in the sense that i'm not angering God through my actions in that way. I accept the fact that Allah has a plan for all of us and that my grandfather's time to return to Allah had come. Seeing his grave right in front of me and the thousands of other graves surrounding me got me thinking about how fragile life really is. My grandfather always seemed invincible to me, I thought nothing could shatter him. Even during his battle with cancer he always would say, "i'm not going to let this disease conquer me, i'm going to conquer it!" Although it may seem as though this disease conquered him, that's not the way I look at it. I'm a firm believer in the idea that no disease kills, only Allah can take your life away, He determines when, where, and what is going to cause you to leave this world. As I looked at his grave all these questions crossed my mind; I wondered whether he knew that we were there, if he was in pain, if he was proud and happy that we were there reading Sourat Al Fatiha for his soul. All these questions that occurred to me will probably never be answered, at least not until I'm in the same position as him. Visiting the graves is meant to be a cleansing process for the soul, in my opinion. Visiting the graves of the dead is a visual reminder of our impending death. I was telling my younger sister as we got home from the cemetery that life is like dust, in a moment it can be blown away; Allah SWT created us from dust, we are buried in dust, and we eventually become dust. If life really is that fragile, than why don't we act as though it is. The Prophet PBUH even said "The worldly comforts are not for me. I am like a traveler, who takes a rest under a tree in the shade and then goes on his way." " Be in this world as if you were a stranger or traveler." This world is merely a test and on judgement day we will see whether we have passed or failed. 


What to Say Upon Entering the Cemetery


Rasulullah (Sallallahu Alaihi Wasallam) has taught the Sahabah these words as salutation to the people of the graves and pray for their forgiveness:

Transliteration: 'Assalamu Alaikum Ya Ahlad Diyar Minal Mu'mineena Wal Muslimeen Wa Inna Insha allahu Bikum Laahiqun, Nas'alullaha Lana Wa Lakumul 'Afiyah'

Recite Sura Ikhlaas 11 times. 


It has been reported in a Hadith that whoever visits the Qabrastaan and recites Surahs:
Surah Fatihah, Surah Ikhlaas and Surah Takathur.
and then prays for the dead, the people of the grave will also ask Allah for such a person's forgiveness. 


Recite Surah Yaseen. In a Hadith it is reported that if a person recites Surah Yaseen in the Qabrastaan, the punishment of the dead will be eased and the reciter will be rewarded just as much as the dead. 

Nelly Furtado: "In God's Hands"

I looked at your face I saw that all the love had died
I saw that we had forgotten to take the time
I, I saw that you couldn't care less about what you do
Couldn't care less about the lies
You couldn't find the time to cry

We forgot about love
We forgot about faith
We forgot about trust
We forgot about us

Now our love's floating out the window
Our love's floating out the back door
Our love's floating up in the sky in heaven
Where it began back in God's hands

You said that you had said all that you had to say
You said baby it's the end of the day
And we gave a lot but it wasn't enough
We got so tired that we just gave up

We didn't respect it
We went and neglected it
We didn't deserve it
But I never expected this

Absolutely Pink Summer

Pink by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Betsey Johnson jewelry

Untitled by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Chinese Laundry shoes

Amazing SubhanAllah

!!!! This is just another reminder that Allah is the Greatest. Our right hand is a constant reminded that Allah exists. Why can't people just see that?! I showed this to a boy in my Arabic class one time (he wasn't muslim) and even he was shocked. Allah SWT has made many things as signs for us, the Earth, Noah's Arch, The night, all these things are signs of his existence. SubhanAllah though, it really is amazing how our right hand spells out Allah

Dressed to Impress (MYSELF): My First Fashion Collages

Dressed to Impress by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Forever21

My First outfit collection!!! im actually really proud of myself for being able to figure out how to do this cuz for the longest time i've been seeing fashion collages all over people's blogs but I never knew exactly how to do it myself. Here's my first, InshAllah more to come in the future. Expect to see lots and lots of modest clothing made for the modern day young hijabi. As a new hijabi myself I like most girls had a hard time at first finding cute outfits that still stuck to the Islamic rules. I'm trying to avoid using skinny jeans in my collections because in my opinion they are not very modest and i'm trying to cut down on wearing them myself. I'm gonna be using ALOT of color and creating classy combinations of clothes that will hopefully help you get a sense of what to looks for next time you go shopping.

Classy Hijabi Professional by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Miu Miu bags

I love this outfit simply because of the classy appeal it gives. This outfit is VERY professional and may seem a little pricey but if you go to any Express or New York and Company, this "expensive" look can be found at a reasonable price.

Untitled by Riham ريهام Osman featuring Miu Miu bags

India Arie: "I Choose"

Because you never know where life is gonna take you
and you can't change where you've been.
But today, I have the opportunity to choose.

Here am I now looking at 30 and I got so much to say. 
I gotta get this off of my chest, I gotta let it go today.
I was always too concerned about what everybody would think.
But I can't live for everybody, I gotta live my life for me.
I pitched a fork in the road of my life and ain't nothing gonna happen unless I decide.

And I choose to be the best that I can be.
I choose to be authentic in everything I do.
My past don't dictate who I am. I choose. 

I done been through some painful things I thought that I would never make it through.
Filled up with shame from the top of my head to the soles of my shoes.
I put myself in so many chaotic circumstances, but by the grace of God I've been given so many second chances.
But today I decided to let it all go. I'm dropping these bags, I'm making room for my joy.

And I choose to be the best that I can be.
I choose to be authentic in everything I do.
My past don't dictate who I am. I choose.

Because you never know where life is gonna take you and you can't change where you've been. 
But today, I have the opportunity to choose. 
I used to have guilt about why things happen they way they did cuz life is gonna do what it do.
And everyday, I have the opportunity to choose.

From this day forward I'm going to be exactly who I am.
I don't need to change the way that I live just to get a man. 
I even had a talk with my mama and I told her the day I'm grown,
"from this day forward, every decision I make will be my own." 

Diary of a Hijabi: 8 Months Later

Dear Allah,

SubhanAllah, time flys! I can't believe its been almost eight months since I shocked myself and everyone around me by deciding to fulfill my duty as a Muslima by wearing the hijab. After re-reading my first letter which I wrote during my first days as a hijabi I feel like i've come light years from where I was before. My imaan today is Alhamduiliah stronger than it has ever been and InshAllah that won't be changing anytime soon. Looking back at my first days wearing the hijab I now know that all those fears I had are gone Alhamdulilah.
My fears back then all surrounded what people would think of me. I feared what my teachers and friends would think of me but some how when it came to making the decision none of that mattered. In the past all my insecurities were because I feared what people thought of me, but my desire to please Allah surpassed all of that. Another one of my fears when it came to deciding whether to wear the hijab or not was the question in my head of whether I could maintain my imaan and whether I could wear the hijab for the rest of my life. I overcame those fears through this one quote my sister in Islam showed me that night--"do what you need to do today and let God take care of tomorrow." I simply put my faith in Allah SWT and hoped that tomorrow my imaan would be strong enough for me to wear the hijab.
Today wearing the hijab is so natural for me that I cannot ever picture myself any other way. The way I used to be is like a dream to me. I can hardly remember the old me. Sometimes I fear that I have such a distinction between myself 8 months ago and myself now that I act as though they're two different people. Like I said in my first letter, I would not be where I am today without my past sins. It took me messing up to realize that I needed to change.