Awesome Muslimah Rap Goup - Poetic Pilgrimage

I came across a Muslimah rap group called Poetic Pilgrimage today, and wow they're powerful. plus they have cute English accents. Their lyrics are inspirational - and we could always do with more of those! I'll leave the deeets to the article below:

Sukina Douglas and Muneera Williams are Muslim artists with an edge. Long-time friends from England, the two have worked together for five years uniting Hip Hop and poetry. Their art has led to the creation of the group Poetic Pilgrimage. It allows them to speak out honestly and passionately about life: life as Muslims, life as black women, life in general. Their intention is to represent the under-represented. “I think hip hop in general has a negative light,” says Sukina. “We stick to the fact that hip hop didn’t start like that - it’s about providing a voice for the voiceless. It’s representing injustice. There’s a common term that hip hop is black people’s CNN. That’s how we see it.”

Since the inception of Poetic Pilgrimage, Sukina and Muneera have seen many changes in their lives, and their work has been a constant reflection of this. One of the most significant was their conversion to Islam in 2005. “Although we embraced Islam, we had many preconceptions about Islam and performing as women,” says Muneera, explaining they were not sure if they’d ever rap again. “We wanted to make sure we were doing it (rapping) for the right reasons.” Through the encouragement of other Muslim artists, they decided to continue their journey as hip hop artists, incorporating Allah into their work.

Their decision to continue rapping as Muslim women was empowering for many, however some older generations were not as accepting. “It’s like these two girls come in and are mixing Hijab with hip hop” says Sukina. “Islam and hip hop – does it work?” Although frustrating at times, Muneera says she’s learned to handle the criticism. “I used to get fired up about it, but now I just try to put it aside. I just think it’s frustrating because the people we’re trying to represent are shutting us down. It can be disheartening.”

Despite some controversy, Muneera and Sukina say the majority of their work is well-received, and not just by the Muslim community. They once got an email from a gay Christian man, explaining how their work has inspired him. “We were like ‘what’? That’s not really who we have in mind when we’re writing our rhymes, but I think when you put something out and you create it, it doesn’t belong to you anymore. It belongs to the world.”

As for the future of Poetic Pilgrimage, the women say they’ll continue fine-tuning their craft to represent people of all backgrounds who don’t have a voice. “Art has the ability to transcend any barriers: culture, religion, it doesn’t matter what the differences are. Art is art, music is music. If you like it, you like it, if you don’t you don’t" (from pearlsoftheworld.ca)

Here's a preview (this one's not on their myspace) :



check out more of their stuff on their myspace
and if you like it, support them by buying their upcoming EP Freedom Times
and tell your friends, of course!

salaam

If I Adore You

If I adore You out of fear of Hell, burn me in Hell!
If I adore you out of desire for Paradise,
Lock me out of Paradise.
But if I adore you for Yourself alone,
Do not deny to me Your eternal beauty.

- Rabia al-Basri (8th century, sufi poet)

omg, I was moved to tears after reading this. How beautiful - and seriously, if we get our head out of the clouds (stop obsessing over little things especially) and focus solely on Allah swt I don't think we'd ever want to stop basking in his amazingness. So, I wrote a long letter to Him about how I'm going to clean up my act insh'Allah (for me, writing things out is the most effective outlet for emotion and so is talking to Allah, so I figured why not do both? double whammy).

new resolution: wake up 15 minutes earlier so I can read some Qur'an - and a plus will be the noticable noor on my face (i'A) and consequently I will no longer have to resort to my illuminating tinted moisturizer or "noor in a bottle" as I call it.

That last bit was meant to be funny.

salaam.

A Pinch of Green Outfit

It's finally sunny again! yaay, in celebration, here is an "I'm so glad it's almost spring" outfit or a St. Patricks day one haha (note the word play "pinch" of green). The trapeze top is from Gap, jeans: True Religion Candice Wide leg, adorable granny satchel purse and bangles from Urban Outfitters, peep toe wedges from H&M and both scarves are from H&M as well. I decided that both of the scarves looked really good in their own way, so you can decide!

Spanish Serenity - Outfit

Here's a good transition outfit since the weather's starting to get a bit warmer - hence the sandals and white pants! The gold necklace reminds me of a Spanish gate and it complements the gold in the scarf nicely, no? (yes, I am totally going to flatter myself until I start getting more comments haha). The top is from Forever 21, bag, sandals, and necklace are from Urban Outfitters, pants a la Abercrombie & Fitch, and the scarf is from H&M. enjoy!

peace

Feeling Grounded, Humbled, and One with Everything

I woke up early (for a Saturday) this morning and decided to go for a run because I was done with bio notes and there was nothing for me to be rushing to do. It was pretty barren outside and foggy and fresh. Haha I'm not sure why that was necessary to explain, anyways, I decided to listen to a few songs my sister sent me rather than the usual get-the-legs-kicking-hip-hop and boy, everything just clicked perfectly! First, some background info:

1) I didn’t run on my cross-country team this year so I don’t have the same stamina :-/
2) as expected, I could not handle the feeling of having no stamina so I’ve been running and biking a lot lately
3) I have a running route that’s about 2.5 miles, and lately... I'm cramped up before I finish.

