Narrated `Aisha radhiallahu `anha: In the lifetime of Allah’s Messenger sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam, the sun eclipsed, so he led the people in prayer, and stood up and performed a long Qiyam, then bowed for a long while. He stood up again and performed a long Qiyam but this time the period of standing was shorter than the first. He bowed again for a long time but shorter than the first one, then he prostrated and prolonged the prostration. He did the same in the second rak`a as he did in the first and then finished the prayer; by then the sun (eclipse) had cleared. He delivered the Khutba (sermon) and after praising and glorifying Allah he said, “The sun and the moon are two signs against the signs of Allah; they do not eclipse on the death or life of anyone. So when you see the eclipse, remember Allah and say Takbir, pray and give Sadaqa.” The Prophet then said, “O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! There is none who has more ghaira (self- respect) than Allah as He has forbidden that His slaves, male or female commit adultery (illegal sexual intercourse). O followers of Muhammad! By Allah! If you knew that which I know you would laugh little and weep much. [Bukhari]

Narrated `Aisha radhiallahu `anha: In the lifetime of the Prophet sallallahu `alayhi wa sallam the sun eclipsed and he went to the Mosque and the people aligned behind him. He said the Takbir (starting the prayer) and prolonged the recitation (from the Qur’an) and then said Takbir and performed a prolonged bowing; then he (lifted his head and) said, “Sami allahu liman hamidah” (Allah heard him who sent his praises to Him). He then did not prostrate but stood up and recited a prolonged recitation which was shorter than the first recitation. He again said Takbir and then bowed a prolonged bowing but shorter than the first one and then said, “Sami`a l-lahu Lyman hamidah Rabbana walak-lhamd, (Allah heard him who sent his praises to Him. O our Sustainer! All the praises are for You)” and then prostrated and did the same in the second rak`a; thus he completed four bowing and four prostrations. The sun (eclipse) had cleared before he finished the prayer. (After the prayer) he stood up, glorified and praised Allah as He deserved and then said, “The sun and the moon are two of the signs of Allah. They do not eclipse because of the death or the life (i.e. birth) of someone. When you see them make haste for the prayer.” Narrated Az-Zuhri: I said to ‘Ursa, “When the sun eclipsed at Medina your brother (`Abdullah bin Az-Zubair) offered only a two-rak`at prayer like that of the morning (Fajr) prayer.” ‘Ursa replied, “Yes, for he missed the Prophet’s tradition (concerning this matter).” [Bukhari]

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr radhiallahu `anhu: When the sun eclipsed in the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle and an announcement was made that the prayer was to be held in congregation. The Prophet performed two bowing in one rak`a. Then he stood up and performed two bowing in one rak`a. Then he sat down and finished the prayer; and by then the (eclipse) had cleared `Aisha said, “I had never performed such a long prostration.” [Bukhari]

Narrated `Abdullah bin `Amr radhiallahu `anhu : “When the sun eclipsed in the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle an announcement was made that a prayer was to be offered in congregation.” [Bukhari]

Narrated Abu Bakr radhiallahu `anhu: We were with Allah’s Apostle when the sun eclipsed. Allah’s Apostle stood up dragging his cloak til he entered the Mosque. He led us in a two-rak`at prayer till the sun (eclipse) had cleared. Then the Prophet (p.b.u.h) said, “The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of someone’s death. So whenever you see these eclipses pray and invoke (Allah) till the eclipse is over.” [Bukhari]

Narrated Al-Mughira bin Shu`ba: The sun eclipsed in the lifetime of Allah’s Apostle on the day when (his son) Ibrahim died. So the people said that the sun had eclipsed because of the death of Ibrahim. Allah’s Apostle said, “The sun and the moon do not eclipse because of the death or life (i.e. birth) of someone. When you see the eclipse pray and invoke Allah.” [Bukhari, 2.153]

We are witnessing a lunar eclipse here in Pakistan tonight. Allahu Akbar! For those experiencing this here or in other parts of the world, don’t forget to perform Salaat ul Khusoof!

We are slowly getting back into the rhythm of home-edding alhamdulillah. (I miss my stitching!) I’m honestly not an unschooler (don’t hang me!), so while I do enjoy down times and vacations, I do get a litttle anxious and start stressing about how much more we need to do. I’m not the kind who expects the kids to do a lot of written work, but I do want their days to be productive. It doesn’t help that I always want to do more with the kids – we always have a million projects we want to delve into, homeschooling and otherwise.

