women – Amber Hasan

Do not fear Allah(SWT)

January 7, 2015 2 Comments

Once again, the same old rants of mine….

First its about the weather, and trust me when I say it…. This morning it felt like part of some post-apocalyptic, dark cold corner of the planet, typical Hollywood movie style, bitter cold, blowing snow, less people, more clothes(No rags though)

Today is the coldest day of the winter so far, with temperatures as low as -18 or -20 in some regions, and feeling like -30 to -35. God Almighty help us as January has just begun. February please do not be harsh and mean on us. May all of us and our loved ones stay protected and safe.

And now what actually prompted me to scribble these lines…. I am part of these amazing women, or say Muslim women groups on Facebook. You want to find a good cleaning lady, a carpenter, you want to know the best eateries in town, you want to talk about your health issues, seek guidance for education or want to know how to potty train your toddler; you’d find instant help, contacts, remedies, guidance- you name it!

BUT there is no such thing as free lunch and so even this one comes with a price tag that says “Being judged”

As Muslim immigrants, we are always trying to settle ourselves in the West, trying to balance our traditions and values with the fast paced life. Thanks to Canada and its beautiful people, I feel accepted, my beliefs respected, my values appreciated. And let me tell you: Canada is the most multicultural place Ive seen.

But there is some degree of intolerance that I still feel. No, not from the people of West, but mostly those from my own country, or from those who share the same beliefs as mine.

I post a question and I get stomped by judgmental comments, I post a note and get hurled by insults and what is all so NOT right in what I wrote, and how angry I made Allah (SWT) by writing or asking something or how I disrespected my own country of birth or how for goodness’ sake I do not deserve to live in Canada. My fellow women, my fellow Muslim women, my fellow Pakistani Muslim women? Seriously? You think scaring me from the wrath of Allah(SWT) would do any good? You think advising me on how to raise children when I only quote a 5 year old’s innocent dialogue would do any good? You think bashing, bickering and ridiculing me and many like myself on what we eat, wear, watch, buy, talk would do you or anyone else, any good?

Take a deep breathe ladies; inhale and exhale. You’re not the godsend Messiah!

I always encourage and try to find facts about what we do in our day to day life. It is my responsibility to share something good or knowledgeable. But if I share that having Iced Cappuccino from Tim Hortons is okay for me, despite the fact that it carries nth of alcohol as part of the vanilla flavoring, why would you label me Kaafir? Or if I share an event that I am planning at Moxie’s, why would you call it Haraam (Forbidden)? Who gave you the license to judge me? To label me? To ridicule my choices?

This is not the Islam I know. The Islam I know is the religion of love. You do not need fear and threats to spread it. If so, then what is the difference between you and those relentless creatures who killed innocent school children in the name of religion in Peshawar or who shot 12 innocent people dead this morning in Paris? If they are terrorists, so are you.

I came across this beautiful post by Brother Omar Suleiman and I think it perfectly relates.

Teach yourself first and then you children; Do not fear Allah(SWT) to be close to Him; love Him and He will be closer than you can imagine!

Thoughts

Direct dil say….

November 22, 2012 No Comments

I felt like this some months back, when I was in a limbo, trying to deny a fact, while it remained one. and I just felt it now, right now. As if someone is holding my heart and just crushing it in the palm of their hand.

Life has always been like this…. And I am sure all of us experience it that way…. The first breathe we take, is so uncertain. Would it go on? Would it stop? The first step taken as a toddler, is never certain-one might trip, might fall; still it is taken. The first attempt to run, sit, stand, write, read, laugh, swim, drive, jump, fight, hit, punch, love- the list goes on… The uncertainty continues…so does our voluntary and involuntary actions….Not knowing the results, we see light at the end of the tunnel in our own respective way and we continue this journey, to go on all our lives.

For me, I’ve always seen the glass half-full!! Or say FULL. In the worst of situations, I’ve pulled myself together and hoped for things to get better…And they did!! Exams, work, personal matters, matters of heart-everything! I remember at work when we were about to conduct a workshop and my colleagues would freak out on the low attendance, I would tell them “Ho jaega” (We’ll do it) and they would ask “How can you say that with just a day left?” and I would reply “I don’t know” . And the Sunday morning, my boss would ask, “What did you do?” I didn’t know. I still do not know.

May be its my utmost belief in God, may be the vibes of my positivity attract all the other positive auras, or may be its just sheer luck, time after time- I don’t know!

All I knew then and all I know now is that if you really want something from the core of your heart, you get it. The path may be difficult, the signs not clear, you might have second thoughts, the time not defined-however if you know what you want and how bad you want it, the key is to just holding on to it and not stepping back, come what may!

For one, I don’t and will never step back from what I desire. God has always been kind. He can’t not fulfill my dream!

“Listen to the mustn’ts, child. Listen to the don’ts. Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me… Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”

― Shel Silverstein

Uncategorized

Welcoming the BIG 30 cake!!

July 26, 2012 No Comments

The Design!

I know many posts are overdue now. I was supposed to be posting a couple of recipes and trust me those are in the pipeline. However its been really kind of busy during the past days…All the typical summer picnics, bar b qs, and getaways. Plus the more happening days combined with the bake orders. And then to have all the fun before the holy month of Ramadan starts-phew!!!

While I was browsing some files, I realized that many fresh pics have not been uploaded. So just thought of sharing.

This cake was made for a beautiful energetic woman, turning the big 30 on June 30th. She approached through my page on Facebook and after an exchange of umpteen emails, pictures and ideas, she finally agreed on the design that I just made roughly to put her mind on paper. Well people with such precise details always are great to work with because they let us play with imagination and creativity.

I started working on the flowers 2 days before. I always try to bake my cakes the very same day as of order to keep them as fresh as possible. While the order was booked for a Saturday morning, I spoke to the lady Friday evening. She mentioned that the cake was to be driven all the way from Brampton to Hamilton, and then kept outdoors for about 3 hours before finally being cut-all that in the simmering heat with temperatures forecast for 30 plus degrees!!

Had I known it before, I could have suggested something accordingly but then it was quite late, about 10:30 at night. I started with the layering and frosting, all the time just hoping that the cake makes it to the party as planned. You know heat is the worst enemy of fondant and gumpaste.Plus I was also concerned about the Vanilla buttercream filling to remain good and safe to eat in the sweltering sun. By the way it was a Vanilla cake with Vanilla buttercream.

I worked on the cake until about 6:30 in the morning. Then I snoozed for about 4 hours after which the cake was supposed to be picked up and I didnt want to let it go without taking pictures. I could see the happiness and satisfaction on the face of the girl, the client’s sister who came to pick the cake up. Well, I did get the message of thanks on the next day; the cake being a hit!! Like any artist, a cake decorator’s truly joyous moment are two-First when we finish the masterpiece and look at it and second when we get good reviews and positive feedback, which gives us that strength and courage to carry on our discovery.

Happy reading!!