SubhanAllah. Even in matters of dresscode or preference, those who oppose Islam find something to debate. Yet, they encourage same sex marriages and oppose the marriage of a man and a woman who may be cousins? Hipocracy at its peak. Which reminds me of an ayaat, Allah says, "And We wished to do a favour to those who were weak (and oppressed) in the land, and to make them rulers and to make them the inheritors. And to establish them in the land, and We let Fir'aun (Pharaoh) and Haman and their hosts receive from them that which they feared" (Surah Al-Qasas verse 5-6) SubhanAllah, we are seeing the action of the words of Allah taking place before our very eyes. The government fears hijab? No. They fear the spead of Islam in their land and as Allah said about Pharaoh and his chiefs fearing the downfall of their kingdom, similarly, the governments of the Western land fear the spead of truth and and as Allah mentioned aforetime about the Children of Israel becoming the inheritors of the holy land, this Ummah shall succeed. Now the question is whether we will play a roll in the success of this Ummah and for most of us, the answer is hard to come about. May Allah guide us and strengthen our hearts with faith (Aameen).

^^^^Is that so.....

I like to have a plan set but obviously they're many things that pop out throughout the day that need to be addressed. In saying that, I try my best to accomplish all of them but in reality, thats not what always happens. Sometimes Im a slacker when it comes to things and inshAllah, Im working on better myself. Question: What phone company are you with?

To make it to Jannah and die with honor. Question: Who is stronger. The man who lives with prosperity and never tasted the cup of major trails or the man who has been captured by adversity and continues to stand with strength?

Its bound to happen so I came to terms with it. But I feel more worried about the Day of Judgment than I do about death. Question: Is there anyone you would sacrifice your life for?

Less and less time as each and every day comes and goes. Question: Can money buy happiness?

No, well I hope I havent. Question: True or False. Love is pain?

It is whatever you want it to be... Question: Would you rather live under opression or die with honor?

I want some quality time No seriously, communication is the key to success. And of course, dou'aa.

I spend my whole shift at work on the computer and when Im at home...less than an hour (on a good day). I dont watch t.v. that much unless its a NBA game or an NFL game or a comedy movie thats staring Will Farell or Vince Vaughn. Or than that, Im not home and if I am, than Im doing something else... Question: Are you a risk taker?

Miskiin-Macruuf-Aqiyaar, when you say wrong with listening to music here and there, what do you mean? Didnt Aaliyah mention that it is haraam and dont you think that is at least something you should consider? Well anyways, Aaliyah, if Allah makes something haraam than He also replaces it with another so that you can satisfy your soul with it. In the case of music, like Pucca said...delete all the songs under your responsibility and replace it with Quran from some of your favourite reciters. Try that and see how you do. Makes dou'aa and be patient in your progress to stop listening to music altogether inshAllah. My best year of 2005. Question: If someone tells you that something is haraam, shouldnt that at least be a reason for you to "try" to stop doing it? I know none of us are perfect and its the effort that counts.

Think about the benefits from whatever it is that your trying to do and if there isn't any benefit in it for you, I dont know why you're doing it in the first place. Question: How difficult would life be without Yahoo or Google?

Assalam alaikum Muminah I guess only you and I will participant in sharing ways we can increase our iman inshAllah. You state five really good points mashAllah but I know you have more so keep them coming inshallah and who knows...Maybe years from now when you are married and have children and become too busy to visit SOL, some young brother or sister will find this thread and benefit from these posts. We plan and Allah plans and He is the best of planners. So here are some more ways to increase your iman. 6. Spend some more time with your family for the sake of Allah and keep good relations with them 7. Learn Seerah and about the companions- You'll feel more closer to Allah {Always review and contemplate over their lives, never tell yourselve 'I already read this or that'} 8. Give something up you love for the sake of Allah and watch your eman increase 9. Obey Allah even if the odds are against you, in exchange you GET sweetness of eman in this dunya and JANNAH in the hereafter 10. BE STEADFAST and always think about DEATH!!

