Toddles is fond of her scissors. Unfortunately, Baby Duck was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Baby Duck was orphaned a year ago when Toddles left his father at someone’s house. Now, he faces the challenge of life without a beak. Alone and silenced – how will his story end? Will he rise … More The Playtime Council: Snip snip
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 10 Not quite “three wishes” After arriving in Makkah, we settled into our hotel and had less than an hour to prepare for umrah – at 9.30PM on that Thursday night. Not only would it be our first umrah, but also our first ever sighting of the … More Hajj Chronicles Part 11: The big moment
Aside from the famous ‘table’ part of Table Mountain (in Cape Town), the mountain range has many other areas of interest – one of which captivated me for years. A few months ago, I finally made a trip up to it: the King’s Blockhouse – situated on the slopes of Devil’s Peak. According to this … More My castle on the hill
For many years, the University of Cape Town has hosted a rather mysterious memorial. At the bottom of the Leslie Commerce building lies what appears to be a gravestone, or a marker of sorts. As seen in the picture, Haji Ayesha Teladia died in 1981 – living to be 56 years old. The question is: … More Mister Y’s mysteries (part 7): Who is Ayesha Teladia?
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 9 Goodbye While I fell in love with Madinah, the truth is I eventually became too comfortable there. And because there seemed to be too few outings / tours, it actually felt a bit boring at times (to be totally honest). Nonetheless, Madinah was an awesome experience, … More Hajj Chronicles Part 10: Hijra
Source: Shaykh Navaid Aziz Message: Don’t be self-righteous. As advised by Imam Sufyan ath-Thawri, when you feel the need to mention your companion’s faults, remember your own first. (More wisdom from this scholar here.)
It’s said that a picture says a thousand words, so this new series focuses on portraying messages via imagery – whether those be cartoons, photos, or other types of visuals. Text may be included, but the visual is the primary focus. Part 1: Context is everything “Telling half the story is just as bad … More A thousand words – part 1: Context is everything
Previous posts in this series: Parts 1 to 8 To wrap up the Madinah leg of the trip, I’d like to highlight some points which haven’t been covered elsewhere. Unlike previous posts, this one won’t follow a narrative, but will just take a point form approach. As such, there are no ‘Related lessons’ this time … More Hajj Chronicles Part 9: Loose ends
Hajj is now over, and as the pilgrims return home to their loved ones, they take back with them a multitude of precious memories from the journey, lessons they’ll hope to apply for the rest of their lives, and an elevated sense of spirituality. Back to reality But for many, those feelings can quickly fade … More Beyond Hajj: Five ways to maintain your Hajj for life
“Surely We created man of the best stature. Then We reduced him to the lowest of the low, Save those who believe and do good works, and theirs is a reward unfailing.” Holy Quran – Surah 95, verses 4-6. Commenting on this verse, scholars of Islam mention that it means that human beings have the … More Lower than the animals
