Cleaning Your Home

As-salaam alaikum!

As mothers and wives, our home is our most important and sacred post. We should never let it be neglected. Home is supposed to be a refuge.You can NOT have peace in a chaotic environment! We must never be careless enough to allow our families to live in clutter or filth. Cleaning doesn't have to be excessively time consuming. If you and your children clean as you go, there should never be too much to do at any given time. The more you let it pile up, the more overwhelming it is and the more embarrassing your home becomes.

Preparing For December

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The Honorable Elijah Muhammad gave us instructions to "fast" during the month of December. Technically it is not a fast, because we should all be eating one meal a day anyway. However, during December we abstain from all food, water, and sexual contact from sunrise until sunset. We avoid things such as holiday parties (especially Christmas parties). It is a time to study, reflect, and grow in faith.

Many people compare our December "fast" with Ramadan, but Orthodox Muslim's goals are very different from ours. We fast to get us out of the habit of celebrating Christian holidays, most importantly, the pagan celebration of Jesus' (actually Nimrod's) birthday. In this society, it is hard to escape this season, so controlling our eating helps keep our minds clear and focused.

A Triumph of Fear (A true story) 3/15/07

I found this story floating around Facebook this morning. There are many lessons that can be learned by reading this. Are you prepared? What's in your survival kit? Do you have several routes to evacuate your home? Are you physically fit? Do you heed warnings? What can you gain from this true story of survival?

A Triumph over Fear
By: Alimah S. Muhammad

It was Monday morning August 29, 2005, and I'd just woken up. I looked over the top bunk where I was lying, to find about 5 inches of water in my room. I'd heard talk of a hurricane headed for New Orleans, but I didn't pay too much attention to it. Growing up in New Orleans, I'd heard many meteorologists forecast hurricanes that, most of the time turned out to be false alarms. My dad and I decided to "ride it out". Obviously the rest of my family were not as relaxed as I was, because they'd evacuated the day before. I thought to my self "just a little flooding, no big deal," and I went back to sleep. The next time, I woke up to discover my dresser, my desk and chair, and my keyboard, upturned, floating in the midst of my clothes, shoes and other stuff in about waist-high water. The wind outside was blowing so fiercely against my window, that a huge branch on the tree in our back yard snapped clean in half, CRACK!!!!, making a piercing noise so loud, it was like I was standing right in the midst of lightening. Beginning to get worried, I acted non-nonchalantly, but I began to realize that all of my possessions were getting destroyed with each inch that the water rose. The only undestroyed thing I owned at this point, was my portable CD player and my Michael Jackson Cd's that I was listening to the night before. Everything else I owned was either completely doused in mud- colored water,or floating atop the water, but still damaged.

What's Your Signature?

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Part of feminine nature is a desire to be part of a group, yet remain unique. This is best done by creating a personal signature. A personal signature is something that uniquely represents you. Some women wear the same scent, some women wear or decorate with a favorite color constantly, others have a style all of their own. When you see a certain piece of jewelry or a pair of shoes, you may automatically smile and think, "That looks like something Aunt Lucille would wear". A signature reminds people of you.

Online Culinary Help

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As M.G.T., we stay informed of ways to improve our skills and knowledge. We do not allow anyone excel us in performing our duties. Over the years, I have heard several Ministers instruct the Believers to "Stay off the internet". This has always been a silly idea to me. Yes, when you are online you must practice common sense and good judgment, maintaining an appropriate level of anonymity and privacy. However, the world wide web can be an invaluable tool, giving you unlimited access to free information that otherwise may be hard to discover.

Unmentionables

Hygiene is extremely important to Original cultures around the world. Unfortunately, being separated from our culture for 500 years has made us forget a lot of knowledge that our sisters in the East take for granted. It's amazing to think that in a society with access to hundreds of brands of soaps, cleansers, and disinfectants, that we are still unhygienic due to our lack of knowledge.

Often, these simple habits of good hygiene make perfect sense when explained to us; we just never take the time to really examine our routines. Many of us were taught by mothers who didn't know, or who failed to teach us for one reason or another. We did the best we could with what we knew. However, today is the dawn of a new day. The M.G.T. are meant to excel all other nations. To do that, we must get our hygiene in order at once.

The Effects of Abstinence

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In Western society, we are taught that being liberated as women means that we should be sexually free. The media has taught us to become sexual toilets for any man we meet, and to believe that doing so is progress. Nothing could be further from the truth. Sexual "liberation" is actually one of the most severe forms of repression ever invented. It lowers the value of women, and destroys families and communities. All praise is due to Allah for the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, for giving us laws that saves our dignity and restore our value.

The Beauty of Red Lentils

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A true M.G.T. is always practicing to improve her skills and looking for new dishes to add variety to her menu that will nourish her family.Red lentils are a wonderful staple food to store in your pantry. These quick cooking legumes are convenient and versatile. Like most legumes, they are very economical. They ward off constipation and provide plenty of nutrition for your family. Unlike other lentils such as green or brown, these tiny lentils break apart while cooking, creating a delicious broth. Generally, you should not substitute red lentils for green or brown lentils in recipes because of this difference.These lentils can be found in any Indian or Middle Eastern grocery store.

Why You Hollering?

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This morning I was reading through my notebook when I came across this: "We must avoid being snappy with others regardless of how you feel, as it shows weakness and lack of self control. Boisterous, loud voices are a sign of vulgarity and shows a lack of refinement." in the Book on femininity. 

This passage inspired me to reflect on how loud the Black woman is today. Very rarely do you find a Black woman who is cheery and soft-spoken. It seems to me that most people raise their voices because they don't feel heard. We have become angry and aggressive. In this society, the art of listening is rarely taught. Even on television news programs, newscasters (a job that once required poise and etiquette), have turned their shows into wild, savage shouting matches where people are attacked, ridiculed, and otherwise disrespected.

Cooking With Love!

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The best way to make sure your recipes come out wonderfully every time, is to cook with love and care! Your attitude really shows in your meals, so make sure you are in a happy state of mind and are well-prepared before you go anywhere near your stove.

Most of the time when people burn or over-season food, it is because they are rushing. They don't take time to enjoy the process of preparing a scrumptious, well-balanced meal for their loved ones. Cooking should not be stressful, it should be something you look forward to. Time in the kitchen allows you time to be creative and express yourself. Consider cooking as a rewarding pastime instead of a chore. Your mindset makes a big impact on your culinary results.

Welcome!

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I am on the verge of sending my book "Muslim Girl's Training" to the printer. It has been a labor of love; and MUCH more work than I imagined. The idea came to me because I know several sisters who do not have a complete notebook. In fact, many only possess the orientation packet! Some of these sisters aren't located near a mosque or temple, others don't attend for political reasons. I was able to copy a page or two here and there, but I know they still didn't have enough information to blossom into their full M.G.T. potential. I researched how to get a book printed, then began compiling lesson after lesson - many of which have been passed down for decades.