WOW! Talk about giving fatwa's left and right. Nephthys, asked whether it was Islamically permissiable for a wife to seek permission and all I read was, "I think...." and "Why would she need..." and Im just shocked. Instead of the "I think...", it would of been easier to not have responded to that part of the question. Not to mention, safer for you. Anyways, its unfortnate that he walked out on her. However we shouldnt be making assumtions that he was planning this for some time cause we dont know that. Instead, lets just give him the benefit of doubt while we wait for the outcome of the situation. True say, I think (and see my "I think" has nothing to do with giving out a fatwa) when he calms down, some senior figures from both families will get in between them and inshAllah be a means to solution for the problem. On a another note, would it have been too much for her to consult him or even send him a text message stating that she was on her way to get a makeover? At least in that case, homeboy wouldnt have been shocked to see his wife looking totally different. I mean, four years of marriage would make you understand that its a partnership and one with the other is like, Kobe without Shaq. But than again, Kobe is doing fine without Shaq so thats not really a good example, but you get my point right? By the way, generally speaking, most men aren't too fond about surprises unless its a surprise where he gets to ____________(U know...!)do his thang and in that case, its an exception. Whereas, women love surprises. Even if a her husbands decided he wants to surprise her with a whisper she would love it. Example, (Husband gets home from work....) Husband: Assalam alaikum baby, where you at? Wife: Wa alaikum assalam, Im in the room. Husband: Listen, I rushed home cause I have a surprise for you Wife: Really? You know I love surprises. What is it? Can I have it now? Husband: Be patient. It wouldnt be a surprise if I gave it to you now, would it? No, of course not. Maybe after dinner. Wife: Baby, please...now and not later. What is it, flowers? Tickets to the opera? Husband: No, that wouldnt be a surprise. You're already expecting that. I got something better...close your eyes. (Wifey closes her eyes and he leans in to position his mouth on her ears and he whispers) Husband: I like you alot...I mean alot and I wouldnt want to watch the Super Bowl with anyone other than you. Wife: Uhhhhhhh(breathing out) Those are the most beautiful words and the best surprises a husband can give his wife. See to a normal man, he would read this conversation between the husband and wife and say, "What? Thats dumb" but women look at it from a different view. Hence why the comments from the men and women on this thread are totally different

The difference between the way we view marriage during our period of time and the way it was viewed during the time of the best of generation of people to walk the earth is, shamefully different. While it is true that one of the reasons for marriage is companionship and it is a natural reason, I just cant stop to think about all those people who get married for reasons that are sometimes seem foolish. I know everyone of us has heard of stories where people just get married for reasons that cause 101 question to appear in your mind. But personally, Im under the belief that a life of marriage is much safer than a life of rolling single, so if she wants to marry him because he had her a promise to take her to the moon for their honeymoon than so be it. Although the reality is, many problems can arise from marriage that can cause both parties much pain. Anyways, I just wanted to say, in our period of time, people get married for semi-important reasons while during the time of the companions, one of them said (in fact, it was Ibn Mas'ood) who said when asked, if you had one day to live, what would you do? He said, I would get married. Now that would seem surprising to us because personally, if I had one day to live, the last thing I would be thinking about is spending anymore time with a woman. So when he was asked why he would get married, he said, "I do not want to meet my lord alone". SubhanAllah. Amazing. He wants to meet Allah with the woman whom he spent the life of this world with while on the other hand, many of us are rushing to replace and divorce the person we took as a companion. What we really need is a class called "Companionship 101" that will break down the true defination of companionship through marriage. In the end, that generation of people viewed marriage (and other important issues) completely differently than we do. That is why they were successful.

No. To get results your need action. Gathering a group of people to hold signs and scream about some issue that nobody really cares about doesnt do much to bring about change. We need less talk and more walking the walk. Question: Why is the issue of marriage such an important topic amongst the youth of our present time?

My two cents: Obama may be one heck of a seller and his plans for the country may need some time for implementation but thats beyond the present point. Americans are craving for change and it would seem in the eyes of many Americas across the country that Obama is best to bring about change. At the end of the day, all politicians are liars. They make promises that will never have a chance to come true but thats apart of the game. Say what you got to say to become the leader of a country whose fall from stardom has begun. The truth is, President Bush turned the once well respected World Super Power into a country that is hated Worldwide. Am I wrong? Hated by who you ask? Well, the real question is, who doesnt hate the States? From Canada to Australia, people dont really hate americans in general but they sure hate the America that is represented by Bush. Americans got many issues to think about by the time fall comes around and the next president they select better not be a Republican. John McCain will take the country and bury it to the ground if he is elected as the next president. Among his plans are, to keep an already overworked military in Iraq from the next 100 years although at his age, its highly unlikely that he would survive to finish his first term and Allah knows best. By the way, keeping the U.S. Army in Iraq for five more years is going to be difficult let alone, a hundred more years due to the fact that, a recent report indicated that 5 U.S. soldiers try to kill themselves each and every day. At that rate, who needs "terrorist"? Give them some more time and they will kill themselves until none of them is left standing and thats the outcome of fighting a fight without due right. But people shouldnt allow their emotions to blind them from reality and by that I mean, the truth of the matter is...it is highly unlikely that Obama will become the next president of the US. Why you ask? Well, historically speaking, americans are very conservative people and giving the highest position of government to a black man is something that should be left in the dreams of men because it will never become reality and Allah knows best.

