Category: Knowledge

Homeschooling in California

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

I am completely behind on homeschooling news these days, but there is definitely some news in California!

Threat to Homeschooling 

“A primary purpose of the educational system is to train schoolchildren in good citizenship, patriotism and loyalty to the state and the nation as a means of protecting the public welfare.”

Patriotism? I thought the point of the educational system was to educate? And protecting the public welfare from what exactly? The possibility that a child can grow into an adult with intelligence? Come on! This is exactly why the right to homeschool should continue.

Last Chance for California Homeschooling?

The parents of these homeschooled children must be very nervous at this moment. Homeschooling is a decision that parents make because they realize that their children are worth it. I’m not saying that parents who put their children in public school don’t think their children are worth it (though there are those who neglect their kids entirely), but the problems with the public school system are very clear today. In my city alone, we have one of the lowest graduation rates in the country – right behind Detroit! Read here. Our school system sucks here. I would be crazy to ever put my child in such a place. (Sidenote: If you are a parent that may find homeschooling expensive or hard, please do more research. There are many ways available if you simply are creative and look and ask around. Don’t give up.)

More news over at the Home School Legal Defense Association & if you are a parent who is homeschooling here in the states, who hasn’t yet signed up with the HSLDA, you should really consider doing so. They are Christian but they are for all homeschoolers.

For state laws on homeschooling, please visit this link: http://www.hslda.org/hs/state/default.asp

I also had to do a search on Obama and homeschooling because homeschooling is a very important issue for me, and I haven’t really been paying much attention lately to this topic. I came across this just now: Homeschoolers for Obama. I’ll be looking into this further, insha’allah.

Please pray for these parents who want to homeschool their children – even if you aren’t one that fully agrees with homeschooling for whatever personal reasons. Parents should have the right to decide how to teach their children, without the govt. butting into their lives.

Muslim Women & The Veil

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

The veil, be it the basic headcover or the face veil, is part of the religion that Allah – Glorified and Exalted is He – has given us, via our Messenger Muhammad, peace and blessings of Allah be upon him. Here are a few links that bring forth the basis for these acts:

Why Hijab? – Shaykh Nuh Keller

Concerning the standard explanation of the verse of hijab – Ustadha Zaynab Ansari

The Hijab between Human Thought and Sacred Law – Shaykh Muhammad Isam Eidou

Taking off the Hijab in hostile America – Shaykh Abdur Rahman ibn Yusuf

Is it necessary to wear niqab? Isn’t hijab enough?

Do I have to wear the niqab?

Take note that the last two do mention that it is okay not to wear niqab, but that doesn’t negate that niqab is a part of Islam, and is obligatory according to a few schools of thought (Shaf’i & Hanbali view it obligatory, while the Ahnaf view it obligatory due to fitnah).

More on the defense of the face veil/Niqab

Part 1

Part 2

The Shafi’i stance

We don’t have to agree with everything contained but we should do our research prior to speaking about these issues without the proper knowledge. We all have different situations with our dress, and our deen, period. There are those of us who wear khimar, others who also wear niqab; there are those of us who want to but can’t due to our own personal reasons; some of us may believe in the obligation of both but may leave niqab in the west, etc. Whatever our scenario, we can still come together, encourage each other to become better human beings all around, and try to bring the best out in each other. There has always existed some type of disagreement, but not this resentment that becomes too apparent when this topic goes public online and offline.

We should stop the judging of sisters who may not be fulfilling all of the conditions of Islamic dress properly – whatever their issues may be. Instead, we should be encouraging so that each of us will pay attention to the details surrounding our worship, but not for people – for Him. Remember that we veil for Him because He has commanded it. It is this intention that makes our way of dress beautiful to ourselves. Remembering that to Allah we are to return is what will give us the patience to deal with those who mock us when we go outside looking like Muslim women

Let us be patient, merciful, and open minded about our religion. That is how we learn to be compassionate and understanding. This is how we’ll taste the closeness that we should have as a community, and learn to truly care for each other, insha’Allah.

*I closed comments because the links are there to answer questions, and the advice I wanted to give is there for each one of us that reads this. I prefer to avoid any possible problems due to this topic anymore, and only on certain occasions may I actually discuss this online.