BismIllah wa as salaamu alaikum.
Subhaan Allah wa bihamdihi! Yesterday our friends cleared out most of the furniture in our house. Oh what joy to see empty spaces where the sofas, bedroom furniture, and dining table were! This was a major step back to Sunnah living in our home; one I have been waiting for excitedly, masha'Allah.
So, I laid out an unused cotton curtain and placed our pasta with vegetables and cheese sauce on one big platter, and we sat around and ate from one plate masha'Allah. Not only that, I showed the children what two ways the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa sallam, was reported to sit to eat and they chose which of those ways they wanted to try. I reinforced about eating from the food nearest and my 3-year-old, who is sometimes lazy about eating dinner, ate beautifully masha'Allah. We reaped the blessings of having a communal plate, eating together, emulating the Prophet, salla Allahu alayhi wa salaam, and having enough left over that I don't have to make lunch today! Does it get much better than that, I ask?
When bedtime was drawing near, I set up places for the girls on the floor - the two youngest in their play tent with pillows and the older on her sleeping bag. I put down camping pads on our wooden floor, popped a blanket and a thin quilt over them, and that was the bed for hubby and I. A cotton sheet over the top and we were good to snooze! Oh, there is more to be done to make it a healthier and more authentic experience: natural fiber and filling pillows, natural mat underneath, but at least we are finally on the floor wa al hamdu l'Illah!
These are baby steps, and there is so much more to do, but I'm grateful to be here right now...a little bit closer to the goal. When I think of the possessions, the ostentation, the excess of our lives, these small changes seem like victories against shaytaan and his materialistic plots. Please, ya Rabbi Allah, I beg You to bring us to a better way of living and reality - ameen!
Ameen ameen ameen
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful. What a reward to be able to live like that and all the time you are doing this it is an act of worship, subhana Allah.
Really?? Wow.. Mashallah Sister....May ALLAH reward you! Do you still live this way? I never knew the reason why we eat on the floor with a common plate. Since I married my husband and becoming involved in the Arab culture I just thought thats how they do things here.. You are truly an inspiration! Mashallah
ReplyDeleteAhlan wa sahlan First Wife!
ReplyDeleteYes, we still live this way, mashaa'Allah. It is very hard to turn away from the Sunnah, because following it is done out of love for the Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, and really feels like part of worship. If you hop over to my group, Simply Sunnah Sisters, there is more detail about the Sunnah of the Prophet, sal Allahu alayhi wa sallam, in all aspects of life. I post there details about how to eat, sleep, natural medicine, etc. from the Sunnah. I think you would find it very enlightening, as it will explain most of what you see and percieve as "custom" amongst the Arabs.
I'm happy as a clam to have you here! Make yourself comfortable and have a homemade cinnamon roll and a cup of tea with me!
y cant i see the post???
ReplyDeleteSorry Umme Muhammad, I have struggled with the formatting of this post and cannot get it to change color, so I've managed to change the background so it is readable. Somehow, those very early posts done before I changed the color scheme just haven't transitioned into the blog properly. Inshaa'Allah, all is well now.
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