Back to today’s beautifulness:

4) I heard “I Like Giants” by Kimya Dawson
5) I loved it – so I put it on repeat
6) I ran the 2.5 miles without a problem (no out of breath no cramps, finally I’m back in shape)
7) if anything I felt powerful when I finished

Then, I found a spot of grass on this little hill by my house and I sat there and closed my eyes. And it all felt very cool as I noticed droplets forming on the tips of my eyelashes from the fog. I wasn’t hot nor was I cold, infact I don’t even know what temperature I was. I just listened to I Like Giants and looked at the sky and the dewy grass and the trees and the little bugs on the flowers. For awhile it was as if the lyrics embodied everything I was feeling: “grounded, humbled, and one with everything” and mix that with the endorphins from my run. Maan. I haven’t felt that particular way ever – no thoughts what so ever about anything other than the moment I was in then and there. For the rest of my day everyone I saw told me that my face was glowing…mm the benefits of meditation.

So thank you Kimya Dawson for being awesome and eloquent and witty.

Here are the lyrics to her song:

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road, turn out the lights, get out and look up at the sky
And I do this to remind me that I'm really, really tiny
In the grand scheme of things and sometimes this terrifies me

But it's only really scary cause it makes me feel serene
In a way I never thought I'd be because I've never been
So grounded, and so humbled, and so one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

Rock and roll is fun but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky
Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye

When I saw Geneviève I really liked it when she said
What she said about the giant and the lemmings on the cliff
She said 'I like giants
Especially girl giants
Cause all girls feel too big sometimes
Regardless of their size'

When I go for a drive I like to pull off to the side
Of the road and run and jump into the ocean in my clothes
I'm smaller than a poppyseed inside a great big bowl
And the ocean is a giant that can swallow me whole

So I swim for all salvation and I swim to save my soul
But my soul is just a whisper trapped inside a tornado
So I flip to my back and I float and I sing
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything
I am grounded, I am humbled, I am one with everything

So I talked to Geneviève and almost cried when she said
That the giant on the cliff wished that she was dead
And the lemmings on the cliff wished that they were dead
So the giant told the lemmings why they ought to live instead

When she thought up all those reasons that they ought to live instead
It made her reconsider all the sad thoughts in her head
So thank you Geneviève, cause you take what is in your head
And you make things that are so beautiful and share them with your friends

We all become important when we realize our goal
Should be to figure out our role within the context of the whole
And yeah, rock and roll is fun, but if you ever hear someone
Say you are huge, look at the moon, look at the stars, look at the sun
Look at the ocean and the desert and the mountains and the sky

Say I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
I am just a speck of dust inside a giant's eye
And I don't wanna make her cry
Cause I like giants

the serenity and awe that she feels as she ruminates about the “giants” a.k.a Allah’s creations is a universal sentiment.



On that note, I came across an article on SunniPath.com about the sunnats of reflection:

The ways of reflection are many. One, which is the most noble of them, is to reflect on the wonders of God's dazzling creation, the inward and outward signs of His Ability, and the signs He has scattered abroad in the Realm of the earth and the heavens. This kind of reflection increases your knowledge of the Essence, Attributes, and Names of God. He has encouraged it by saying: Say: Look at what is in the heavens and the earth! (10:101)

Reflect on the wondrous creations He has made, and on yourself. He has said: In the earth are signs for those who have certainty, and in yourselves; can you not see? (51:20-21)

I recommend that you read the whole article (<-- click that)

(: salaam

Vintage Inspired Outfit

(click it so you can admire it with a closer eye)
As I was browsing through the Rebirth of Chic website I came across the GORGEOUS hijab above. howww vintage inspired is it?! Soo I created an outfit for it... Suede flats, canvas hobo (which is actually huge, but I had to resize it to fit), and grey pants are all from Old Navy; shirred sweater top from twelvebytwelve.com; and the pearl bracelet is from perlunapearls.com (super expensive ha, but I had to add it). I think these colors complement eachother well, they remind me of an oyster shell. Which reminds me of a story...

When I used to have days like "OMG why can't I just go out after Maghrib and blah blah" my mom always told me this extended metaphor: first I was to imagine that there is a pearl that has "been around" and is rolling all over the streets, and it's super dirty - if you saw that pearl would you even take a second glance? And then there'd be another pearl that had kept itself safely in it's oyster and was clean - which one would I prefer? Naturally, the clean one. So I think of the oyster as being the limits that I've put on myself - not as my house because it's the 21st century and us Muslimahs have to uphold our Din when it is wrongly slandered about - we have a voice and aren't afraid to use it! But essentially we have set out limits for ourselves as we amalgamate Islamic morals into our modern Western lifestyles, and I believe that is our oyster shell.

Hijab Scene #1

"You dress strange," said a tenth-grade boy with bright blue hair to the new Muslim girl with the headscarf in homeroom, his tongue-rings clicking on the "tr" in "strange."

A Muslim Heroine - The Adventures of Iman

omg this is adorableee! I present to you, the first Muslim girl superhero: Iman.



Iman is a teenage super hero - her super powers? the Qur'an and Hadith. Her main quote is "Islam means peace. Not war" She quotes the Qur'an through out her adventures to help people deal with their problems.

Ahh! What a good role model to girls - shows that they can be smart, beautiful, and athletic as well as still be good muslims. The little girls that I know these days brush off the fact that they're Muslim -they hear so much negativity about it as its constantly being misrepresented in the global media, that they aren't proud to be Muslims - they're more concerned with Hannah Montana, Abercrombie, and Bratz (who by the way spend all day at the mall.. uh atleast Barbie had occupations and aspirations?)

In an interview, Khoreibi said "I especially wanted girls to feel that their religion gives them equality even if their cultures don't"

"Girls have to know that the Qur'an favors them as much as it favors boys. It gives them the chance to be all they can be within an Islamic Framework. They don't have to think I've got to be a different culture or a different religion to be all I can be. You can actually grow up to be an amazing woman-- career-wise, a mom, a very productive person in society-- and be proud of that and still be a Muslim."





huzzah!