Yes and the only way to deal with it to Man up to It. And if you a lady, than Lady up to IT Either way, face the problem head on. Question: What are you afraid of?

I dont know. I know thats not the answer you were looking for but famous Islamic scholars mention how "I dont know" is half of knowledge therefore...Im gonna take the easy way out of this question with an "I dont know" Question: (Finish this sentence). If I could be anyone I would be_______________________.

No, I got better things to do. Question: Have you ever been in love?

Thats a tough question and since the matter is before the court, Id rather remain silent about the situation lol. Question: Would you take a lion cub as a house pet if you could?

Im not too fond about Hillary. When she speaks, I feel like she is lying, then again, I guess 99% of politicians are liars anyways so why would she be different. I support Obama and it will be interesting to see the results of Super Tuesday and where he will stand at the end of the day. Question: How many pairs of shoes do you own?

You make a lot of good points so let me comment where we differ. Unfortunately, the society that most of us are a product of, women are abused and oppressed. A woman is judged by the size of her bra and not by her character, hence the importance of wearing hijab and covering yourself but thats another issue for another day. Anyways, women dont need to be worried about whether they can get a man or not cause believe it or not, a man's greatest desire is a woman. A wise man once said, "a woman has been created to love material and a man surrounds himself with the most attractive of materials. He uses the material to get what he desire the most, the woman". In other words, a man will buy a fancy car so he can do what...? Get a beautiful woman to fill the shot gun seat. Lets move on. Without a doubt, I understand it would hurt a woman if her husbands told her that he wants to make her a co-wife because emotions is something we can not control and for a man to rush into marriage with the mentality of marrying more than one woman, needs to come to terms with reality. The truth is, attending to the social, financial, emotional, spiritual needs of one woman is hard enough, let alone adding to the list of wives. As a man, I think some times the idea of having more than one woman in which you will spend some "quality time" with blinds the individual from the reality of the situation. As they say on the streets, "fun comes with a price so if you do the crime than playboy, you will do the time". Meaning, if you marry more than one woman to have some fun, than Allah will test you will trails because the purpose of polygamy is to protect women and not to serve the strong desires of men. So I understand where women are coming from but there is also a great wisdom in polygamy that Allah knows and we know not. For example, in the world right now, the ratio of men to women is 1 man for every 8 women. Now if every man married one woman thats leaves seven women unmarried and they wouldn't have anyone to share their lives with but thats just a theory. The truth of the matter is, not every man wants to get married and not every women is into a man. Some men aren't really on the marriage tip and by looking at the clock they know their living in a period of time where they are in demand because the numbers of men to women dont match up so he decides to take his time with the issue of marriage. On the other hand, a woman feels like if she doesnt get married by a certain age than not many men would consider her for marriage and even if a man does, he probably wouldnt be a good man. The point is, during the time of the companions of the Messenger of Allah (saw), no women was without a man. Every woman had a man who protected her and provided for her and presented himself for her emotional needs. That was the perfect society for both men and women but our period of time is different but the solutions to most problems are still the same. Anyways, I respect your opinions and a man processes information differently than a woman and the only way to get on the same page is discussing the issue. For the record, I think polygamy would be difficult. I cant see myself having to have the whole..."baby, tell me how you feel..?" conversation with more than one woman in one day. Just the thought alone scares me.

Yes. Being prepared for something and getting positive results is two different things. Just because you prepare yourself for something it doesnt really mean, you'll do good at it. But always remember that preparing is a good sign and that is proof that you are ready to tackle whatever the task may be... Question: Do you think its important to observe silence? Like, not to talk?

I dont understand your question but if you mean what I think you mean than the answer is, No, in my family there isn't a history for mental diseases and Allah knows best. Question: Which country or city would you want to settle down in and raise a family?