Marz has been working on her writing. She has been doing reports on Science and History and although she needs to work a little harder on her spelling (it’s more carelessness than anything!), I think she has done well in this area, alhamdulillah. She likes doing research and enjoys ploughing through different books, compiling information and writing it all out. Alhamdulillah our local homeschooling co-op run by my friend Umm Aymun has helped a great deal in this respect. The bi-weekly meetings have given her a sense of purpose and urgency in writing things out well and on time.

I’ve been encouraging her to do creative writing for a change – fiction is something I know she longs to do, but is hesitant about. She likes learning about other people’s experiences, how they do things and what motivates them, so I got this book for her when we were last in Singapore – Writing Magic – Creating Stories That Fly by Gail Carson Levine. (She is the author of Ella Enchanted, which won her a Newbery Honor in 1998.)

Levine encourages budding writers to read voraciously and to surround themselves with inspiring words. It isn’t a dry how-to book – it has writing tips and prompts in the book peppered with the author’s personal thoughts and experiences. Marz loved reading not only about the creative process, but about the significant incidents in Levine’s that shaped her as writer. She especially identified with the part where she says that there is always a niggling voice of doubt in her that tells her that her writing is not good enough. (I tell you, this girl is really her mama’s daughter!)

Writing Magic shows how one can get ideas for a story as well as how to develop and revise it. It guides writers on how to add details and dialogue and appropriate use of words. It even gives some advice on how one can sell one’s work. Levine is quick to show becoming a writer is not a bed of roses – she herself has had work rejected. However, these are setbacks that can help a writer grow further.

Levine writes in a personable way that really reaches out to her readers. She tells them not to throw any of their work away or to abandon ship when the going gets tough. She is encouraging and takes her readers’ dream seriously and helps them believe in themselves. I like that this book has fired Marz up – she looks forward to tackling the exercises and spends a great deal of time plotting out her stories.

This book is a gem for us. If you’ve read or used this book, I’d like to know how you and your children found it :)

The Dad Man’s passion is learning about healthful and organic foods. He is the voice of conscience that reminds us of the evils of the fried fare that the rowdy ruffians and I cannot seem to resist. Mars loves savoury food, while Bear cannot resist anything sweet. Both love potatoes and declare, the minute they step into the markets at F6 and Jinnah (F7), that they can smell delicious french fries cooking.

There are many vendors selling these chips – I keep meaning to take a photo, but it’s just one of those things I keep forgetting. These hawkers have little tables and deep fryers. The fries can be bought spiced (a mixture of chilli, pepper and other masala) or simply salted and are cheap at 10 to 20 rupees a pack. (The packs are pockets made out of brown paper or pages of old phone books… how’s that for recycling?) The vendors also have jars of chilli sauce that you can spoon onto your chips if their masala isn’t spicy enough for your taste!

We now make most of our snacks at home and try to come up with healthier alternatives (we’re trying, Tea, we really are!), but we do enjoy strolling by the markets once in a while to see how local delights are prepared. There are more upmarket bakeries, but these stalls I photographed last year are so much more fun! They make brisk business and are just bustling with activity!

I’m not a fan of Pakistani sweetmeats – or mithai as they are collectively known. These little cakes like burfi, gulab jamun, laddoo and sheera are a little too rich and sweet for my taste. I cannot eat more than a bite usually, but they are a big part of Pakistani culture and I can certainly appreciate their charm. People give them as gifts and serve them on festive occasions, when celebrating good news and at parties.

The one sweet thing I do enjoy in Pakistan is jilebi :) In the hands of a talented cook, these are really really good… trrrrust me! A batter of flour, yoghurt, water and baking powder is piped in piped in concentric circles into hot oil. When golden and crisp, these spirals are dipped into a syrup flavored with rose water. Sinful? Yes, most definitely!

Oodles and oodles of jilebi!

Hawkers boiling milk. Apparently folks dunk the sweet jilebis into a bowl of warm milk and eat the mixture like cereal. I’ve never tried it myself!

