Khan Khalili Bazaar and Ataba Market in Egypt

So I promised you guys that I'd post pictures of Khan Khalili Bazaar and Ataba Market. Here they are... Enjoy!

Ataba Market

Khan Khalili Bazaar

Becoming a Haafidh of Quran

The first part or maybe the whole part of becoming a haafidh of Quran is ALL about intention. As we all know, actions are only judged by intentions. Today it is common for some parents to force and even beat their children to memorize Quran, thus causing their children to develop a hatred for memorization of the Holy Book. This does not mean that parents should not do their best to encourage their children or that they should give in to their children's demands because very often in the end a child will appreciate being forced. What is necessary is that parents figure out a way to help their children understand that this is the greatest gift and the greatest wealth for the Prophet (saw) said in a hadith which is translated as, "The best amongst you is the one who learns the Quran and teaches it to others. " One way that helps children not to detest the memorization of Quran is by teaching them the virtues and creating a love of Quran in their hearts from a very young age, before the love of worldly things corrupt their hearts. Sometimes parents also forget that it is equally important for they themselves to learn the Quran and memorizing along with your children can be a good way to encourage them. It is always best to lead by example. Memorization can even become a game as the child and parent compete with each other to memorize more than the other. I myself started memorization of Quran at the tender age of 5 at home with my mother. When I was 13 years old I enrolled into a school of memorization. At first I struggled everyday as I felt nothing stuck in my head. I harbored ill feelings toward my parents for making me attempt this difficult task. Then I met a teacher who taught me how to memorize and who taught me the virtues of memorizing this Glorious Book. After 2 years and 10 months, I finally completed my memorization and Alhamdulillah it is the best thing I ever did. I am forever grateful to my parents for giving me this gift and I hope that Allah rewards them for all they have done for me and I hope that Allah allows me to understand all that I have memorized and helps me to practice all that is in it. Ameen.

Living in egypt

It's been one month and i'm all settled in with my family. So for any of you who might be coming to Egypt to stay for a while, here's some advice. If you're planning to stay for just a few months, you should probably get a furnished apartment because you don't want to buy a lot of stuff and when you're ready to leave you have to try to sell everything. Depending on the area you stay in and the size of apt, a furnished apartment ranges anywhere from 8 hundred to 3000 Egyptian pounds a month. Which is far cheaper than the equivalent in Trinidad or the States. In a remote area, you can get a very nice three bedroom apt for 850. There are some places however that are like gated communities. These places have free buses, special cab services with a set price of 5 pounds as long as you're traveling within the community, every store and food place you can think of, 24hr doctors, amusement parks and much more. Rehab is an example of one of these places. A furnished 3 bedroom apt here is about 3000 Egyptian pounds, but if you're planning to stay in Egypt for a few years it's definately worth it for the comfort and the convenience. Luckily my wife and I only live about 5mins away from here. So we hang out a lot here. We're big Cinnabon fans and they have a particularly big one so here are some pics from our last visit.

Shopping in Egypt

So my first two weeks were spent in organizing myself and settling in etc. We visited some of my Egyptian friends and went a little shopping. Two main shopping malls in Cairo to note. Firstly City Stars which has everything you can think about from A to Z. When I say everything, I mean everything. This mall has 6 floors and each floor is about the size of Trincity Mall in Trinidad. That's not the best part sisters.

All the food in this country is halaal, so all the K.F.C's, Mc Donalds, Hardees, Papa Johns, Pizza Huts, T.G.I Fridays, Ruby Tuesday, Chillies is edible. Plus they have places that we don't have in Trinidad like Cinnabon, Starbucks, Costa, Claires and much much more. Then there's another mall by the name of Carrefour. It's not as big as City Stars but you'll find all the same places.
Obviously street shopping is way cheaper than the malls and wait until you hear the prices in the markets. I paid about $4 TT for 5lbs of strawberries. The fruits here are amazing. The oranges are actually orange and extremely sweet. A huge romaine lettuce is about $2 TT. But here's the catch... there are no hot peppers at all, no hot pepper sauce and no green seasoning, so walk with it if you're coming and unless you like Egyptian curry, walk with your Chief Brand. Electronics are pretty reasonable as well. Some things are really cheap and some are about the price you would get them for in the States. Supposedly the place to shop is the Khan e Khalili Bazaar but I haven't been there yet so check me back and I'll let you know. In the mean time enjoy the pics of City Stars Mall.