Like Mars, I much prefer the savoury and spicy food in Pakistan. Mars especially loves samosas. Back in Singapore, my family would make samosas with thin springroll skins (it is like filo pastry and mainly used by the Chinese) and minced meat filling. These would be small flat triangles with crispy, flaky crusts. In Pakistan, the samosa pastry is made out of flour and shaped into much larger almost pyramid-like shapes. These are stuffed with a variety of fillings like ground beef, mutton or chicken, potatoes, peas and even lentils. There are even meetha (sweet) samosas – these are stuffed with halwa. The most popular however are those filled with spiced potatoes. This filling has a spicy flavour with a hint of tartness, courtesy of ground pomegranate seeds.

Samosas and springrolls… it was all I could do to walk away without a bagful of those gorgeous morsels.

Now, you can’t live in Pakistan and not love pakoras! My mother-in-law calls these rainy day food – she loves eating pakoras with a hot mug of tea when it is pouring out :) It is also a must in most Pakistani homes in Ramadan for the break of fast meal. Spoonfuls of besan batter mixed with spices, onions, potatoes and spinach are deep fried. You can also dunk other vegetables to get these delicious babies. Some people like making green chilli pakoras, but we like eggplants, which taste so lovely and creamy when fried. My friend Tahira, who makes the best pakoras in all of Islamabad, adds some chopped tomatoes in her mix for a sweet-sour flavour. The trick is not to make the batter too dense or the fritters become too heavy and chewy. She uses just enough to coat the vegetables so the flavours and crispness are retained.

Pakoras were the first local things I ate when I went backpacking in India waaay back when. I didn’t know what they were called then, but I found them scrumptious!

I’d better publish some homeschool posts and book reviews before I cave in and fry me some pakoras…

On the way to The Hidden Playground…

My rowdy ruffians, bless them, love playing together. They especially like the outdoors and can spend hours in the garden, climbing the fig tree and checking on the plants and insects. They have a few favourite haunts out of home, one of which is a lovely place they call “The Hidden Playground”. Nestled in a quiet residential area, it seems almost mysterious. This park is very well-maintained – the gardener seems to have taken pains to keep it clean (trust me, no mean feat in this country!) and also to retain its woodsy charm.

Some adults meet there in the evenings to rest and talk after a long day or simply to imbibe the peace and tranquility, but it is otherwise hardly frequented by others, at least not on weekdays. Many might not find it anything special – it is rather old-school as far as playgrounds go. There are two swings, a simple climbing facility and a cement slide so old it is worn smooth. It is a spacious place with a slope to race up and down and two little gazebos for shade. Nothing out of the ordinary, you might say. However, its appeal, I believe, lies in its simplicity. My girls find The Hidden Playground a place of promise – where they can dream up ideas and adventures. This secret hideaway is where they can cavort and frolic to their hearts’ content.

There are bushes and hedges that border the upper slopes of the park and at the far end is the kids’ favourite spot. There is a cavity in the hedge, just small enough for a child to crawl into. At the base of this little hole are two strong branches that have grown horizontally, just above the ground. This is a perfect hiding spot! A child can squeeze into the ‘cave’ and crouch on these branches and remain concealed. They will be covered by the leaves and their feet will be raised off the ground and unseen. They played hide-and-seek with The Dad Man and giggled gleefully when they took him completely by surprise.

My kids do have some toys, but they seem to have the most fun when they make their own or use un-toys (more on this later in shaa Allah) and when they don’t use any props at all, except for their own imagination. I posted three articles from National Public Radio some time ago and these gave me a deeper appreciation for children and improvised play. If you are interested, you can read them here: Old Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills, The Evolution of Play and The Best Kinds of Play.

It is wonderful watching the kids play sometimes – as they interact with each other, create their own rules and make their own decisions, I see how they are, in fact, practising at their adult roles and I cannot help but wonder what they will become, with the permission and help of Allah.

I love this part of the park – this tree bordered by the rocks looks so very pretty with the wooden bench close by.

It has been a while since I stepped out with them to the park. There has been so much to do lately but in shaa Allah I think I will try to take some time off with them this weekend.

I think we need some Hidden Playground magic… :)

It has been a tremendously exhausting week – the girls and I had to roll up our sleeves and tidy up our living area. It was a chore I’d kept putting off mainly because there was so much to do. Thanks to my procrastination, what was a difficult task had morphed into an overwhelming gargantuan undertaking. I really didn’t want to tackle the job, but needs must…

We managed to get a great deal accomplished alhamdulillah and it looks like we are slowly overcoming the issues with rain and leaks. We are making lots of du`aa that the repairs we invested in will help us move our library out of the girls’ room and back into the extension we built. My girls have been very good sports but I know they would love a comfortable place to hang out in.

Just a minute fraction of the mess I had to clean up … the pleasant part! Some of my crafty supplies that needed organising and destashing. Anyone need any supplies?? :)

Anyway, I feel that it is high time I put up a few schooley posts and believe me, they are floating about in my head and my ever-growing drafts section in WordPress :P In shaa Allah, when I regain some energy and time. For now, another fluffy post on some less schooley things we have been doing :)

We went to Karachi Company again. (Yes, UmmeYusuf… AGAIN! Now that I know that place has burlap, I may have to schedule yet ANOTHER trip LOL!) This time, we went with my mum-in-law’s helper Anees who can smell out a good bargain like no one can and who knows just about every nook and cranny of Karachi Company and Jumah Bazaar. Anees is an amazing crafter ma shaa Allah. She is from Faisalabad and back home at her village, she had learnt how to make leather shoes and sandals as well as how to crochet and embroider. She is recently engaged and embroidered an elaborate bedspread and pillow set for new home. It took her some 6 or 7 months and is really quite beautiful ma shaa Allah. (I must remember to take a pic of it!)

Anees got the pattern for her bedspread from one of the stores at Karachi Company. These stores have catalogues you can choose designs from and they will transfer the pattern for you or your embroiderer to stitch. Anees had hers transferred onto white fabric. The man below is transferring a floral pattern for a lady who wants her kameez (blouse) and dupatta (shawl) embellished. Since the fabric is a darkish colour, the pattern will be in white.

Horrid picture I know… totally out of focus. I had a hard time keeping up with Anees who was whizzing about the market a mile a minute!

Over the years, I’ve wanted to get heavy linen to stitch on – I love the colour and texture – but I haven’t been able to find it in Pakistan. I’ve had a hard time explaining to the store owners what I really meant. Some kept showing me a type of printed fabric called “lilen” or lilin” – I am really not sure how to spell it or what it really is, but it is a cotton blend, I believe. It has a smoother texture though and is very comfortable to wear, but does not crease as easily as pure cotton.

I settled instead for karandi… I love this fabric to bits. It is usually sold and worn in winter as it is slightly thick. I love the feel of heavier fabrics – they have a nice ‘fall’ and don’t cling to the body. As such, I often get long, flowy skirts made from karandi that I wear even in summer. When you first buy it, it has a stiff, nubby texture much like linen, but it softens nicely after several washes. I bought two pieces to stitch on… I think the white would be lovely for redwork. My kids have ideas for the darker cloth – they want to make bags they can embroider in shaa Allah.

So far, we have been stitching with embroidery floss – as you know by now, we have a sizeable stash :P We found some balls of perle cotton (Size 8) in the house and Mars experimented with them. Perle cotton has a more ‘ropey’ appearance and a pretty sheen – I like the effect that this thread has, especially with the stem stitch that we favour. I bought a few more colours and am going to try embroidering a piece using only perle cottons in shaa Allah. (For some strange reason, the store seems to have NO stock whatsoever of red perle cottons!)

Remember the redwork patterns I treated myself to for `Eid? Well, alhamdulillah, I’ve managed to complete one! It isn’t perfect, but of all the pieces I’ve worked on, this was the one I enjoyed most, for many reasons :) It is a picture of stacked tea cups…

Tea asked me which stitch I normally use. I like the stem stitch … it looks like a little coiled rope and very easy to do. (I can’t do a decent back stitch for toffee!)

I am almost always doing redwork. Anees is quite bewildered by this and and has asked me why my stitchery doesn’t have other colours. My Urdu is terrible so I have not been able to explain to her adequately that it is a traditional art. Actually, I normally only do redwork for two reasons – (a) I genuinely like this type of embroidery and (b) without a colour guide, I am completely useless at matching up colours. It may be part of my constantly overthinking things, but whenever I choose my own palette, I am never satisfied with the end result. I am trying to challenge myself though with this piece I am working on…

This is something I hope to frame up for the kids’ room… I wanted something vibrant and colourful but already I am regretting my colour choices :( I don’t think they are nice at all – it looks like I am trying too hard!

We are doing a lot of reading and notebooking this week in shaa Allah, so I think stitching will be relegated to the odd evenings when we are free. If you are doing anything crafty, please share!

I pray you all are enjoying the fruits of your `ibadah during these blessed days of Muharram :)