First impresion of Egypt

So alhamdulillah my family and I are all in Egypt now. Just doing some Islamic studies to try to get closer to our creator as is supposed to be the main focus of all Muslims. We've been here for about two weeks now and man do I have a lot to tell you guys. Hmmmm where do we start? Lets start from the airport in Cairo. My wife wears a veil of her own free will . As we all know it's not compulsory in Islam but optional based on a persons own God consiousness. So from Trinidad through England onwards to Cairo she had no problems and I say alhamdulillah for that. Actually the immigration officers in England were so nice they actually told her to go in the back with a woman and raise her veil. I didn't request that because I always tell my wife not to make it a problem. It's an optional act so if they want to see your face, raise it right there whether there's one man or fifty it doesn't matter just show them. We as muslims must not be pig headed but understand their concerns. It's a part of their job so if we comply we make it easier for other Muslims. So we arrived at Cairo international and the immigration officer was a man who asked my wife to lift her veil. He didn't even have the courtesy to ask her to do it in the presence of a woman. Not only that but when he saw her face in her passport he went around to all his co-workers for them to view my beautiful moviestar wife lol. Tell me bout it man. Anyways from the airport we went to my friends house to spend a few days until we organized our own apartment. That was around 12am. This country never sleeps and that's all due to the lack of crime. When people hear about Egypt they think oh boy! , Middle East bombs etc. Man that's all so far from these people. The last bombing was about a month ago. It killed one french woman and that was the first in 10 yrs. The malls here close at midnight and it's just as busy at 2am as it is at 2pm. You might be surprised though to find some people who don't care much for Islam but there are a lot of people here who truly love Islam and really practice it properly and you'll never find a better host than an Egyptian. But definately the best part is waking up to multiple adhans every morning and truly being able to pray everywhere. Don't worry i'll keep you guys posted on all things Egypt.

Short advice

Alhamdulillah all praises are for Allah . We thank Allah for his many favours that he has bestowed upon us, those that we see and even those that we can't see. We as reciters of the kalimah must understand our purpose in life and never forget that this world is a temporary phase. We as intelligent human beings not only but as Muslims, those who have been given the most truthful of all words and on whose shoulders rests the responsibility of delivering the message of Islam to the entire world should remember the status and respect that Allah has given to us and act on the knowledge that we have. Allah has said in the holy Quran translated as, " whoever doesn't judge with what Allah has revealed then they are unbelievers ". Do we understand the seriousness of this verse in the holy quran? This means if you and your neighbour have a dispute and you take your affairs to the court, and the court decides in your favour , yet you know it goes against the law of the quran and really and truly it is your friend who is right then you fall under this verse. We must always develop the attitude of checking every action of ours before we do it. Is it in accordance to the teachings of Islam or not? What does the quran say about this? Will my creator be pleased with me or not? We must constantly think about our life and prepare for our death for we are all unaware of how long we'll live. Life has no guarantees. The only certain thing is death and we see that daily. No matter what religion we belong to everyone agrees that we must die. Lets start making preparations for our death. Be wise brothers and sisters in humanity. We must love and respect each other and stop the slaughtering of innocent people all over the world. I hope and pray that Allah guides us all. Asalaamualaikum

Seerah by Imam Anwar Al Awlaki

Imam Anwar Al Awlaki has an amazing collection of Seerah (biography) stories, including; The Lives of The Prophets, Muhammad (S.A.W), Abu Bakr (R.A) and Umar (R.A). He also has other lectures including a series on the hereafter. These titles and many others by Imam Awlaki are available through this site. Free audio samples of these captivating stories are also available on this website. I hope InshaAllah that you will enjoy these as much as I do.